Door seal imperfections

[digilotus]

My car has a minor door seal imperfection on the driver side. Slightly different to what has bee shared so far but I'll add it in anyways. The plastic trim that goes up to where the seatbelt attaches should be under the rubber strip, but about half way down it comes out and the strip goes under the plastic causing it to be loose. I think it will be a very simple fix so I'm not worried about it just now. The actual rubber strip seems to be wrinkle free.

Driver side:

Where the seal crosses over

Passenger side

Looks like a couple of clips haven't been pushed in. Should be a very simple fix.

 

[scoates]

Looks like a couple of clips haven't been pushed in. Should be a very simple fix.

I tried just pushing it and it didn't go so I'll get a trim tool and run it down the rubber and I reckon that will unstick it and let me seat it fully.

 

[digilotus]

I tried just pushing it and it didn't go so I'll get a trim tool and run it down the rubber and I reckon that will unstick it and let me seat it fully.

One of the trim clips might not be centred in a hole, so you might possibly need to pull it off a little bit first and adjust before pushing it in.

 

[Cachaco131]

My car has a minor door seal imperfection on the driver side. Slightly different to what has bee shared so far but I'll add it in anyways. The plastic trim that goes up to where the seatbelt attaches should be under the rubber strip, but about half way down it comes out and the strip goes under the plastic causing it to be loose. I think it will be a very simple fix so I'm not worried about it just now. The actual rubber strip seems to be wrinkle free.

Driver side:

Where the seal crosses over

Passenger side

That's proper attention to detail. I think I would notice that probably after a couple of years of ownership!

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

My car has a minor door seal imperfection on the driver side. Slightly different to what has bee shared so far but I'll add it in anyways. The plastic trim that goes up to where the seatbelt attaches should be under the rubber strip, but about half way down it comes out and the strip goes under the plastic causing it to be loose. I think it will be a very simple fix so I'm not worried about it just now. The actual rubber strip seems to be wrinkle free.

Driver side:

Where the seal crosses over

Passenger side

It's definitely a small issue, but shows clearly that they need to improve in QC.
I suggest you send this pictures to Lotus, the more info they receive, the sooner they will address the issue

 

[RafP]

I have had the exact same rubber trim issues on all past 3 lotus. Some better / worse than other but all had them to a degree.

Sadly they are all like that / they all do that approach will prevail. It’s the lotus way.

Noticed the same issues on a demo car at weekend. Another area they haven’t improved it’s not a QC issue it’s a generic quality issue tbh.

 

[Marv]

My car has a minor door seal imperfection on the driver side. Slightly different to what has bee shared so far but I'll add it in anyways. The plastic trim that goes up to where the seatbelt attaches should be under the rubber strip, but about half way down it comes out and the strip goes under the plastic causing it to be loose. I think it will be a very simple fix so I'm not worried about it just now. The actual rubber strip seems to be wrinkle free.

Driver side:

Where the seal crosses over

Passenger side

I noticed the same loose part in an German demo. Hopefully it’s not a common issue and easy to fix.
But also the rubber parts were quite imperfect especially on the driver side.

 

[Jonhklee]

Shocking quality - not even budget cars these have these Type of loose fittings….
I am dubious about the “most accurate car ever built by Lotus” statement…. They just have been shockingly bad before

 

[Lovora]

My Evora 400 had a similar rubber strip issue. I took it back to the dealer and they said "they all do that". So, I accepted it and moved on. The Emira I drove last week had a similar issue although not as bad as my Evora. I suspect they are using the same vendor/part number for the rubber seal. I have seen worse fitment on other brand new cars. I think that without a new rubber seal design, this issue will continue in a hit and miss manner. I will look past it on my new upcoming Emira. This will not diminish my love of this car.

 

[scoates]

My car has a minor door seal imperfection on the driver side. Slightly different to what has bee shared so far but I'll add it in anyways. The plastic trim that goes up to where the seatbelt attaches should be under the rubber strip, but about half way down it comes out and the strip goes under the plastic causing it to be loose. I think it will be a very simple fix so I'm not worried about it just now. The actual rubber strip seems to be wrinkle free.

Driver side:

Where the seal crosses over

Passenger side

Went down it today using a trim tool, just basically un-tucked the rubber and pushed the trim back into place. Went straight into position, the rubber looked like it had curled up a bit but after massaging it into place it all looks good. Easy fix!

 

[Jonhklee]

Went down it today using a trim tool, just basically un-tucked the rubber and pushed the trim back into place. Went straight into position, the rubber looked like it had curled up a bit but after massaging it into place it all looks good. Easy fix!

That’s satisfying

 

[digilotus]

Went down it today using a trim tool, just basically un-tucked the rubber and pushed the trim back into place. Went straight into position, the rubber looked like it had curled up a bit but after massaging it into place it all looks good. Easy fix!

Just as I suspected, easy fix. This is obviously an employee training issue (not a parts quality one).

I'd be adding another item to the pre-delivery inspection list!

 

[TomAce]

Just as I suspected, easy fix. This is obviously an employee training issue (not a parts quality one).

I'd be adding another item to the pre-delivery inspection list!

Please send me your pre-delivery list, I‘d happily use it when my Emira arrives.

 

[John777]

I just retired from a Canadian Asssembly Plant.
Should be similar process as we did.
There usually is a rip chord behind the rubber gasket as you pull this out you feather and smooth out the rubber while firmly adjusting and pressing it into place. We also had a fiber stick to assist with this procedure to go over any trouble areas. As for the panel thats not quite seated corrrectly, you should be able to hit/press it closer to where it needs to be in place and feather over it again with a fiber stick.

These are just final touches that someone inexperienced or rushing overlooks. I would assume the workers there have plently more time than we did to adjust things. lol.

Should be very easy fix.

 

[John777]

Just as I suspected, easy fix. This is obviously an employee training issue (not a parts quality one).

I'd be adding another item to the pre-delivery inspection list!

Just saw your post. I've done a similar job before in automotive assembly. Training issue or don't care attitude. Very easy to fix 99% of time.

 

[Lolub]

I just retired from a Canadian Asssembly Plant.
Should be similar process as we did.
There usually is a rip chord behind the rubber gasket as you pull this out you feather and smooth out the rubber while firmly adjusting and pressing it into place. We also had a fiber stick to assist with this procedure to go over any trouble areas. As for the panel thats not quite seated corrrectly, you should be able to hit/press it closer to where it needs to be in place and feather over it again with a fiber stick.

These are just final touches that someone inexperienced or rushing overlooks. I would assume the workers there have plently more time than we did to adjust things. lol.

Should be very easy fix.

Thank you @scoates and @ClaytonB, very helpful! Also, what is a fiber stick? Any pictures or where I could buy it? I've done trim tools to remove a radio but nothing with fabrics. Also, what is "massaging"? Is that like a carpet, where you have to try to flatten it out?

 

[scoates]

Thank you @scoates and @ClaytonB, very helpful! Also, what is a fiber stick? Any pictures or where I could buy it? I've done trim tools to remove a radio but nothing with fabrics. Also, what is "massaging"? Is that like a carpet, where you have to try to flatten it out?

The trim tools I used were the same ones you could use for radio replacement, just various size and shape plastic things. Just took a flat one under the rubber to unhook it. And yeah the massaging was basically just using a bit of pressure to push it into all the corners like you would with a carpet.

 

[Tonyshepp]

The trim tools I used were the same ones you could use for radio replacement, just various size and shape plastic things. Just took a flat one under the rubber to unhook it. And yeah the massaging was basically just using a bit of pressure to push it into all the corners like you would with a carpet.

Amazon sell a pack of trim tools for I think 10gbp, I bought some years ago

 

[scoates]

Amazon sell a pack of trim tools for I think 10gbp, I bought some years ago

Here's the one I bought back in 2016. It was £13 at the time, now on sale for £9, I've been ripped off!

Neilsen CT2287 Car Trim Removal and Moulding Set, Red https://amzn.eu/d/66e9gE5

 

[John777]

Thank you @scoates and @ClaytonB, very helpful! Also, what is a fiber stick? Any pictures or where I could buy it? I've done trim tools to remove a radio but nothing with fabrics. Also, what is "massaging"? Is that like a carpet, where you have to try to flatten it out?

Thank you @scoates and @ClaytonB, very helpful! Also, what is a fiber stick? Any pictures or where I could buy it? I've done trim tools to remove a radio but nothing with fabrics. Also, what is "massaging"? Is that like a carpet, where you have to try to flatten it out?

First picture blue stick made out of plastic or fiber of some type ...non marring on surfaces and slides and glides on materials like rubber gaskets. Massaging ..or maybe finesse the rubber to do/go where you want. Where say headliner fabric material meets rubber gasket it needs to go over headliner you would insert fiber stick and smooth out rubber gasket sliding down or up along door opening. Kind off hard to explain. At same time use other hand to guide and squeeze materials into place and the odd time you would need to use bottom of closed hand to tap bump hit into place everything.