Emira Issues - from final production cars

[Lotustoronto]

So now we're bringing our Emira issues to Porsche mechanics because Lotus is too busy to handle warranty work for their loyal first customers?

It's gotta be the thermostat if your coolant levels looks OK. There could still be air in the systems somewhere, but it's likely a failed thermostat and/or sensor.

haha I have to laugh... Bring your Lotus to the Porsche guys to fix. You can't make this stuff up.

 

[shaank]

So now we're bringing our Emira issues to Porsche mechanics because Lotus is too busy to handle warranty work for their loyal first customers?

It's gotta be the thermostat if your coolant levels looks OK. There could still be air in the systems somewhere, but it's likely a failed thermostat and/or sensor.

haha, well, they look after my Porsche so they offered to take a look at the Emira Can't turn them down when Lotus dealership are saying nearly a month wait, not their fault, they are rammed busy - obviously if it's determined parts are needed I'll be using the warranty with Lotus HQ and trying to get them to cover it off that way. Not sure how this will go, but not willing to have an overheating car for weeks on end for something quick and hopefully simple to fix.

 

[shaank]

haha I have to laugh... Bring your Lotus to the Porsche guys to fix. You can't make this stuff up.

I'll actually update my ownership thread with this exact point Gotta entertain the internet right?

 

[Eagle7]

I'd rather they not touch it. That's where the majority of problems come from.

I don't know what can be done in the U.K., but for anyone receiving an Emira in the U.S. who's going to have PPF put on it, or just want to do this themselves, tell your dealer to NOT wash the car when it arrives. Leave it dirty just the way it arrives from Lotus. If you're going to have PPF put on it, they'll know how to properly wash it the first time so as to not put swirl or haze marks in the paint. If you're not getting PPF, and just want to do the first wash yourself, here's what to do and why.

When a car is freshly painted from the factory, it usually sits somewhere outside, or in the U.S. often sits outside or in a rail yard waiting to be loaded onto rail cars to be transported to various depot locations. As it sits in that environment, fine particles of whatever is in the air gets embedded into the soft clear coat on the paint. That can be airborne dust or even sand kicked up by vehicles, trucks, trains, shipyards, etc. All of that gets 'stuck' into the top layer of the clear coat.

That rail dust or environment dust does NOT come off with a simple hose down and soapy wash like you would see done at a dealership. When they wash the car like that and use an orbital polisher to polish it, that's when the fine particulate dust gets picked up from the surface and starts marking the surface. This is where the swirl and hazing marks come from. They create a scatter reflection layer into the clear coat, and when you wax it, now that swirl/haze is under the wax which scatters reflective light and diminishes the depth and color fidelity of the paint underneath. It can be corrected, but only with a lot of work and often having to use a swirl cutter polish which reduces the thickness of the clear coat.

To ensure this does not happen, DO NOT LET THE DEALER WASH THE CAR. To wash the car properly for its first wash, use a hose to rinse off the first immediate layer of dust and/or dirt. Then using soapy water and a cloth washing mitt, wash the surface in long continuous strokes in the same direction across the surfaces of the car. Do NOT swirl or use a circular washing motion. You're only removing the second layer of dust, the third layer which is stuck to the clear coat is still there. Air dry the car or just let it dry naturally.

Now comes the critical part. Using a clay bar (or I guess they now have clay bar gloves) follow the directions to wet the surface accordingly, and do the exact same thing you did with the soapy mitt. Move the bar in long continuous strokes in the same direction across the paint surfaces. This will pull all that particulate out of the surface of the clear coat without putting any swirl or haze marks in it. You don't need to apply pressure, just let the natural weight of the bar rest on the surface as you move it across the paint. You'll feel the bar grabbing initially as it's pulling that stuff out of the surface, but once it does, the bar will start to glide smoothly and easily across the surface. Use a soapy wash/rinse afterwards, dry with a microfiber towel, then apply wax or whatever surface treatment you use. If you're getting PPF, they'll do all that for you so it's done properly.

This may sound like a fair amount of work, and it is initially, but you only have to do it once. It's a one-day activity. This will ensure that your paint looks great for the life of the car as long as you keep it clean and waxed. Since there's no swirl haze on top of it, the paint color will have depth and look great.

 

[Magma]

I don't know what can be done in the U.K., but for anyone receiving an Emira in the U.S. who's going to have PPF put on it, or just want to do this themselves, tell your dealer to NOT wash the car when it arrives. Leave it dirty just the way it arrives from Lotus. If you're going to have PPF put on it, they'll know how to properly wash it the first time so as to not put swirl or haze marks in the paint. If you're not getting PPF, and just want to do the first wash yourself, here's what to do and why.

When a car is freshly painted from the factory, it usually sits somewhere outside, or in the U.S. often sits outside or in a rail yard waiting to be loaded onto rail cars to be transported to various depot locations. As it sits in that environment, fine particles of whatever is in the air gets embedded into the soft clear coat on the paint. That can be airborne dust or even sand kicked up by vehicles, trucks, trains, shipyards, etc. All of that gets 'stuck' into the top layer of the clear coat.

That rail dust or environment dust does NOT come off with a simple hose down and soapy wash like you would see done at a dealership. When they wash the car like that and use an orbital polisher to polish it, that's when the fine particulate dust gets picked up from the surface and starts marking the surface. This is where the swirl and hazing marks come from. They create a scatter reflection layer into the clear coat, and when you wax it, now that swirl/haze is under the wax which scatters reflective light and diminishes the depth and color fidelity of the paint underneath. It can be corrected, but only with a lot of work and often having to use a swirl cutter polish which reduces the thickness of the clear coat.

To ensure this does not happen, DO NOT LET THE DEALER WASH THE CAR. To wash the car properly for its first wash, use a hose to rinse off the first immediate layer of dust and/or dirt. Then using soapy water and a cloth washing mitt, wash the surface in long continuous strokes in the same direction across the surfaces of the car. Do NOT swirl or use a circular washing motion. You're only removing the second layer of dust, the third layer which is stuck to the clear coat is still there. Air dry the car or just let it dry naturally.

Now comes the critical part. Using a clay bar (or I guess they now have clay bar gloves) follow the directions to wet the surface accordingly, and do the exact same thing you did with the soapy mitt. Move the bar in long continuous strokes in the same direction across the paint surfaces. This will pull all that particulate out of the surface of the clear coat without putting any swirl or haze marks in it. You don't need to apply pressure, just let the natural weight of the bar rest on the surface as you move it across the paint. You'll feel the bar grabbing initially as it's pulling that stuff out of the surface, but once it does, the bar will start to glide smoothly and easily across the surface. Use a soapy wash/rinse afterwards, dry with a microfiber towel, then apply wax or whatever surface treatment you use. If you're getting PPF, they'll do all that for you so it's done properly.

This may sound like a fair amount of work, and it is initially, but you only have to do it once. It's a one-day activity. This will ensure that your paint looks great for the life of the car as long as you keep it clean and waxed. Since there's no swirl haze on top of it, the paint color will have depth and look great.

Hey Eagle!
Preaching to the choir here, but all good info.
I do my own detailing and literally have a "DO NOT WASH" hang tag for the rear view mirror just in case I ever need to go to the dealer (which is an absolute rarity!). The hang tag is great because even if you tell them not to wash, many times the message isn't passed down. One poorly executed wash can ruin all the polishing and perfecting you've done, as you know.
There's not much you can do from hands at the factory. But again, I've seen some gnarly paint from cars that never even went to a dealer before delivery. It's quite shocking.

 

[4MIR3]

You are missing iron/fallout remover.

 

[hml_xy]

400km in there is no issues apart from one, I think they forgot to fill up the A/C gas as 16 degrees (C) is the same as ~24, and if you turn the A/C on and off the temp of the airflow doesn’t change, I’ll have them look into it. Apart from that so far no other issues.

This is by the way exactly how I noticed the not working AC. They did a reset of the unit and it came back to life... for about one hour and then it stopped working again. I have to go back to the dealer anyhow (collecting my Evora after annual inspection and getting new CUP2s...) and will leave the Emira with them to sort this out.

 

[EspritGuy]

I've seen many detailing videos of new Porsche's, Ferrari's, Rolls, Bentley's with horrendous paint! Holograms, sanding marks, hidden damage behind factory ppf, clear coat issues, dust nibs, swirl marks, etc. This happens on all new cars. A new car is NEVER perfect.
But, I've also heard so many times people declare their paint is "perfect" and it's swirled to crap. Most just don't know how to properly inspect paint and in the correct lighting.

These comments are concerning. What of the brightly illuminated QC station often shown in production videos, including Harry's?
Are the sharpest eyes not getting a look?
And, remember when we were told of state-of-the-art painting processes?
What is one to believe?

 

[EspritGuy]

I don't know what can be done in the U.K., but for anyone receiving an Emira in the U.S. who's going to have PPF put on it, or just want to do this themselves, tell your dealer to NOT wash the car when it arrives. Leave it dirty just the way it arrives from Lotus. If you're going to have PPF put on it, they'll know how to properly wash it the first time so as to not put swirl or haze marks in the paint. If you're not getting PPF, and just want to do the first wash yourself, here's what to do and why.

When a car is freshly painted from the factory, it usually sits somewhere outside, or in the U.S. often sits outside or in a rail yard waiting to be loaded onto rail cars to be transported to various depot locations. As it sits in that environment, fine particles of whatever is in the air gets embedded into the soft clear coat on the paint. That can be airborne dust or even sand kicked up by vehicles, trucks, trains, shipyards, etc. All of that gets 'stuck' into the top layer of the clear coat.

That rail dust or environment dust does NOT come off with a simple hose down and soapy wash like you would see done at a dealership. When they wash the car like that and use an orbital polisher to polish it, that's when the fine particulate dust gets picked up from the surface and starts marking the surface. This is where the swirl and hazing marks come from. They create a scatter reflection layer into the clear coat, and when you wax it, now that swirl/haze is under the wax which scatters reflective light and diminishes the depth and color fidelity of the paint underneath. It can be corrected, but only with a lot of work and often having to use a swirl cutter polish which reduces the thickness of the clear coat.

To ensure this does not happen, DO NOT LET THE DEALER WASH THE CAR. To wash the car properly for its first wash, use a hose to rinse off the first immediate layer of dust and/or dirt. Then using soapy water and a cloth washing mitt, wash the surface in long continuous strokes in the same direction across the surfaces of the car. Do NOT swirl or use a circular washing motion. You're only removing the second layer of dust, the third layer which is stuck to the clear coat is still there. Air dry the car or just let it dry naturally.

Now comes the critical part. Using a clay bar (or I guess they now have clay bar gloves) follow the directions to wet the surface accordingly, and do the exact same thing you did with the soapy mitt. Move the bar in long continuous strokes in the same direction across the paint surfaces. This will pull all that particulate out of the surface of the clear coat without putting any swirl or haze marks in it. You don't need to apply pressure, just let the natural weight of the bar rest on the surface as you move it across the paint. You'll feel the bar grabbing initially as it's pulling that stuff out of the surface, but once it does, the bar will start to glide smoothly and easily across the surface. Use a soapy wash/rinse afterwards, dry with a microfiber towel, then apply wax or whatever surface treatment you use. If you're getting PPF, they'll do all that for you so it's done properly.

This may sound like a fair amount of work, and it is initially, but you only have to do it once. It's a one-day activity. This will ensure that your paint looks great for the life of the car as long as you keep it clean and waxed. Since there's no swirl haze on top of it, the paint color will have depth and look great.

This is extraordinary helpful. Now, help me understand what Dealer Prep fees are all about? Is this a waste of about $1500?

 

[kitkat]

These comments are concerning. What of the brightly illuminated QC station often shown in production videos, including Harry's?
Are the sharpest eyes not getting a look?
And, remember when we were told of state-of-the-art painting processes?
What is one to believe?

Y’all believed the marketing nonsense?

Automated paint robots aren’t about quality, they’re always been about cost savings.

 

[Magma]

These comments are concerning. What of the brightly illuminated QC station often shown in production videos, including Harry's?
Are the sharpest eyes not getting a look?
And, remember when we were told of state-of-the-art painting processes?
What is one to believe?

Clean paint can look deceivingly good, especially on camera. It takes certain angles to see the swirls, sanding marks and holograms, etc on new paint because the clear coat hasn't been degraded by oxidation. It is glossy which can mask the issues.
I literally parked next to an older goldish colored truck yesterday that looked like they washed it with brillo pads on a regular basis. From an angle, in the sun, the entire side was scratched up. Straight on, the scratches were not so obvious, but the paint still didn't have depth to it.
Some people can't look beyond the gloss. But once you start seeing the swirls and spider webbing, you'll never unsee it.

 

[NeilS]

This is the post we'd hoped wouldn't be needed. We collected the car from the factory last Friday and with the exception of the known wiper problem we loved the first 400 miles. Then the sun came out and it was apparent the air conditioning simply doesn't work, not even slightly. After thirteen attempts to contact Lotus they said take it to a dealer. We don't have a nearby dealer so after more arguing they agreed to send an AA technician who also confirmed the air conditioning doesn't work. Again told to take to a dealer. The factory collection was a great experience but to be charged more to collect a faulty car and then to be offered no support has somewhat ruined the experience. I wonder how many cars collected during the winter don't have functioning air conditioning.

 

[VL3X]

This is the post we'd hoped wouldn't be needed. We collected the car from the factory last Friday and with the exception of the known wiper problem we loved the first 400 miles. Then the sun came out and it was apparent the air conditioning simply doesn't work, not even slightly. After thirteen attempts to contact Lotus they said take it to a dealer. We don't have a nearby dealer so after more arguing they agreed to send an AA technician who also confirmed the air conditioning doesn't work. Again told to take to a dealer. The factory collection was a great experience but to be charged more to collect a faulty car and then to be offered no support has somewhat ruined the experience. I wonder how many cars collected during the winter don't have functioning air conditioning.

Sorry to read this! We have had some others report faulty A/C systems, so you're not alone.

 

[digilotus]

I’m curious to find out what the root cause of these AC issues is as it seems there’s a pattern here. I suspect it’s a gas leak due to a poorly tightened fitting on the high pressure pipe work that leaks when the AC is first used under pressure. Sometimes the leak is slow and sometimes it’s faster.

Had the same issue occur in a brand new Mazda. A few o-rings and gas re-pressurisation later it was back to normal and cooling fine. I doubt it would be anything with the Denso AC compressor as they tend to be bullet proof.

 

[NeilS]

Sorry to read this! We have had some others report faulty A/C systems, so you're not alone.

It's such a shame because otherwise the car is amazing.

 

[VL3X]

It's such a shame because otherwise the car is amazing.

Keep us posted and good luck! Hopefully it's an easy fix (whenever you eventually get someone to look at it).

 

[shaank]

Not tried my Aircon in the 5 months I've had it. Scotland and all... I'll test tomorrow just to report back.

 

[VL3X]

Not tried my Aircon in the 5 months I've had it. Scotland and all... I'll test tomorrow just to report back.

Aircon should also come on automatically with the front defogger by default. I wonder if this is why some have reported issues with that too...

 

[dgrace]

Has anyone generated a delivery checklist, i.e. things to go over before accepting delivery? The wiper one would be tough to verify, but turning on the A/C should be doable. The rusty brakes were hopefully limited to that batch that was stored at BCA for weeks. Paint inspection maybe? (turn on phone flashlight and check surface for swirls)

 

[TomE]

Has anyone generated a delivery checklist, i.e. things to go over before accepting delivery? The wiper one would be tough to verify, but turning on the A/C should be doable. The rusty brakes were hopefully limited to that batch that was stored at BCA for weeks. Paint inspection maybe? (turn on phone flashlight and check surface for swirls)

You can go back to post #1 for a list of issues to check.

I need to review issues reported in the last week and update it.