Emira Issues - from final production cars

[shaank]

Thanks for the update. Do you mean the thermostat or some sort of fan control unit?

Fan controller unit on the back of the main fan, seems to be the brains of what is / isn't working up front re the cooling.

Could be as simple as lose wiring inside it I guess, as it works sometimes.

 

[Concept24]

If the fan turns on when power is applied, wouldn't there be a temperature switch/relay that send power to the fan when necessary?
Perhaps the box on the back of the fan has a built in temperature sensor? I think that is unlikely, however.

 

[Wolverine]

250 miles in ....

ECU error
Tyre Warning indicator
A/C stopped working
Brake light failure
Condensation in rear lights cluster
Coolant hose leak
Fast wiper issue
Paint issues

This feels like a challenging ownership prospect .....

So update ...

Car has been with B&C for a week now. Seem to have a backlog of Emiras.

Everything fixed with exception of A/C where a pressure sensor has failed - Lotus saying they can't get a part till near end of the month!

The big potential issue, however, is the coolant leak. According to B&C they think this should be fixed under warranty, as car has only done 275 miles. However, Lotus are trying to wriggle their way out and claim it was a stone chip which caused the issue. B&C don't agree but are fighting my corner ... lets hope Lotus do the right thing here.

 

[VL3X]

Lotus are trying to wriggle their way out and claim it was a stone chip

Wow, that's completely unacceptable. Terrible way to operate a business by treating an early (or any) customer that way, especially with a car at this price point!

 

[Wonza]

So update ...

Car has been with B&C for a week now. Seem to have a backlog of Emiras.

Everything fixed with exception of A/C where a pressure sensor has failed - Lotus saying they can't get a part till near end of the month!

The big potential issue, however, is the coolant leak. According to B&C they think this should be fixed under warranty, as car has only done 275 miles. However, Lotus are trying to wriggle their way out and claim it was a stone chip which caused the issue. B&C don't agree but are fighting my corner ... lets hope Lotus do the right thing here.

Would you mind sharing what paint issue you got? I got some bubbling/spots on the drivers door on my list.

 

[Concept24]

So update ...

Car has been with B&C for a week now. Seem to have a backlog of Emiras.

Everything fixed with exception of A/C where a pressure sensor has failed - Lotus saying they can't get a part till near end of the month!

The big potential issue, however, is the coolant leak. According to B&C they think this should be fixed under warranty, as car has only done 275 miles. However, Lotus are trying to wriggle their way out and claim it was a stone chip which caused the issue. B&C don't agree but are fighting my corner ... lets hope Lotus do the right thing here.

I recommend that you take photos showing that there is no damage.

 

[Wolverine]

Would you mind sharing what paint issue you got? I got some bubbling/spots on the drivers door on my list.

The majority of paint issues were a result of a poor PDI. PDI was done by BCA and apparently I am told they used one of those squeegee type cleaners to dry the car ... which caused alot of the scratches. However, on top of that, the car was machine polished very badly (I presume at factory) ... holograms, over-burning edges, sanding marks etc. But there was some paint issues too but to be fair minor ... there was a paint drip at the bottom side panel and the edges of the bonnet and wing were missing laquer ... which made it more difficult to apply PPF. The paint is alos very soft, especially the black pack roof if you went for that option - scratches very easily even when drying with a microfibre cloth (hence why I applied PPF to that area too).

Hope that helps.

 

[Wonza]

The majority of paint issues were a result of a poor PDI. PDI was done by BCA and apparently I am told they used one of those squeegee type cleaners to dry the car ... which caused alot of the scratches. However, on top of that, the car was machine polished very badly (I presume at factory) ... holograms, over-burning edges, sanding marks etc. But there was some paint issues too but to be fair minor ... there was a paint drip at the bottom side panel and the edges of the bonnet and wing were missing laquer ... which made it more difficult to apply PPF. The paint is alos very soft, especially the black pack roof if you went for that option - scratches very easily even when drying with a microfibre cloth (hence why I applied PPF to that area too).

Hope that helps.

Thank you

 

[NicolasB]

The majority of paint issues were a result of a poor PDI. PDI was done by BCA and apparently I am told they used one of those squeegee type cleaners to dry the car ... which caused alot of the scratches. However, on top of that, the car was machine polished very badly (I presume at factory) ... holograms, over-burning edges, sanding marks etc. But there was some paint issues too but to be fair minor ... there was a paint drip at the bottom side panel and the edges of the bonnet and wing were missing laquer ... which made it more difficult to apply PPF. The paint is alos very soft, especially the black pack roof if you went for that option - scratches very easily even when drying with a microfibre cloth (hence why I applied PPF to that area too).

Hope that helps.

That sounds like a nightmare for a brand new car; even if it was a Toyota Camry I would be very displeased.

 

[Eagle7]

The majority of paint issues were a result of a poor PDI. PDI was done by BCA and apparently I am told they used one of those squeegee type cleaners to dry the car ... which caused alot of the scratches. However, on top of that, the car was machine polished very badly (I presume at factory) ... holograms, over-burning edges, sanding marks etc. But there was some paint issues too but to be fair minor ... there was a paint drip at the bottom side panel and the edges of the bonnet and wing were missing laquer ... which made it more difficult to apply PPF. The paint is alos very soft, especially the black pack roof if you went for that option - scratches very easily even when drying with a microfibre cloth (hence why I applied PPF to that area too).

Hope that helps.

This is exactly why I don't want a dealer doing the first important wash of the car. Either I'll do it myself or let the PPF guys do it along with paint correction.

 

[Mh59]

Update on this for the benefit of those noting the brake issue.

I received my car back yesterday, 24th January (it was taken in on January 9th).

Parts replaced;

Oxygen sensor (I’m not sure if this is also known as the knock sensor) which was to help fix the juddering. Not 100% certain it’s fixed yet but I’ve only done a few short journeys so hard to be sure either way.

Rear KEF speaker behind driver seat. No heavy vibrations now. Audio remains underwhelming but I’ve noted others saying radio / Bluetooth streaming is poor compared to physically plugging in so will hold out hope this is the case, albeit not ideal as I would typically stream audio via BT.

Engine management / emissions light. Was reset but remains illuminated after driving away from the dealership. Due to be corrected once software update available. Interested how this isn’t affecting all others from the first batches but nothing overly concerning.

Tracker replaced on day 2. Not worth the money. Anyone who has one can see for themselves it will be out in less than 10 seconds. It’s not hidden or behind the dash / console as anticipated (I’ll not disclose its location for obvious reasons). Still unable to find anyone who has push notifications working. Email to lotus cc pending reply as scorpion said they couldn’t help beyond confirming all my settings were correct.

Front Brake disks were corroded (a shock to me and the lotus engineers at the dealership) and the pads had fractured in places. Very alarming as I hadn’t noticed and wouldn’t have if it wasn’t in for the above issues. This is what took over 2 weeks to resolve. After week 1, central said they’d take some from the production line and send them to the dealer. The dealer got a call the day after to say they’d changed their mind and now had no idea when they’d send them. Another week later, they had arrived and promptly fitted. 15 days without the car though due to a lack of consumable parts that central were not prepared to take from stock.

Needless to say I’m not overly happy but I’ll leave the emotion out of it with the above simply to let interested folk know how it panned out in case similar technical issues occur for others.

Short update re the corroded front brake discs and pads that were replaced. My dealer sent pics of my rears in to Lotus central as they were also rusty and squeaking almost every time I braked. They are also being replaced now.

The front replacements have been on for a couple of months now and appear to be in good condition still.

 

[Wolverine]

Wow, that's completely unacceptable. Terrible way to operate a business by treating an early (or any) customer that way, especially with a car at this price point!

So good news … car all fixed under warranty.

A/C fault was a broken pin in the connector - some monkey at the factory must have bent and broken the pin.

Coolant leak - now this is potentially more serious issue for everyone on here … my coolant radiators were damaged. Now either these were stones in which case this is a major design fault issue or were again damaged during build at factory.

Fast wash wipe - still no fix for this although was told as long as you dont put it in auto / intermittent you can put it straight into fast mode and should work.

 

[Eagle7]

So good news … car all fixed under warranty.

A/C fault was a broken pin in the connector - some monkey at the factory must have bent and broken the pin.

Coolant leak - now this is potentially more serious issue for everyone on here … my coolant radiators were damaged. Now either these were stones in which case this is a major design fault issue or were again damaged during build at factory.

Fast wash wipe - still no fix for this although was told as long as you dont put it in auto / intermittent you can put it straight into fast mode and should work.

Which coolant radiator was damaged, or was it more than one? There are mesh screens in front of all the radiators in the front, so stones shouldn't be able to get through, unless one punched through the mesh, in which case you'd see the hole in the mesh. If that happened, unless they replaced the mesh screen too, you should still be able to see where a stone got through.

 

[kitkat]

So good news … car all fixed under warranty.

A/C fault was a broken pin in the connector - some monkey at the factory must have bent and broken the pin.

Coolant leak - now this is potentially more serious issue for everyone on here … my coolant radiators were damaged. Now either these were stones in which case this is a major design fault issue or were again damaged during build at factory.

Fast wash wipe - still no fix for this although was told as long as you dont put it in auto / intermittent you can put it straight into fast mode and should work.

Got any pictures of the damaged radiators?

 

[Wolverine]

I forgot to take a photo but they looked pretty bad - clearly damaged in a number of spots. You are correct that the mesh should have stopped any stones but i believe there is also vent behind the front wheel. I should have taken more notes but was in a rush and just relieved all fixed and under warranty.

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

Here is one issue that is not an issue, just an unfortunate human error.

Last week I talked to a customer that was getting his Emira delivered, and to his surprise the car had fitted 3 Michelin and 1 Goodyear.

Easy solved on the spot, I understand shit happens, we are all humans after all.
I was traveling at that moment, stopped the car immediately and checked that I had 4 Goodyears.

I would have never thought about checking all tires on delivery, but I am guessing that somewhere in the World there could be one Emira with 3 Goodyears and 1 Michelin.

I guess this is better than receiving the car with only 3 wheels

I am aware that Emira haters on this Forum are going to take this to a level of shit show from Lotus, but I thought I should post this, just in case any of you got wrong tires without realizing.

 

[Wonza]

Here is one issue that is not an issue, just an unfortunate human error.

Last week I talked to a customer that was getting his Emira delivered, and to his surprise the car had fitted 3 Michelin and 1 Goodyear.

Easy solved on the spot, I understand shit happens, we are all humans after all.
I was traveling at that moment, stopped the car immediately and checked that I had 4 Goodyears.

I would have never thought about checking all tires on delivery, but I am guessing that somewhere in the World there could be one Emira with 3 Goodyears and 1 Michelin.

I guess this is better than receiving the car with only 3 wheels

I am aware that Emira haters on this Forum are going to take this to a level of shit show from Lotus, but I thought I should post this, just in case any of you got wrong tires without realizing.

Pretty certain that owners who have problems are not haters. We just want our Emira fixed so we can drive the dam thing.

Incidentally since you mentioned tyres. I had a vibration in the steering wheel and cockpit. Dealer said there’s no problem with my steering, brakes or wheels. Guess what, it turned out to be a flat spot in one of the Good year tyres. Most people thought I was imagining things or never driven a hydraulic steering feel. Turns out I was right all along.

 

[VL3X]

Pretty certain that owners who have problems are not haters. We just want our Emira fixed so we can drive the dam thing.

Exactly this. It's a $100k exotic sportscar and a lot of us have been saving years for our dream car. We're paying customers, not QA test dummies. I expect my wipers to work and tires to match.

 

[Shahaf2911]

Just an update, the dealer told me the A/C is fixed, trying to understand what was the issue, my family will take it tomorrow as I already left Italy. Once I’ll know what was the cause I’ll update accordingly. They did tell me they worked with Lotus UK to understand and solve the problem meaning they know what the issue is. @hml_xy

 

[Wolverine]

Just an update, the dealer told me the A/C is fixed, trying to understand what was the issue, my family will take it tomorrow as I already left Italy. Once I’ll know what was the cause I’ll update accordingly. They did tell me they worked with Lotus UK to understand and solve the problem meaning they know what the issue is. @hml_xy

The most common issue I am told is the pressure sensor for the A/C unit.. seems a known issue.