Emira Issues - from final production cars

[Markc]

Yes, there have been some reports from test drives of transmission noise at low revs in 1st/2nd - a slightly mechanical or agricultural sound. Apparently not as loud as on the Evora and not affecting every car.

It's a key thing I want to check on my test drive, as I have it on my Evora and although it's not a fault it is slightly annoying. I hoped it would be fixed for the Emira but I guess there is the same inherent challenge of an engine, clutch, gearbox and transmission made up of parts that weren't originally designed to be integrated together.

I haven't seen any reports of it from customers, so am holding back from adding it to the table at the moment.

Mine sounds like chains being dragged in first and second. I thought this was a recognised feature?

 

[Markc]

Mine sounds like chains being dragged in first and second. I thought this was a recognised feature?

I will try and get a recording and see what people think

 

[Dommo]

Mine sounds like chains being dragged in first and second. I thought this was a recognised feature?

Without wanting to move off topic, can I ask if these niggles are starting to detract from the ownership enjoyment?

There's always a bit of a honeymoon period but it would be good to know if you still LOVE the car despite its flaws...

 

[1stczechemira]

Without wanting to move off topic, can I ask if these niggles are starting to detract from the ownership enjoyment?

There's always a bit of a honeymoon period but it would be good to know if you still LOVE the car despite its flaws...

Definitely YES, I love the Emira despite a few problems described in this thread. It's a fantastic sports car. As an early adopter (first car in our country) I expected there would be some problems, especially with a small series car.

 

[Markc]

Without wanting to move off topic, can I ask if these niggles are starting to detract from the ownership enjoyment?

There's always a bit of a honeymoon period but it would be good to know if you still LOVE the car despite its flaws...

Still honeymoon period . I appreciate that as one of the first cars there will be some minor niggles. What will piss me off is, if Lotus/dealer messes me about when they try and address the issues. For this reason I’ve held off getting the door seal done until they have a recognised fix.

 

[Dommo]

Still honeymoon period . I appreciate that as one of the first cars there will be some minor niggles. What will piss me off is, if Lotus/dealer messes me about when they try and address the issues. For this reason I’ve held off getting the door seal done until they have a recognised fix.

I'll be watching your progress on this as I get closer to my Feb/March delivery slot . Thanks for the keeping the rest of us in the 'waiting room' up to date on the realtime ownership!

 

[hml_xy]

Yep, the Rybrook Birmingham demonstrator had it - both the Rybrook rep, Charlie, and I commented up it. I am not concerned particularly by it as it was only noticable (and even then, not very loud) at low revs/speed.

Its only present at low revs and only when loading throttle. Not present when lightly brushing throttle on some cars. That was also exactly the same on the old E cars.

 

[Leonard]

Its only present at low revs and only when loading throttle. Not present when lightly brushing throttle on some cars. That was also exactly the same on the old E cars.

I think this one can probably just be reassigned to the 'character' category. Unless some cars are considerably worse than others?

 

[Grumpy]

Ok, I kept quiet about this one due to the overall heated atmosphere and my long established dedication to the brand - I just want the guys at Hethel to be succesful. Also because I think that negative news travel too fast compared to positives in this world.

But now I decided it might be important for the statistics and hopefully Lotus reads this and takes consequences at some point.

Since the 2nd day after delivery (!) my passenger side door does not open anymore. I mean - not at all! Not from the inside or the outside. As if the lock mechanism is broken. You can still hear the mechanical sound of the lock when unlocking/locking. But the inside- or outside door handles just don't open the door.

Brought the car back to dealer on day five (after enjoying the rest of the car for few more days) because I had 3 weeks vacation planned anyhow.

For sure the dealer would be able to fix it in the meantime and no big thing for me because I am away anyhow. Ok, not sure how to reach the inner mechanics of the door when you can't open it. First feedback from Lotus: remove the inner door panel to fix lock mechanics. But how to remove if the door panel is blocked by the seat, sills, cockpit...and the door itself?!! Did they forget, the problem was that we can't open the door!

Guess they somehow managed to remove the panel since I got feedback from the poor dealer that they ordered a spare part about two weeks ago. Which still hasn't arrived! I'm returning mid this week from vacation and I'll be really p*ssed if I can't collect the car right on the next day.

It is pretty normal that these things can happen on new cars, new models especially. Even more so in the first few early cars being delivered and well, yes I have to say it: I knew what I was getting into. Its not my first Lotus, I have heard all the stories since years. It was my decision because of love for the brand. I mean, at the moment I still own four (too many) of their cars, all of them excellent driver entertainment creators! So I knew what I was getting myself into.

Reporting a faulty door lock is just for the statistic and not a problem. All manufacturers have these kind of issues.

Not walking down to the factory floor and taking a spare part out of one of those now famous cardboard boxes if its not available inside the famously "full warehouses" is just a sign of how bad out of shape this part of Lotus as a company is. How is this case not a high priority for them? A new early adopter customer car being stranded for several weeks at the dealer.

Because first it was parked for three weeks due to what turned out to be the servo pump callback. Now another three weeks to sort a broken lock... have any of you followed the McLaren door debacle on their forums?

Not to mention the safety issue of not being able to open a door -at all-.

I won't make that post any longer but I hope I can come back to this thread in a few days and report that they fixed it just in time for my return.

PS: I said it before - no fault whatsoever for my dealer! The guys are doing everything they can and communicate in the best way possible and go out of their ways to do everything right. Literally the best car dealership experience I ever had. It's Lotus who are messing this up.

When my Lotus Elise 240 Final Edition was delivered a year ago, I thought it was better quality than my previous Elise and had heard that these final editions would get lots of love and attention as the last ones. Myself an a mate jumped in to go to Goodwood, arrived and he couldnt get out, the interior handle hand never been connected….. sounds like passenger doors are a “feature”

 

[hml_xy]

I think this one can probably just be reassigned to the 'character' category. Unless some cars are considerably worse than others?

I agree and see it as character, even somewhat enjoy the fact that it has trades of the old generation cars. Others may not agree.

How was the testdrive (another thread probably...)?

 

[hml_xy]

Quick update on my passenger door:

Parts have arrived, dealer immediately reached out and started fixing. They will also replace something inside the driver side door to prevent it from happening there. When I asked they said "some plastic part inside the lock broke". I might find out more when collecting the car.

 

[Markc]

Quick update on my passenger door:

Parts have arrived, dealer immediately reached out and started fixing. They will also replace something inside the driver side door to prevent it from happening there. When I asked they said "some plastic part inside the lock broke". I might find out more when collecting the car.

This sounds v promising

 

[Grumpy]

Plastic in the lock.. Id better dig out that wheelclamp

 

[hml_xy]

Plastic in the lock.. Id better dig out that wheelclamp

I get what you're saying, but in all fairness I've seen plenty of plastic parts in door handle / locking mechanism on other cars before.

Good news is I'll be picking up my car tomorrow morning! Can't wait after being separated for nearly a month now (party due to the excellent vacation me and my fiance where treating ourselves to 🏝)

 

[TomE]

I've updated the info in post #1 to included the door lock issue (remember this has only been reported on one door on one car so far). I've also added a post #2 with some items reported that are features of the car rather than faults.

So far it appears dealers are acting promptly on items reported to them during customer handover and post delivery.

 

[hml_xy]

I can also report that my dealer told me today that Lotus send people over to inspect the issue in person! It seemed to have grabbed quite some attention according to them.

Picked her up today with the Elan

 

[Tonyshepp]

Agree there’s going to be issues, it’s the speed and determination that these get resolved and it appears Lotus are focussing on improving quality.

 

[FarmerJ]

Hi all!
Received my Emira a couple of weeks ago, first proper drive and the Engine Light comes on….

“reduced acceleration” comes up if you try and put your foot down.

Lotus have said they know about an issue and the solution is a software update, which apparently is now ready… BUT, the software to get the update onto the car is broken, so they are hoping to have a fix in the next 7 days.

I also get a SOS error message come up but I believe that’s because the car lives underground when not driving so it can’t get a signal. It seems to only go off after at least an hour outside but the warning triangle can pop up again.

 

[digilotus]

Hi all!
Received my Emira a couple of weeks ago, first proper drive and the Engine Light comes on….

“reduced acceleration” comes up if you try and put your foot down.

Lotus have said they know about an issue and the solution is a software update, which apparently is now ready… BUT, the software to get the update onto the car is broken, so they are hoping to have a fix in the next 7 days.

I also get a SOS error message come up but I believe that’s because the car lives underground when not driving so it can’t get a signal. It seems to only go off after at least an hour outside but the warning triangle can pop up again.

View attachment 19858
View attachment 19859
View attachment 19860

The SOS system is integrated with cellular mobile, so if the car is underground without mobile signal, then it gives a warning that SOS is not available in case it is a hardware error. I guess the message could be a bit clearer..

 

[TomE]

Hi all!
Received my Emira a couple of weeks ago, first proper drive and the Engine Light comes on….

“reduced acceleration” comes up if you try and put your foot down.

Lotus have said they know about an issue and the solution is a software update, which apparently is now ready… BUT, the software to get the update onto the car is broken, so they are hoping to have a fix in the next 7 days.

I also get a SOS error message come up but I believe that’s because the car lives underground when not driving so it can’t get a signal. It seems to only go off after at least an hour outside but the warning triangle can pop up again.

View attachment 19858
View attachment 19859
View attachment 19860

Welcome to the forum @FarmerJ and congratulations on being one of the early Emira customers. It would be great if you could post a bit more about the car, your car history and impressions of delivery and first weeks of ownership over on the Introductions sub-forum:

New Member Introductions

New to EmiraForum.com? Post up a quick introduction in here

www.emiraforum.com

Thanks for the info about the engine light warning. Good that it's already known about and has a solution, bad that they let cars out to customers with a known issue and that they can't currently deliver a fix. One of the downsides of not having an Over The Air capability on the car is that software updates are going to involve a trip to the dealer. For a lot of people that will mean a long trip.

There have been a couple of reported examples of the engine light, both on UK dealer demo cars, so I'll add your info to the table on post #1. Please keep us updated about the fix and any further info from Lotus on causes.

The SOS warning hasn't been reported before. Underground parking is likely to be the main factor but it should reconnect quicker than that once above ground.