Engine radiator burst !!!

[Matt]

While driving my EMRIA very gently for around 6km, it suddenly displayed an overheating warning. When I pulled over, I found the antifreeze coolant had competely leaked out. Calling a tow truck ,taking the car to the LOTUS dealerfor inspection. Upon examination, it was confirmed that the cause was a BURST COOLANT HOSE. The vehicle has had 2 oil changes and 17,000km of safe driving so far.

What exactly caused this issue? Was it a material problem， a design flaw, or an assembly error ?

 

[Emira Fan]

That stinks !

I have a faint coolant smell - seems to be emanating from the upper tank, but no signs leaks. I need to really inspect the hoses.....

 

[Matt]

That stinks !

I have a faint coolant smell - seems to be emanating from the upper tank, but no signs leaks. I need to really inspect the hoses.....

It's best to inspect all coolant-ralated hoses. I believe this is not an isolated case. Maybe I have more miles, so the problem started earlier !

 

[MiamiBlue]

That's quite a catastrophic failure of the hose. It does look like a failure of the hose, rather than an assembly error (which would show by a hose coming loose for example).

17K is quite a high mileage for an Emira. Many will be out of warranty when they hit this figure. Hopefully it's a rare event, and not something we'll start to see in 'higher' mileage cars.

With a sample size of one, you can't draw any conclusions.

 

[Citizen]

Really 17k km feels high for the emira ? This is not a supercar , mine is 20k , should I’ll be worried about next months ?

 

[jp129]

I would suspect a material defect in the hose.

That's an abnormal failure considering cooling systems don't operate with very high pressures, typically 16-21 PSI at most. More so when you did not encounter any other cooling related issues until the hose burst.

It is just a reinforced rubber hose, 17K miles is nothing for its anticipated lifecycle, IMO.

 

[Nova]

This is an I4 right?

 

[frazzer]

I had a fuel leak after a week of sitting in a garage! car has only 4k miles. Car was towed to dealer and fixed a few days ago. V6 FE.

 

[jp129]

I had a fuel leak after a week of sitting in a garage! car has only 4k miles. Car was towed to dealer and fixed a few days ago. V6 FE.

Where or what was the leak identified as? O-ring failure, hose failure, or loosened connection somewhere?

 

[frazzer]

Where or what was the leak identified as? O-ring failure, hose failure, or loosened connection somewhere?

I'll find out more when I pick it up next week, the fix was followed up with a service

 

[ADC]

I would suspect a material defect in the hose.

That's an abnormal failure considering cooling systems don't operate with very high pressures, typically 16-21 PSI at most. More so when you did not encounter any other cooling related issues until the hose burst.

It is just a reinforced rubber hose, 17K miles is nothing for its anticipated lifecycle, IMO.

Agree, though looking at the picture, and the fact the split is lengthways rather than across the hose, makes me wonder if it accidentally got slashed with a box cutter (when unpacking a bunch at the factory).

 

[jp129]

Agree, though looking at the picture, and the fact the split is lengthways rather than across the hose, makes me wonder if it accidentally got slashed with a box cutter (when unpacking a bunch at the factory).

That's a very good theory, very plausible. I don't think I've ever seen hoses burst in that manner organically, but my sample size is small.

Usually it's a small split by outside radiuses or where there's trauma from clamps, chaffing, etc.

 

[Matt]

Really 17k km feels high for the emira ? This is not a supercar , mine is 20k , should I’ll be worried about next months ?

It's best to inspect the condition of the hoses regularly. I believe the hoses come from the same supplier.

 

[Matt]

This is an I4 right?

Yes, AMG M139 4-cylinder engine.

 

[Matt]

The replacement has arrived this moring. Waiting for repairing.

 

[sonor8s]

The lengthwise split is consistent with a pressured-induced failure (the stresses in a pressurized tube are twice circumferentially as compared to longitudinally). It could be due to a material defect or damage induced from handling as some have indicated.

 

[Anothernimbus]

That stinks !

I have a faint coolant smell - seems to be emanating from the upper tank, but no signs leaks. I need to really inspect the hoses.....

I have this faint smell as well. Comes out of the top mesh hole at the back window. The upper tank is right underneath it. Makes me think maybe it’s just a breather as there has been no observable change of the amount of coolant in the tanks. V6 FE

 

[scc.131.fe]

Same thing happened on a heater core hose for my 540i. It was 23 years old though...

 

[Emira Fan]

I have this faint smell as well. Comes out of the top mesh hole at the back window. The upper tank is right underneath it. Makes me think maybe it’s just a breather as there has been no observable change of the amount of coolant in the tanks. V6 FE

{out of the top mesh hole at the back window] ---exactly---

Took the shroud off and checked upper tank's cap, perhaps a breather issue not sure yet. Left a message with the local Lotus dealer to see if they any suggestions. BTW- my upper tank fluid was at the min line, added fluid to the mid point and marked with a sharpie. Going to recheck in a week.