First Emira Breakdown?

[GetawayDriving]

I have no data on this but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that new car issues are up across the board. With belts tightening and supply chain issues lingering globally, many suppliers are probably not producing at top quality. Lotus can triple check every fitting on the line but if a supplier part fails under load, what can they do?

I only hope these are easy fixes, including yours @Lots_Of_Trouble. I will say that if your Elise was reliable and you picked that name, I suppose now you’re earning it. The fact that you didn’t add the last two letters in the acronym gives me hope for a swift resolution.

 

[EspritGuy]

Well, there is some irony in your screen name…

Bold move, but agree.
This is very unfortunate. Hope Lotus rises to the occasion.
Looking forward to your satisfaction.

 

[Leonard]

Is no one going to mention call centre in Athens ..?
Hope the USA members at least get Athens Georgia!

 

[Grumpy]

The power train should be reliable but ancillaries and the ECU’s are unproven. Hopefully it’s just a pipe. It is a small volume hand built car with a new production line and a lot of new staff. I have been in three emiras now and all have return to dealer issues but fairly minor ones. Hopefully this gets sorted but should never of happened. Porsche will never be the same and generally are pretty bulletproof in my fairly broad experience. RSM seals on 996’s and early Boxster were the only significant problem I remember. Lotuses have all had some issues but none that stopped me taking them. No one who knew both companies expected Lotus to deliver Porsche quality in the Emira but that doesn’t mean it’s unacceptable. Hope this I sorted v quickly.

 

[NicolasB]

Go away please. It's not like every car has engine issues. Get your boring R8 or whatever car and stop annoying those who are interested in the Emira.

Just because I am no longer buying doesn't mean I am not interested. I don't think you get to play gate-keeper on the forums, so just ignore my posts and you won't get your (overly sensitive) feelings hurt.

I just feel that almost every member on here with a delivered car is having problems, some fairly major, especially for "the most accurate car ever produced".

 

[Cachaco131]

Just because I am no longer buying doesn't mean I am not interested. I don't think you get to play gate-keeper on the forums, so just ignore my posts and you won't get your (overly sensitive) feelings hurt.

I just feel that almost every member on here with a delivered car is having problems, some fairly major, especially for "the most accurate car ever produced".

"Dodgedabullet" is an incredibly helpful and value added comment. Especially when the engine issue happed to one user so far (that we know about). My sincere apologies.

You do have a PhD in Confirmation Bias. Also a lot of time to "add value " to forums of cars you are not interested in.

 

[TomE]

It’s not almost every member, it’s about 1 in 10. It’s not a great situation, but each problem has been reported by no more than a handful of people. This most recent issue has only been reported by one person.

 

[JohnHoward]

Well,I'm royally pi$$Ed today.
144 miles in and poofff..

Smoke and oil blowing out the back.
Still not gone above 4500 rpm as quoted and this happens.

Yes ,these things happen I'll take that.

But the roadside assistance that followed was pathetic. The call centre is in Athens, they were unable to tell me about the process about how.lotus are going to pick this up or if they will call me or I need to call them.

AA came in an hour to be fair.
Still here,looking at a car that could be off the road for a while....

UPDATE to help possible new owners:
AA chap and Lotus Silverstones early thoughts on the issue:
Engine is most likely not the issue,levels were fine and no leaks from there,no warning light too.

Leaks "seemed" to be gearbox oil related,has happened previously with Toyota parts apparently .

Lotus Silverstone arranging for the car to be picked up from home to Their garage,not sure how long the wait will be yet.

Fingers crossed not too major,but still a blow for one week of ownership....

@Lots_Of_Trouble I thought that Lotus assist used the RAC, but the AA attended? Did you call the AA yourself or has the contract for Lotus assist switched to the AA? It was the RAC when I had my Evora last year, but as my Lotus service centre isn't too far away and they used to send their breakdown truck to come and get the Evora. Thankfully, that never let me down when I was out on the road, just at home, so I never used Lotus assist.

 

[Dommo]

It’s not almost every member, it’s about 1 in 10. It’s not a great situation, but each problem has been reported by no more than a handful of people. This most recent issue has only been reported by one person.

If I have a 1 in 10 chance that my new car will have an issue when it arrives, I'd class that as a REAL problem....and more of a problem is the fact that some of the people reporting issues have now had their cars off the road for weeks.

I personally don't want to wait all this time for my car, which will realistically be nearly 2 years after ordering, to then have it off the road again after only a few days.

We can harp on about Lotus delaying things to sort the problems before delivering the cars but let's be realistic, pretty much every promise made so far has been broken. Why would they change anything now?

There are zero comms, none of the promised monthly updates, regular breakdown stories (including one of the cars I test drove), car niggles -some dangerous, people choosing to hand the car back rather that deal with the hassle. It doesn't make for very appetising reading as someone due to have a car delivered in the next month or two....

 

[Green]

Just because I am no longer buying doesn't mean I am not interested. I don't think you get to play gate-keeper on the forums, so just ignore my posts and you won't get your (overly sensitive) feelings hurt.

I just feel that almost every member on here with a delivered car is having problems, some fairly major, especially for "the most accurate car ever produced".

You might enjoy reading this. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40992058/cadillac-ct5-v-blackwing-engine-failure/

 

[Magma]

You might enjoy reading this. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40992058/cadillac-ct5-v-blackwing-engine-failure/

Seems a bit of "whatabout-ism" going on there. The had issues with the 2014 Stingray tester as well and most Corvette forum members feel the 2014 model is one of the most reliable in the C7 generation. So

Again...is comparing GM to Lotus even a thing? How many Corvettes are produced compared to the Emira? Thousands upon thousands more. The Emira has a much more intimate production line. They've been using the same engine for years.
And then people throw in the C8 issues. It's brand design inside and out and went from front to mid placement. Can we really fairly compare C8's to the Emira?

 

[Hell4Leather]

Seems a bit of "whatabout-ism" going on there. The had issues with the 2014 Stingray tester as well and most Corvette forum members feel the 2014 model is one of the most reliable in the C7 generation. So

Again...is comparing GM to Lotus even a thing? How many Corvettes are produced compared to the Emira? Thousands upon thousands more. The Emira has a much more intimate production line. They've been using the same engine for years.
And then people throw in the C8 issues. It's brand design inside and out and went from front to mid placement. Can we really fairly compare C8's to the Emira?

I’m far enough down the list that the issues will either be ironed out or we’ll find that it’s a conspiracy by the green electric agenda.

 

[Magma]

I’m far enough down the list that the issues will either be ironed out or we’ll find that it’s a conspiracy by the green electric agenda.

That's what I keep telling myself (ironing issues vs the conspiracy theory ). I sure hope so for everyone and Lotus' sake!
Again...I fully agree issues happen with new models. But a company needs to handle them properly too.

 

[NicolasB]

You might enjoy reading this. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40992058/cadillac-ct5-v-blackwing-engine-failure/

Read it a while ago, only known failure of that engine in any vehicle it was used in.

I guess I don't know of everyone on here with an Emira, but I know of quite a few, and I think they all have had issues, some big, some small. Wipers, engine codes, seatbelts, list goes on. Not like we are dealing with a pool of 10,000 cars, just a handful relatively speaking. What would I be doing if I had these problems and my dealer is 4 hours away? Even 2 hours? 1 in 10 is still way too high; unacceptable for 2023 standards of production and manufacturing. I'm not saying any of this because it is Lotus, if it was any brand I would feel the same way.

Paint it in whatever kind of light you want, but they are not off to a good start.

 

[Concept24]

Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia come to mind......

 

[981KMAN]

Long time Porsche owner here with great experiences with Porsche Quality and Service. I'm in line for an Emira, and even though these initial production issues are a concern, especially since my Lotus Dealer is a 2.5 hour drive, I'm staying in-line for my Emira.

No one likes to hear about problems with a car they will be buying, yet it is good to expose them, even if they get blown out of proportion as most issues do on these forums.

Little/minor issues with "Fix yourself" solutions can be noted, and more serious issues can be followed to see if a manufacturer fix has been implemented.

So I'm staying IN, and expecting Lotus to sort things out in 2023. Hopefully sooner than later...

As for the OPs issue. It was stated that it was Gear Oil being dumped, which could get on the hot exhaust and smoke. So the issue may have nothing to do with the Engine, and everything to do with the tranny. Lets wait and see what it really is before making any conclusions on long term Emira quality/reliability.

Drive Safe

 

[Max]

Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia come to mind......

They needed a fair amount of reflashing in the first year (especially the QV) but to their credit, they did iron out the issues. However, they were more like annoyances, not a catastrophic failure. Cars are too complex these days.

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

@Lots_Of_Trouble I thought that Lotus assist used the RAC, but the AA attended? Did you call the AA yourself or has the contract for Lotus assist switched to the AA? It was the RAC when I had my Evora last year, but as my Lotus service centre isn't too far away and they used to send their breakdown truck to come and get the Evora. Thankfully, that never let me down when I was out on the road, just at home, so I never used Lotus assist.

According to Lotus Silverstone to partnership with AA had been in place a while now...not sure how long

 

[NeilS]

Leaks "seemed" to be gearbox oil related,has happened previously with Toyota parts apparently .

Unlike the engine, isn't it the gearbox that Lotus take apart to change the ratios?

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

Unlike the engine, isn't it the gearbox that Lotus take apart to change the ratios?

I was told on a call yesterday that Lotus do not QC check the parts from Toyota,as they expect them to be sealed,tightened etc correctly at source....