Paint blistering on the Rear Quarter Panel...!!! Am I the first??

[Man.v.Cars]

The panels are manufactured and coated with conductive primer in Portugal by Teijin Automotive Technologies, a Japanese company.

The SMC raw material (sheet molded compound) is made in Teijin's factory in France before being shipped to Portugal.

Teijin is providing the doors, rear quarter panels, and the inner, outer and lower shells of the tailgate.

So all the panels that are failing.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

So all the panels that are failing.

Looks like it. I haven't heard of blistering on the front panels or the hood/bonnet. Suggests there is a manufacturing/storage/handling issue at Teijin rather than a problem with the way Lotus paints them. Also raises doubts about whether a repaint actually solves the underlying problem.

 

[Man.v.Cars]

Looks like it. I haven't heard of blistering on the front panels or the hood/bonnet. Suggests there is a manufacturing/storage/handling issue at Teijin rather than a problem with the way Lotus paints them. Also raises doubts about whether a repaint actually solves the underlying problem.

I spoke with the paint shop yesterday to book my car in and was informed that it was a problem with the base primer used. I would assume they would have been delivered to Lotus with a primer/sealer.

I've posted on another thread how my daily, a Toyota IQ/Scion, had a similar problem. White pearlescent painted cars of 2009 had an incorrect base primer applied that resulted in paint bubbling and lifting. The difference being it took about 7 years for it to come to light. Pics attached. Toyota US resprayed, Toyota UK said tough unless you'd always had the car serviced with them. The panels were steel not composite.

 

[freefall_junkie]

I spoke with the paint shop yesterday to book my car in and was informed that it was a problem with the base primer used. I would assume they would have been delivered to Lotus with a primer/sealer.

This tallies with what we've heard from a couple of other sources. It sounds like Lotus have improved the drainage of the doors on later cars, but the root cause seems to be faulty primer/sealer. What no one seems to know, including the dealers, is whether all cars before a certain build date are affected or just some batches. No one except Lotus of course and annoying they are not doing the right thing and recalling all affected cars. I have a November 22 build car. No blisters so far but I'd really like to know either that it is not affected, or if it is that it will be fixed within the warranty period.

 

[Nick Sticks]

This tallies with what we've heard from a couple of other sources. It sounds like Lotus have improved the drainage of the doors on later cars, but the root cause seems to be faulty primer/sealer. What no one seems to know, including the dealers, is whether all cars before a certain build date are affected or just some batches. No one except Lotus of course and annoying they are not doing the right thing and recalling all affected cars. I have a November 22 build car. No blisters so far but I'd really like to know either that it is not affected, or if it is that it will be fixed within the warranty period.

It's been posted on this forum back in July that modified doors have been fitted since 14/06/2023. The later specification doors have a black/blue primer on the inside. If it's white primer you have the older doors.
I had a Lotus employee say this to me also in September.

The post is here:

Poll for Those with Paint Blistering / Bubbling Defect

So cars booked in 29th July, first service £430 and then getting both doors replaced for the blistering. Also had quote for the car getting paint correction and ceramic coated again and lotus have agreed to cover cost and pay invoice issued to them. Car likely be with them 1-2 weeks and been...

www.emiraforum.com

 

[NigeT]

It's been posted on this forum back in July that modified doors have been fitted since 14/06/2023. The later specification doors have a black/blue primer on the inside. If it's white primer you have the older doors.
I had a Lotus employee say this to me also in September.

The post is here:

Poll for Those with Paint Blistering / Bubbling Defect

So cars booked in 29th July, first service £430 and then getting both doors replaced for the blistering. Also had quote for the car getting paint correction and ceramic coated again and lotus have agreed to cover cost and pay invoice issued to them. Car likely be with them 1-2 weeks and been...

www.emiraforum.com

Is there any way to tell from the outside of the door ?

 

[Nick Sticks]

Is there any way to tell from the outside of the door ?

The only way I could "easily" tell was to fully open the door and look at the drain hole at the very front bottom. By shining a light into the hole you can just about see the primer. On my 1st November 2023 build car it looks like it's the darker blue/black primer.
You may be able to see something (as the poster of that other post said) if you look down through where the glass goes but I couldn't.

 

[Rupes]

Has anyone with an older build date confirmed the primer inside the drain hole has a different look than the pic above?

I thought I remembered someone saying the white primer was the “newer” version too. So much speculation…hard to know what’s true.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

annoying they are not doing the right thing and recalling all affected cars.

Totally agree, but there's no way it will ever happen because it would destroy Lotus financially.

There would be over 2,000 pre-June 2023 cars they'd have to recall. Presumably to do it properly they'd need to remove, replace, paint and reinstall every Teijin panel on those cars . . . MASSIVE cost. Not happening.

I fear that their strategy will be to deal with cars on a case by case basis and hope that most of the blistering issues don't occur until after the warranty period.

 

[NigeT]

The only way I could "easily" tell was to fully open the door and look at the drain hole at the very front bottom. By shining a light into the hole you can just about see the primer. On my 1st November 2023 build car it looks like it's the darker blue/black primer.
You may be able to see something (as the poster of that other post said) if you look down through where the glass goes but I couldn't.
View attachment 53190

Thanks. I just looked at mine with a torch and mirror as far as I can see it looks black/dark inside. Mine left production 14th June 23. So perhaps just on the cusp of when new doors were fitted. But there are reports on here of blistering issues after that date anyway.

 

[Man.v.Cars]

Totally agree, but there's no way it will ever happen because it would destroy Lotus financially.

There would be over 2,000 pre-June 2023 cars they'd have to recall. Presumably to do it properly they'd need to remove, replace, paint and reinstall every Teijin panel on those cars . . . MASSIVE cost. Not happening.

I fear that their strategy will be to deal with cars on a case by case basis and hope that most of the blistering issues don't occur until after the warranty period.

Youre forgetting that the fault is from the supplier, they would be liable for all costs associated with replacements.

 

[Beardedbradley]

I had a car loaned to me by Lotus, V6 manual registration on 24plate build date unknown. It only had 300miles when I collected it but I had to wait as it was having its doors replaced

 

[Man.v.Cars]

Just had this back from Lotus CS, confirmed 5 yr paint warranty. Pretty difficult for Lotus to get out of an employee working in customer service confirming the warranty.

 

[Rainier]

Just had this back from Lotus CS, confirmed 5 yr paint warranty. Pretty difficult for Lotus to get out of an employee working in customer service confirming the warranty.

Warrantee for pain ? I guess that covers anything that can go wrong...

 

[Nick Sticks]

Just had this back from Lotus CS, confirmed 5 yr paint warranty. Pretty difficult for Lotus to get out of an employee working in customer service confirming the warranty.

Freudian slip: "warranty pain"

Warrantee for pain ? I guess that covers anything that can go wrong...

Just what I was going to say!

 

[freefall_junkie]

Just had this back from Lotus CS, confirmed 5 yr paint warranty. Pretty difficult for Lotus to get out of an employee working in customer service confirming the warranty.

Lotus CS need to get their story straight. I asked about this a couple of months back, they went away and consulted their warranty department who confirmed 'definitively' that the paint warranty is 3 years not 5. This type of inconsistency from Lotus CS is maddening. I am going to ask them again.

 

[Nick Sticks]

Lotus CS need to get their story straight. I asked about this a couple of months back, they went away and consulted their warranty department who confirmed 'definitively' that the paint warranty is 3 years not 5. This type of inconsistency from Lotus CS is maddening. I am going to ask them again.

That email above from CS is quoting the Lotus website:

Lotus Cars Official Site

www.lotuscars.com

 

[Rupes]

3 year paint warranty in the US and 5 in the UK is my understanding.

 

[Speedy Emira]

Tomorrow I collect my car and will see if I can take a photo of the drain hole area and see if I can identify the colour on the new doors.

 

[Man.v.Cars]

That email above from CS is quoting the Lotus website:

Lotus Cars Official Site

www.lotuscars.com

I went to that page to look for the info and didn't see that hence my email to Lotus CS. I'm either blind, can't read, dumb or it wasn't there when I looked..