Poll for Those with Paint Blistering / Bubbling Defect

[Speedy Emira]

Just changed my vote!

After 1.5 years of ownership I now have the blistering paint on both doors - see attached pics of passenger door, which is far worse.

Build date as per certificate is 10th October 2022!

Car was delivered in Dec 2022, then fully PPF'd, only covered 4081 miles, is always garaged, not used in the wet, last washed 3 weeks ago, which has more than likely delayed the appearance.

Went for a drive in the sunny weather last Wednesday (17th July) - The blistering wasn't there when we set off but was there 5hrs later...

Dealer wanted to see the car. They will replace both doors and cover the cost of the whole PPF to be redone pending Lotus approval.
But, I'm number 39 in the queue at my dealer, so 6+ month wait, plus I'll lose the use of the car again for a while, plus my time and fuel driving it back and forth...

Pissed off is an understatement

I feel you pain and have now been waiting 3 months.
What dealer are you using?

 

[kitkat]

Just changed my vote!

After 1.5 years of ownership I now have the blistering paint on both doors - see attached pics of passenger door, which is far worse.

Build date as per certificate is 10th October 2022!

Car was delivered in Dec 2022, then fully PPF'd, only covered 4081 miles, is always garaged, not used in the wet, last washed 3 weeks ago, which has more than likely delayed the appearance.

Went for a drive in the sunny weather last Wednesday (17th July) - The blistering wasn't there when we set off but was there 5hrs later...

Dealer wanted to see the car. They will replace both doors and cover the cost of the whole PPF to be redone pending Lotus approval.
But, I'm number 39 in the queue at my dealer, so 6+ month wait, plus I'll lose the use of the car again for a while, plus my time and fuel driving it back and forth...

Pissed off is an understatement

Number 39… to replace panels???

 

[KJWEmira]

I feel you pain and have now been waiting 3 months.
What dealer are you using?

Bell & Covill, Surrey.

 

[KJWEmira]

Number 39… to replace panels???

To clarify - There are 39 cars with defective doors in front of me solely at the dealer I'm using in South East England...

 

[Nick in Sydney]

To clarify - There are 39 cars with defective doors in front of me solely at the dealer I'm using in South East England...

Holy crap. What a disaster.

Implies that Lotus could eventually end up replacing panels/doors on hundreds or possibly even thousands of cars.

 

[KJWEmira]

Holy crap. What a disaster.

Implies that Lotus could eventually end up replacing panels/doors on hundreds or possibly even thousands of cars.

Yes.....

Think I have just proved it's a ticking time bomb depending how much you use the car + in what weather conditions....

 

[Gooner]

Just changed my vote!

After 1.5 years of ownership I now have the blistering paint on both doors - see attached pics of passenger door, which is far worse.

Build date as per certificate is 10th October 2022!

Car was delivered in Dec 2022, then fully PPF'd, only covered 4081 miles, is always garaged, not used in the wet, last washed 3 weeks ago, which has more than likely delayed the appearance.

Went for a drive in the sunny weather last Wednesday (17th July) - The blistering wasn't there when we set off but was there 5hrs later...

Dealer wanted to see the car. They will replace both doors and cover the cost of the whole PPF to be redone pending Lotus approval.
But, I'm number 39 in the queue at my dealer, so 6+ month wait, plus I'll lose the use of the car again for a while, plus my time and fuel driving it back and forth...

Pissed off is an understatement

It’s mega frustrating and I feel for you. Only good news is that it’s happened now rather than after the warranty has run out.

 

[Gooner]

Yes.....

Think I have just proved it's a ticking time bomb depending how much you use the car + in what weather conditions....

Given it’s a manufacturing defect, it’s going to affect soooooo many over the years. I really believe it’s just a matter of time.

18 in the queue at my dealership (not including those already repaired).

 

[Foxy87]

Didnt read the whole thread, but does this happen more often when cars are driven in wet climates/rain?

 

[Rupes]

Holy crap. What a disaster.

Implies that Lotus could eventually end up replacing panels/doors on hundreds or possibly even thousands of cars.

If you believe they actually fitted later model cars with an updated version of doors, then Lotus might do a recall before hundreds or thousands file warranty claims for this problem. They could drill a water escape hole and retrofit the inside panels or something. That would be the smart thing to do anyway, so maybe for that reason they won’t they won’t do that after all.

 

[scoates]

Just spotted paint bubbling on the courtesy car's boot lid that I've got while mine is in to get the bubbling fixed! Not sure of the history of the other panels on the car or the build date but it was registered Sept 23.

 

[JClem]

To clarify - There are 39 cars with defective doors in front of me solely at the dealer I'm using in South East England...

I’m one of those 39!

 

[Barrybarrybarry]

I've just had the doors replaced and PPF reapplied after a few months wait. The job looks great, you really can't notice. I was really worried about getting a match on the DV metallic paint. The car was away for a month in total.

Had to go back today to get the driver door adjusted up slightly and both the windows adjusted in to stop wind noise at speed. The repair shop said they have a steady stream of cars to do and have done a lot already, there was another DV car just dropped off to get the same job done.

 

[Gooner]

I've just had the doors replaced and PPF reapplied after a few months wait. The job looks great, you really can't notice. I was really worried about getting a match on the DV metallic paint. The car was away for a month in total.

Had to go back today to get the driver door adjusted up slightly and both the windows adjusted in to stop wind noise at speed. The repair shop said they have a steady stream of cars to do and have done a lot already, there was another DV car just dropped off to get the same job done.

Which service centre did you use?

Mines at Silverstone and was surprised that they they use a workshop over 50 miles away, but they seem to have great reviews and work on a lot of Lotus vehicles so I’m hoping it’ll look .

 

[Barrybarrybarry]

Which service centre did you use?

Mines at Silverstone and was surprised that they they use a workshop over 50 miles away, but they seem to have great reviews and work on a lot of Lotus vehicles so I’m hoping it’ll look .

Lotus Bristol and the work was carried out by SJ Curtis

 

[EBZ]

Just changed my vote!

After 1.5 years of ownership I now have the blistering paint on both doors - see attached pics of passenger door, which is far worse.

Build date as per certificate is 10th October 2022!

Car was delivered in Dec 2022, then fully PPF'd, only covered 4081 miles, is always garaged, not used in the wet, last washed 3 weeks ago, which has more than likely delayed the appearance.

Went for a drive in the sunny weather last Wednesday (17th July) - The blistering wasn't there when we set off but was there 5hrs later...

Dealer wanted to see the car. They will replace both doors and cover the cost of the whole PPF to be redone pending Lotus approval.
But, I'm number 39 in the queue at my dealer, so 6+ month wait, plus I'll lose the use of the car again for a while, plus my time and fuel driving it back and forth...

Pissed off is an understatement

Just changed my vote too!!

Around the same built date (received the car in November 22) and blistering just appeared a few days ago (with PPF too) on the door … Wating for dealer feedback.

 

[Wonza]

I've just had the doors replaced and PPF reapplied after a few months wait. The job looks great, you really can't notice. I was really worried about getting a match on the DV metallic paint. The car was away for a month in total.

Had to go back today to get the driver door adjusted up slightly and both the windows adjusted in to stop wind noise at speed. The repair shop said they have a steady stream of cars to do and have done a lot already, there was another DV car just dropped off to get the same job done.

I hope you have better luck than what I had. There were sanding marks when blending in on the adjoining panels. Patches of missing paint at the bottom, rough edges, which ultimately had to painted twice. Then door panel gapping uneven which required realignment and to top it off, I had the windows realigned twice because of the whistling noise at 70+ mph.

 

[seriously]

I hope you have better luck than what I had. There were sanding marks when blending in on the adjoining panels. Patches of missing paint at the bottom, rough edges, which ultimately had to painted twice. Then door panel gapping uneven which required realignment and to top it off, I had the windows realigned twice because of the whistling noise at 70+ mph.

Where does your window edge line up when fully open (after adjusting to fix for wind noise)? Is it slightly above flush or flush in open position?

 

[Wonza]

Where does your window edge line up when fully open (after adjusting to fix for wind noise)? Is it slightly above flush or flush in open position?

It was never fully fixed in the end because they couldn’t figure it out. I suspect possible door alignment because I remembered there was a occasional squeak coming from the door latch over bumps.

I can tell you both windows passenger and drivers side wasn’t the same. One was higher than the other. The dealer also changed the door seal and it made no difference.

It wasn’t like this prior to having the door changed. Over 70mph, there was no whistling noise.

 

[seriously]

It was never fully fixed in the end because they couldn’t figure it out. I suspect possible door alignment because I remembered there was a occasional squeak coming from the door latch over bumps.

I can tell you both windows passenger and drivers side wasn’t the same. One was higher than the other. The dealer also changed the door seal and it made no difference.

It wasn’t like this prior to having the door changed. Over 70mph, there was no whistling noise.

Thanks and sorry you couldn’t get it fixed yet. Mine are uneven. I don’t have a major issue but wonder if I should lift the flush one up a bit and go for the best seal possible.