USA Emira Owners - Issue Severity Poll

[Digband]

Hi folks - I've been obsessed with the Emira since I first learned about it years ago and have recently been on the fence about buying an orphaned V6 Manual FE. This forum has been very helpful, but seeing all the problems with the cars has been disheartening.

I would like to know if later production USA cars have had as many issues as the earlier production cars delivered in Europe. I know we've had less time with the cars here in the USA, but I thought it would be good to get a poll of how extensive USA issues have been which might help me make a decision and better understand if the production QA has improved for 2024 USA deliveries. My nearest dealer is a 2.5 hour drive away, so servicing the car would be a significant ordeal for me. I'm leaning toward waiting another year and ordering a base model in the hope a lot of these issues are ironed out by then, even if it means getting a Turbo-4 vs a V6, which I could be OK with. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Thanks USA owners for taking the time to respond. Let me know if you think I should change the poll details to make it more effective (if I can edit after posting) - tried to keep it simple but hopefully still informative.

 

[marc1adrien]

2,000 miles. One small build issue not worth addressing (a very small imperfection in leather). TSB for water incursion not done yet (parts under backorder)...and that's it. Completed first oil change at 1,500 miles at dealer and it was reasonable.

 

[Sandalwood]

Hi folks - I've been obsessed with the Emira since I first learned about it years ago and have recently been on the fence about buying an orphaned V6 Manual FE. This forum has been very helpful, but seeing all the problems with the cars has been disheartening.

I would like to know if later production USA cars have had as many issues as the earlier production cars delivered in Europe. I know we've had less time with the cars here in the USA, but I thought it would be good to get a poll of how extensive USA issues have been which might help me make a decision and better understand if the production QA has improved for 2024 USA deliveries. My nearest dealer is a 2.5 hour drive away, so servicing the car would be a significant ordeal for me. I'm leaning toward waiting another year and ordering a base model in the hope a lot of these issues are ironed out by then, even if it means getting a Turbo-4 vs a V6, which I could be OK with. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Thanks USA owners for taking the time to respond. Let me know if you think I should change the poll details to make it more effective (if I can edit after posting) - tried to keep it simple but hopefully still informative.

Also, although your poll is certainly encouraging, don't forget about the "adverse selection" aspect of forums. Most folks are here because they needed a specific answer at one point. However, you will notice as many folks talking about painting the numbers on their shift knob as complaining about odd quality issues.

It's a substantially handbuilt car, made by blokes in England. Is it going to be Lexus LC reliable? Probably not. Is it going to threaten to barbecue you during every drive like a Ferrari F355? Probably not. For many owners, it will be a lightly finicky but rewarding weekend car for a pure driving experience but fewer sacrifices than a Caterham or Exige. It's a mature Lotus, but it's still a Lotus. And if you're not sure, test drive one. If you're still not sure, buy a 718 GTS 4.0.

 

[Digband]

Also, although your poll is certainly encouraging, don't forget about the "adverse selection" aspect of forums. Most folks are here because they needed a specific answer at one point. However, you will notice as many folks talking about painting the numbers on their shift knob as complaining about odd quality issues.

It's a substantially handbuilt car, made by blokes in England. Is it going to be Lexus LC reliable? Probably not. Is it going to threaten to barbecue you during every drive like a Ferrari F355? Probably not. For many owners, it will be a lightly finicky but rewarding weekend car for a pure driving experience but fewer sacrifices than a Caterham or Exige. It's a mature Lotus, but it's still a Lotus. And if you're not sure, test drive one. If you're still not sure, buy a 718 GTS 4.0.

Many thanks for your reply. I certainly appreciate this perspective. I did test drive a V6 MT FE which is why I still have interest, and own a Macan Turbo so am familiar with PDK performance. With this poll I am simply trying to get a general sense as to whether many of the more serious UK issues reported in this forum are still prevalent in the later USA builds.

I don't have significant concern about the niggles of a hand-built low-volume car, but things like limp-mode, cold-start failure, ECU swaps, paint blistering etc. are serious issues that, if they are not being ironed out and require regular dealer visits for warranty service, will severely impact my experience of owning the car and can help with a decision to buy. I know the quality will vary car-to-car, but if the the poll is able to garner a good sample size, I think it could be helpful.

 

[Sandalwood]

Many thanks for your reply. I certainly appreciate this perspective. I did test drive a V6 MT FE which is why I still have interest, and own a Macan Turbo so am familiar with PDK performance. With this poll I am simply trying to get a general sense as to whether many of the more serious UK issues reported in this forum are still prevalent in the later USA builds.

I don't have significant concern about the niggles of a hand-built low-volume car, but things like limp-mode, cold-start failure, ECU swaps, paint blistering etc. are serious issues that, if they are not being ironed out and require regular dealer visits for warranty service, will severely impact my experience of owning the car and can help with a decision to buy. I know the quality will vary car-to-car, but if the the poll is able to garner a good sample size, I think it could be helpful.

For sure. Although the sample is still from a tainted well, but it's better than no sample.

Of the ones you mentioned, I think only the paint bubbling is still an issue, and the poll done on that thread indicated it was something like 4% of the cars made after 11/23, if I recall correctly. That's 4% more than it should be, but nothing seems to be as prevalent as the early deliveries which, yes, were a bit problematic.

Coincidentally, my dealer is also 2.5 hours away, and that was always a thought when I had my Elise. Thank goodness it never required a trip back home.

 

[Aero]

About 1300 miles on mine. Not a single issue thankfully.

I also live 2 hr away from dealer which I will never go to unless required. During the warranty period Lotus claims they will come get the car for free anywhere. Its in the warranty literature I believe. Beyond the warranty its a concern at that point.

 

[Blackthought_]

Take a look at other polls with a similar poll. I’ve had my Emira for 3 months and Nataly had a few minor issues, but none that stopped me driving. I currently have over 5,700 miles on it and it’s perfect now. My dealer in NJ is only 30 min from me so it works out nicely for me.

 

[GrahamClark_60-68]

FE 2.0 V6 manual, March/April 2024 build, June delivery, 1500 miles (after one epic 1300 mile 3 day road trip). No mechanical issues whatsoever and only insignificant other niggles that I can take care of myself or overlook:
1. Power window rolls back up again after rolling down completely. Happened several times right after delivery and hasn't recurred since
2. A couple of times saw the triangle with exclamation point in the dashboard, not sure why (car was too new, didn't notice any written error messages. Went away after restart. No check engine light ever (knock on wood).
3. Carplay seems to reboot occasionally (screen blanks, then starts back up, but picks up my map and tunes where it left off) or just freezes, requiring exiting out and going back in again. Always restarted though without too much trouble. Happened a few times during my roadtrip. Dealer did a software update on Friday, haven't driven the car enough since then to know if that fixed it.
4. During my roadtrip, a piece of foam rubber came loose underneath the windshield edge of the hood and was flopping around. Was a hot day (over 95), but when I stopped I pushed it back up (there was still lots of stickiness there) and it's stayed put ever since. But may require regluing at some point.

And that's really about it, all really minor stuff in my opinion. One thing I can say is that I was surprised how livable and comfortable the car is. It's definitely road-trip worthy so I'm looking for new roads to carve.

 

[DerTheDer]

Only issue is SOS light. But no mechanical issues. Runs great.

 

[allenyao09]

As I heard from other Emira owners, the cars all have more or less some minor issues like rattle noises, electronics. The most severe problem is something wrong with the radiator fan connector causing overheating.

 

[Simba]

1.) TPMS light came on for like 600 miles then went away.
2.) Cap that covers the seatbelt bolt came off I couldn’t put it back on. Took the other one off to see how it clips on. Now that one won’t go back on.
3.) Wireless CarPlay doesn’t work. I just connect with the cord.
4.) just noticed the foam trim under the hood by the windshield is coming off.
5.) Loud pop when I open the door. I’m assuming it’s the speaker.

Other than that no big issues.

 

[seriously]

1.) TPMS light came on for like 600 miles then went away.
2.) Cap that covers the seatbelt bolt came off I couldn’t put it back on. Took the other one off to see how it clips on. Now that one won’t go back on.
3.) Wireless CarPlay doesn’t work. I just connect with the cord.
4.) just noticed the foam trim under the hood by the windshield is coming off.
5.) Loud pop when I open the door. I’m assuming it’s the speaker.

Other than that no big issues.

Seatbelt cover fixed with gorilla putty.

Loud pop is speaker and I think a SW fix. I have it too. Not a big deal.

CarPlay wireless should work. That’s annoying. I would try a full reset and see if it fixes.

 

[Vampyre]

2600 miles, no issues

 

[Tobiasz17azs]

1.) TPMS light came on for like 160 miles then went away at 700 miles
2.) cold start stall few times already / last 3 times were perfect / car sit for 3 days and I had rough cold start again
3.) CarPlay doesn’t work all the time .
4.) some paint imperfections dealer will fix in the future .
5.) leather imperfection on the seat / dealer ordered new seat
6. Creaking noise coming from suspension / specially when it’s hot .

Small things like that / annoying af but what can I do

 

[Digband]

1.) TPMS light came on for like 600 miles then went away.
2.) Cap that covers the seatbelt bolt came off I couldn’t put it back on. Took the other one off to see how it clips on. Now that one won’t go back on.
3.) Wireless CarPlay doesn’t work. I just connect with the cord.
4.) just noticed the foam trim under the hood by the windshield is coming off.
5.) Loud pop when I open the door. I’m assuming it’s the speaker.

Other than that no big issues.

Thanks a lot for all the responses, keep em coming - interesting that this post sounds like the same foam issues @GrahamClark_60-68 noted above, too...

Seems like so far many of these USA issues have been relatively minor - 37 poll responses and only 1 selected the major issues option...

 

[FlyNavy01]

Just under 3000 miles. Only "issue" is the speaker occasionally popping when opening the door which has only happened 4-5 times in over three months. Otherwise car has been flawless so far thankfully.

 

[EZcheezy]

400 miles

1. rattle behind me when im on like quarter throttle cruising
2. issues connecting with CarPlay.

pretty spectacular other than these two minor things

 

[Cobra 427]

Only issue is SOS light. But no mechanical issues. Runs great.

problem sos light comes on frequently and 2nd problem impossible to restart the car when hot after stopping for 30 minutes very frequently

 

[neiru37]

Only issue is SOS light.

Same. It's not bothered me enough for me to go to the dealer about it.

That said, what is the fix for it? Or is there none?

 

[Rupes]

It's funny, because you have to accept with Lotus you're going to get some issues. You just hope the issues aren't big, and for the most part, they aren't. But if this was my wife's car, she wouldn't last a week.