1000 miles in, here’s my issues …

[koorby]

Ok so I believe I am the first automatic (or IPS if you will) delivery in the UK.

The car drives brilliantly but after a trip to Le Mans here are the issues I have encountered:

- Overheating when driving slowly or in traffic and using Sport or Track mode. Temps go to 115c and I get warnings. Why is there no bloody engine start/stop function in this 2023 car????

- The air conditioning decides when it wants to blow cold or not. Pressing auto seems to get the best results

- The KEF sound system is a poor joke when connected to my iPhone, it sounds tinny and weak. It really has not been tested by the factory to deliver such mediocre sound

- I get Radom ABS and ESC warnings when driving, the next drive they go away, but then they reappear. A bit disconcerting when driving in the wet

- I got several engine coolant low warnings but subsequent drives they don’t appear. BTW how do you top up engine coolant?

- The Lotus car tracking system just doesn’t work, despite paying £550 for it. I have to go to a third party to try and resolve this

Overall I don’t have a huge amount of confidence in this brand new car and it mostly feels sensor and software related and a rushed-to-market product. This is despite a two year gap between deposit and delivery.

I’d appreciate any feedback from owners with similar issues. Thanks in advance

 

[koorby]

Forgot to mention I was not given the owners manual on delivery, but it doesn’t matter because even the full PDF version of it is possibly the worst ever owner’s manual ever written!

 

[Hell4Leather]

Starting to feel a previously loved McLaren may be the way to go. Couple models to choose from in the sub $120 range. 12c comes to mind. Couple 570gt’s.

 

[kitkat]

You may want to look into that low coolant and overheating — maybe you’ve got an air pocket in yours.

 

[Blacksheep]

I thought the Kef was terrible too, but it turned out to be a Spotify issue for my car. Apple music sounds much better, I've also heard Tidal works well.

It now sounds great when driving slowly and is still pretty decent when on the motorway. I suspect there's some "running in" required for the speakers too (I'm coming up to 5,000 miles).

I've also given up on the radio and I'm using apps like BBC Sounds instead.

 

[Pegasi]

Thermostat sticking???

 

[JohnHoward]

Ok so I believe I am the first automatic (or IPS if you will) delivery in the UK.

The car drives brilliantly but after a trip to Le Mans here are the issues I have encountered:

- Overheating when driving slowly or in traffic and using Sport or Track mode. Temps go to 115c and I get warnings. Why is there no bloody engine start/stop function in this 2023 car????

- The air conditioning decides when it wants to blow cold or not. Pressing auto seems to get the best results

- The KEF sound system is a poor joke when connected to my iPhone, it sounds tinny and weak. It really has not been tested by the factory to deliver such mediocre sound

- I get Radom ABS and ESC warnings when driving, the next drive they go away, but then they reappear. A bit disconcerting when driving in the wet

- I got several engine coolant low warnings but subsequent drives they don’t appear. BTW how do you top up engine coolant?

- The Lotus car tracking system just doesn’t work, despite paying £550 for it. I have to go to a third party to try and resolve this

Overall I don’t have a huge amount of confidence in this brand new car and it mostly feels sensor and software related and a rushed-to-market product. This is despite a two year gap between deposit and delivery.

I’d appreciate any feedback from owners with similar issues. Thanks in advance

For some balance from another early auto delivery in the UK (14/4/23), the only warning message I have seen was the auto hold and I only saw that in the first couple of hundred miles when it was wet. I haven't seen it since, so I assume that something has 'settled in'. Not seen any other warning messages at all.

I am at 2,000 miles now and have the wiper issue (like most/all others), so waiting for the fix for that. No other issues though. Have done a few longer trips and got stuck in traffic, no overheating, the coolant temp runs at 197 - 200F all the time.

One thing I have noticed since it has done its running in miles, the fuel consuption has improved 2 or 3 miles a gallon which doesn't sound much but of couse equates to a 10- 15% improvement. No idea why this is, but I am not complaining!

The radio is disappointing for an expensive system, it seems to lack bass and sounds 'tinny' when listening to DAB. We only have it on in the background, so I am not really too bothered.

Air conditioning works perfectly and get plenty of comments from my trusty co-pilot that "It is freezing in here!"

Talking of my trusty co-pilot - she is now forbidden from touching any controls apart from reporting pot holes and roadworks on Waze!

Overall, I am delighted with mine, plenty fast enough for me, a great soundtrack. I drive mine in track all the time and use the paddles for gear changes. So for me, it has the engagement of a manual thinking about the gears without all the left leg work!

 

[Toomanyloti]

what John said 👆

It would be interesting to know whos was built first. Mine is 521 on the line for the UK.
Very early deposit May 2021 and Auto

 

[richbrown]

Forgot to mention I was not given the owners manual on delivery, but it doesn’t matter because even the full PDF version of it is possibly the worst ever owner’s manual ever written!

Sorry to hear that are you in Le Mans now ? Looks a little wet but a great race! I’ve pulled the trigger and bought an 4 year old Aston dB11 at the weekend and my June auto build cancelled. Waiting for refunds now although no acknowledge from them yet.. hope Lotus can fix the issues you have

 

[Hell4Leather]

I thought the Kef was terrible too, but it turned out to be a Spotify issue for my car. Apple music sounds much better, I've also heard Tidal works well.

It now sounds great when driving slowly and is still pretty decent when on the motorway. I suspect there's some "running in" required for the speakers too (I'm coming up to 5,000 miles).

I've also given up on the radio and I'm using apps like BBC Sounds instead.

Radio because of sound quality?

 

[Wonza]

For some balance from another early auto delivery in the UK (14/4/23), the only warning message I have seen was the auto hold and I only saw that in the first couple of hundred miles when it was wet. I haven't seen it since, so I assume that something has 'settled in'. Not seen any other warning messages at all.

I am at 2,000 miles now and have the wiper issue (like most/all others), so waiting for the fix for that. No other issues though. Have done a few longer trips and got stuck in traffic, no overheating, the coolant temp runs at 197 - 200F all the time.

One thing I have noticed since it has done its running in miles, the fuel consuption has improved 2 or 3 miles a gallon which doesn't sound much but of couse equates to a 10- 15% improvement. No idea why this is, but I am not complaining!

The radio is disappointing for an expensive system, it seems to lack bass and sounds 'tinny' when listening to DAB. We only have it on in the background, so I am not really too bothered.

Air conditioning works perfectly and get plenty of comments from my trusty co-pilot that "It is freezing in here!"

Talking of my trusty co-pilot - she is now forbidden from touching any controls apart from reporting pot holes and roadworks on Waze!

Overall, I am delighted with mine, plenty fast enough for me, a great soundtrack. I drive mine in track all the time and use the paddles for gear changes. So for me, it has the engagement of a manual thinking about the gears without all the left leg work!

The KEF hifi in the Emira ain’t too bad. Streaming music via Spotify definitely an improvement. Also, I’ve noticed at a lower volume it’s sounds tinny but when you crank it up half way, the bass kicks in and is more noticeable. It’s if the bass/subwoofer only turns on at higher volume.

 

[Shahaf2911]

Ok so I believe I am the first automatic (or IPS if you will) delivery in the UK.

The car drives brilliantly but after a trip to Le Mans here are the issues I have encountered:

- Overheating when driving slowly or in traffic and using Sport or Track mode. Temps go to 115c and I get warnings. Why is there no bloody engine start/stop function in this 2023 car????

- The air conditioning decides when it wants to blow cold or not. Pressing auto seems to get the best results

- The KEF sound system is a poor joke when connected to my iPhone, it sounds tinny and weak. It really has not been tested by the factory to deliver such mediocre sound

- I get Radom ABS and ESC warnings when driving, the next drive they go away, but then they reappear. A bit disconcerting when driving in the wet

- I got several engine coolant low warnings but subsequent drives they don’t appear. BTW how do you top up engine coolant?

- The Lotus car tracking system just doesn’t work, despite paying £550 for it. I have to go to a third party to try and resolve this

Overall I don’t have a huge amount of confidence in this brand new car and it mostly feels sensor and software related and a rushed-to-market product. This is despite a two year gap between deposit and delivery.

I’d appreciate any feedback from owners with similar issues. Thanks in advance

Sorry to hear about your experience really hope things turn out for the better for you! Most things should be solved with a software update imo.
Regarding the heating issue I would also advise to check what @kitkat already stated.
And about the KEF, after receiving my RS6 Perf 2 weeks ago I realized what a true high end sound system sounds like (22K$ option), and IMO the KEF system delivers an amazing quality when it comes to clarity! The only (minor) drawback is the subwoofer, if you're (or anyone else) is the type of guy (I’m as well) who likes the sub sound style it would let you down a bit, but other than that the sound system is high end without a doubt!
(Had to add a pic I’m just in love with that car and the those rims 🤤)

 

[Evotion]

- I get Radom ABS and ESC warnings when driving, the next drive they go away, but then they reappear. A bit disconcerting when driving in the wet

That is the only one your issues that I get.

 

[shaank]

@koorby unfortunately I get almost all of those issues, and then some. See my thread below in sig for details.

The over heating issue is the worst - mine is caused by the front fan not working properly, down to a corroded wiring loom. Check if your front fan is working! If not this could cause serious damage to the car.

 

[Next Decade]

Why is there no bloody engine start/stop function in this 2023 car????

I’m sorry about all the problems you’re having, but fuck everything about start stop. I’m so glad they didn’t implement that bullshit on the Emira.

 

[kitkat]

Can you imagine Lotus trying to design a start stop system? The beefier starter, bigger battery, better cooling, faster charging alternator, more complicated charge logic and controller to handle it. These are all flawless systems on the Emira now right?

LOL

 

[JasonR]

Starting to feel a previously loved McLaren may be the way to go. Couple models to choose from in the sub $120 range. 12c comes to mind. Couple 570gt’s.

I’m sorry but if you think Lotus is bad then McLaren will set you straight

 

[kitkat]

I’m sorry but if you think Lotus is bad then McLaren will set you straight

LOL -- seriously.

 

[Concept24]

Sigh.......We've had our Lexus RX400h with start/stops going on for 18 years and 136,000 miles and never a hiccup. Lotus, please send your engineers to Japan to learn the way of the high quality/reliability (kohinshitsu)

 

[Hell4Leather]

LOL -- seriously.

You mean the lifetime warranty on the powertrain from my dealership?
Not saying Lotus is bad, wouldn’t have deposited on one. But there do seem to be an awful lot of problems that one would think should have been found during testing.