Annoying Rattling Noise When Car is Warm

[CliveB]

Hi
I recently collected by Emira from Hethel and on the drive back to London, It was quite apparent that about 10mins into the journey I was aware of what I can only describe as a rattling vibration noise from the gearbox / engine which was mainly noticeable in lower gears and more so when I pulled away from a stand still. I found myself tuned into the noise constantly which seemed to be getting more apparent over the course of the journey home. I got home and contacted Lotus who referred me to my local dealer. I spoke with them and explained the noise and they said it sounded like a noise characteristic of the car and thought it was nothing to worry about. Yesterday however I drove to Caffeine and the machine near Oxford and I have to say although I absolutely adore the car and the way it drives and especially the way it looks I really don’t think I can stand this really annoying and very frustrating gearbox / engine noise if it is a normal characteristic. The dealer I spoke with did say that they had a customer who had a rattling noise that became louder as the car got warmer and that was due to a heat shield / exhaust being loose and it could possibly be that. I would be grateful if anyone could please let me know if they have a similar noise and whether is is in fact a normal characteristic or a possible problem with the car. Thanks

 

[TomE]

Evoras do this, some worse than others, and I’ve heard it but only faintly in the half dozen Emiras I’ve driven. It’s usually more apparent when cold and then less obvious when warm.

There are a couple of causes, which sound slightly different and you can have either or both together. They are both characterised by a slightly agricultural or diesel-like rattle at low revs in 1st gear. It can sometimes be heard at lower revs in 2nd and 3rd too, less so in the Emira compared to Evora as the sound insulation is better.

I think the Emira also has a more obvious supercharger noise in the cabin compared to the 4xx Evoras, but that is more apparent at higher revs.

If it’s more obvious when warm then it may be something else. It’s worth getting a dealer to listen to it. Don’t accept “they all do that” as an explanation if it sounds odd.

 

[SmallerBaller]

Just as Tom said, I first noticed this gearbox noise on my test drive last year and brought it up to the forum. Apparently it was supposed to be fixed from Evora to Emira and was not addressed. Only happened to me when starting off from a standstill or occasionally shifting into second at very low rpms. I asked the dealer and he said it was normal, and others on here say so too. Apparently it is a Lotus 'feature.'

 

[Pugwash]

Mine has the gearbox grumble but only really noticeable in first. I think all Emiras do it to a certain extent. You only know it’s there if you are an ex Evora owner (in which case you feel at home) or if you it’s something you notice and then you hear it all the time, until your brain works out it’s normal and you stop hearing it.
Definitely worth getting it checked out in case it’s something else though.

 

[VL3X]

Could be the aero under trays rattling too. We had an owner report a similar rattle. The dealer ended up tightening and adding extra rivets IIRC.

 

[CliveB]

Evoras do this, some worse than others, and I’ve heard it but only faintly in the half dozen Emiras I’ve driven. It’s usually more apparent when cold and then less obvious when warm.

There are a couple of causes, which sound slightly different and you can have either or both together. They are both characterised by a slightly agricultural or diesel-like rattle at low revs in 1st gear. It can sometimes be heard at lower revs in 2nd and 3rd too, less so in the Emira compared to Evora as the sound insulation is better.

I think the Emira also has a more obvious supercharger noise in the cabin compared to the 4xx Evoras, but that is more apparent at higher revs.

If it’s more obvious when warm then it may be something else. It’s worth getting a dealer to listen to it. Don’t accept “they all do that” as an explanation if it sounds odd.

Hi thanks for your reply, interesting, a lot of people have certainly mentioned a faint noise of sorts from the gearbox but I do think I may have something else going on with my car which sadly makes the driving experience a bit unbearable so much so that my son was in the car and commented on the noise saying that sounds rubbish! I think as you suggest I need to get a dealer to perhaps have a listen to it and give me their opinion. I think if the noise that I’m experiencing was normal there would be a lot more people complaining or talking about it on the forum. Thanks again

 

[TomE]

Could be the aero under trays rattling too. We had an owner report a similar rattle. The dealer ended up tightening and adding extra rivets IIRC.

@CliveB see this post for a description and video, to see if it’s a similar sound. Another owner also had this issue and it was fixed the same way.

https://www.emiraforum.com/threads/steering-wheel-clicking.3106/post-90696

 

[CliveB]

Mine has the gearbox grumble but only really noticeable in first. I think all Emiras do it to a certain extent. You only know it’s there if you are an ex Evora owner (in which case you feel at home) or if you it’s something you notice and then you hear it all the time, until your brain works out it’s normal and you stop hearing it.
Definitely worth getting it checked out in case it’s something else though.

Hi thanks I think the noise I’m experiencing is definitely more than just a grumble it’s loud and very noticeable. I will defo get it checked out this week for sure. Thanks again for your comments

 

[CliveB]

Could be the aero under trays rattling too. We had an owner report a similar rattle. The dealer ended up tightening and adding extra rivets IIRC.

Interesting, but would the aero tray get worse as it gets warmed up I wonder, if something was perhaps loose like a tray or shield or something you would think it would make a noise all the time? Thanks

 

[Logoman]

Hi Clive, welcome to the forum.
I'm in NW5, perhaps quite close to you so if you need to compare the sound with another Emira, or just meet for a coffee let me know.

 

[CliveB]

Hi Clive, welcome to the forum.
I'm in NW5, perhaps quite close to you so if you need to compare the sound with another Emira, or just meet for a coffee let me know.

Thanks that might be very helpful. Appreciate that. I am planning to go over to Bell and Coville this week and if they say that’s normal then I would be amazed and would definitely like to hear what your car is like. I will keep you posted.

 

[Panda47]

Mine doesn't have this issue,thankfully.If it was me I'd be taking it straight back to Lotus Hethel,your dealer obviously can't be bothered.

 

[TomE]

Thanks that might be very helpful. Appreciate that. I am planning to go over to Bell and Coville this week and if they say that’s normal then I would be amazed and would definitely like to hear what your car is like. I will keep you posted.

B&C are usually very helpful and know their way around these cars and the previous models. If you want a second opinion there are 3 reputable Lotus indies near B&C. Back on Track look after my cars and know the Toyota V6 transmission very well.

 

[CliveB]

B&C are usually very helpful and know their way around these cars and the previous models. If you want a second opinion there are 3 reputable Lotus indies near B&C. Back on Track look after my cars and know the Toyota V6 transmission very well.

Thanks useful to know 👍🏻

 

[lion shf]

It’s WAY more dynamic than a Porsche, this is part of the experience

 

[frazzer]

Interesting, but would the aero tray get worse as it gets warmed up I wonder, if something was perhaps loose like a tray or shield or something you would think it would make a noise all the time? Thanks

I have it in mine, like a scraping noise more obvious when warmed up. As you say, at lower rpm and in lower gears. Not the best sound but either it's less now I've put almost 1k miles in, or I'm zoning it out in my mind. It was originally very annoying.

 

[CliveB]

I have booked it in today with a Lotus dealer. I am calling in on Wednesday morning for them to have a listen and give me their thoughts. I will certainly keep you all posted on what they say. As I said in an earlier message I can't honestly believe that the noise I am getting in normal it is totally distracting and spoils the enjoyment of driving the car. I just hope they say that its not right otherwise I'm not sure what I would do. I never thought I would say that, I hope they say that its not right but at least then I will know that once sorted the car should be very good.

 

[CliveB]

Further to my transmission gearbox noise that I’m getting, I took my car into Lotus Silverstone this morning for them to listen to the noise that I am experiencing and to confirm if it was ok or whether it’s was something that I should be concerned with. I took one of the sales technicians out for a drive who was helpful only for him to quickly confirm that this was a normal characteristic noise and was nothing to be concerned with. However, he then kindly took me out in their demo car just to prove this noise was in their car as well and although the noise was still heard at certain points the demo car was no way near as loud or noticeable as mine in fact it was hardly noticeable in my opinion. I said to the dealer if my car was the same as their one I would be happy but mine is just so loud and noticeable that it just spoils the experience in my view.
I fully understand that this noise I’m experiencing may be a characteristic but who or how do you determine whether the noise is deemed to be within an acceptable tolerance? I’m not happy with it and have contacted lotus customer services to see what they say.

 

[Eagle7]

Further to my transmission gearbox noise that I’m getting, I took my car into Lotus Silverstone this morning for them to listen to the noise that I am experiencing and to confirm if it was ok or whether it’s was something that I should be concerned with. I took one of the sales technicians out for a drive who was helpful only for him to quickly confirm that this was a normal characteristic noise and was nothing to be concerned with. However, he then kindly took me out in their demo car just to prove this noise was in their car as well and although the noise was still heard at certain points the demo car was no way near as loud or noticeable as mine in fact it was hardly noticeable in my opinion. I said to the dealer if my car was the same as their one I would be happy but mine is just so loud and noticeable that it just spoils the experience in my view.
I fully understand that this noise I’m experiencing may be a characteristic but who or how do you determine whether the noise is deemed to be within an acceptable tolerance? I’m not happy with it and have contacted lotus customer services to see what they say.

When doing some research on this, I found this info in case it might help:

MT-90 75W90 GL-4 Gear Oil

Popular in Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, VW/Audi, Lotus Elise/Exige, Toyota

www.redlineoil.com

Something else I thought of, is try checking the oil level in the transmission, just to see if it's actually full. I believe the Emira also has a trans cooler system; check to make sure it has the proper amount of coolant too.

Just some relatively quick troubleshooting ideas.

 

[CliveB]

Hi, Thats an Interesting thought, that makes a lot of sense to check for sure. Is it easy to check do you know and can I do it or has it got to be done by a garage? Thanks