Do you notice a ticking noise during acceleration?

[K_Squared]

So I am loving the Emira and at this point I'm just looking into a few small quirks that are somewhat annoying to see if they are normal or exceptions. One such thing is that whenever I accelerate (doesn't matter if it's light or hard acceleration), I notice a subtle ticking noise that I THINK is coming from behind me somewhere. It's difficult to determine the source and I'm going to have to let someone else drive while I try to locate it. The noise doesn't happen when I'm not accelerating so I'm thinking it's either something within the engine or just something in the car that vibrates only during acceleration.

At any rate, I've heard at least 2-3 others report this on Facebook or in this forum so I wanted to put it out there...do you notice this noise and if so, have you been able to identify or address it? It somewhat detracts from the otherwise glorious supercharger and exhaust notes from the engine under normal acceleration.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kalel]

Is this still happening with 2024 cars? If not, there must have been a solution found at the factory.

 

[Bimmernate]

Is this still happening with 2024 cars? If not, there must have been a solution found at the factory.

Yes, definitely 2024. The question I have in my mind is that I saw a post from a dealer stating that the new 2026 emira v6 SE cars have an “upgraded gearbox to improve 1st to 2nd gear shifting”. Think they “fixed” this in the process? My guess is its just talk haha, but would love to know the details

 

[RyanGphoto]

Would love to know the specifics of those who had theirs fixed and it didn't come back.

I'm planning on dropping off my car soon to do warranty work with all the updates and a bunch of little things too.

No idea how long they will have the car but I def want to get this fixed as well.

 

[Bimmernate]

FYI these noises, while super annoying, are 100% normal. Had it on my car, was improved with some cable adjustments, still there though and sometimes louder than others. Traded that car in for a 26 model which does the same thing

 

[Bulls-Vivid-Red]

At my 4/2026 service I discussed the shifter "whistle" when accelerating issue with the GLI (Glenview Luxury Imports) master Lotus tech and he concurs that replacing the cable is far from a certain solution. He stated that if you push Lotus they will cover the replacement cable, but to keep expectations of the noise going 100% away very low.

FWIW, some cars have the noise worse than others, so if it's over the top for you it could be worth replacing or at the very least tightening/adjusting. For me the noise isn't too crazy at all and so I'm leaving it alone.

 

[RoryBellows]

I had a gnarly tick and I had the cables replaced. Theres still a tick but its far less than it was. I concluded its a quirk of the powertrain amplified with misaligned cables. It was much better after the fix though and I considered it worth it. My dealer (Galpin) took a little over a week for the actual repair. They put everything back well. No new squeaks or rattles.

 

[nixx]

I’ve had this issue since day one and thought I could live with it, but the constant ticking in every gear is driving me crazy! It sounds similar to an exhaust leak. Like many others have reported, putting some lateral pressure on the shifter makes it stop (or nearly stop).

Is there an aftermarket solution for this yet? Has anyone tried lining the shifter components with padding or a DIY dampener? (Admittedly, I don't know exactly how the internal mechanism works, so any advice is appreciated!)

 

[RoryBellows]

The ticking is way less on my 26 than the 25 even after the fix done to the 25. Its more of a flutter now. The shifting feels different too. less force required and more Hondaized if that makes sense. If we can determine what exactly Lotus changed between the years it will probably be a good guide on remedying the tick transfer. Im going to decage this car as well but it will likely be a month or two cause I have other stuff to do first.

 

[Bimmernate]

The ticking is way less on my 26 than the 25 even after the fix done to the 25. Its more of a flutter now. The shifting feels different too. less force required and more Hondaized if that makes sense. If we can determine what exactly Lotus changed between the years it will probably be a good guide on remedying the tick transfer. Im going to decage this car as well but it will likely be a month or two cause I have other stuff to do first.

They didn’t change anything in regards to this issue. My 26 ticks more than my 24. The reality is that some cars tick more than others or has a slightly different characteristic of the same sound and the year doesn’t matter

 

[nixx]

I don't know what model year my car is classified as... It was first registered here in the UK in September 2025.. but is still a "first edition." It probably would have been marketed as a 2026 model in the USA. (I lived in the US the first 30 something years of my life and bought many cars there)

Anyways, it's a non-stop ticking sound and it raises with the revs. If I move the shifter left/right it changes the pitch and almost goes away if I really push hard. It's non-stop though. I wonder if this is a byproduct of having the exposed linkage? I'm at a point where I'd put insulation back in the shifter linkage area to stop this.

 

[crestima]

Really surprised that this hasn't been resolved to date, having been reported so early on this thread. My 24 Emira has never made any such ticking noise. I've also driven 3 other Emiras and none had this issue. Moreover, at our past cars & coffee meets no member has ever raised this issue, yet so many of you here have reported it here and are understandably annoyed with it being unresolved. Incidentally, as @ManOfSteel mentioned early in this thread, I've listened to at least 3 videos posted here, but I confess that I also can't discern any ticking sound at all on them, but for sure it's because either the ticking sound is drowned out by the engine noise or, like @ManOfSteel, I'm also too deaf. On a more constructive note however, the occurrence of this ticking problem, while probably not statistically high on an overall basis, it's undoubtedly still a very real issue with a fair amount of owners having reported it here. The fact that it's not a prevalent problem across all manual V6 Emiras, tells me that it is not an inherent characteristic of the manual transmission and/or other shifter mechanisms and there has to be a fix for it somehow.

 

[nixx]

Wow- that's wild. I can hear it clear as day on every single video posted on this thread as well. It's exactly like mine. Maybe you have some sort of auditory deficiency.

 

[crestima]

Wow- that's wild. I can hear it clear as day on every single video posted on this thread as well. It's exactly like mine. Maybe you have some sort of auditory deficiency.

Yep, "too deaf" could be easily diagnosed as an auditory deficiency .

 

[Bimmernate]

Really surprised that this hasn't been resolved to date, having been reported so early on this thread. My 24 Emira has never made any such ticking noise. I've also driven 3 other Emiras and none had this issue. Moreover, at our past cars & coffee meets no member has ever raised this issue, yet so many of you here have reported it here and are understandably annoyed with it being unresolved. Incidentally, as @ManOfSteel mentioned early in this thread, I've listened to at least 3 videos posted here, but I confess that I also can't discern any ticking sound at all on them, but for sure it's because either the ticking sound is drowned out by the engine noise or, like @ManOfSteel, I'm also too deaf. On a more constructive note however, the occurrence of this ticking problem, while probably not statistically high on an overall basis, it's undoubtedly still a very real issue with a fair amount of owners having reported it here. The fact that it's not a prevalent problem across all manual V6 Emiras, tells me that it is not an inherent characteristic of the manual transmission and/or other shifter mechanisms and there has to be a fix for it somehow.

it is prevalent across manual emiras. It is just some people don’t notice the sound or care for it. I’ve gotten in someone’s car who “didn’t have it” and quickly showed them that they did. And again, I’ve had two emiras, both have it. And the first emira I had, I went through a lengthy list of fixes to try and repair it, and while it did quiet down to the point to where it was tolerable, it was still there. On my 26 model, I’m not bothering with it because I know it’s a “normal” sound, despite how annoying it is. I drive around with my windows down or music on. Or, if you are mainly doing spirited driving above 3k rpm you won’t hear it anyway

 

[crestima]

Ok, went back to hear the posted videos and, despite my auditory deficiency, I did detect the sound (particularly on @silent cilantro's post #34). Incidentally, I wouldn't call that "ticking" as I was expecting a completely different sound, in other words, somewhat like a winding clock's tick, tick sound, whereas what comes out on the video is more like a subtle vibrating rattle. Regardless, I never even noticed that rattling sound on mine, but will check it out on my next drive for sure. Something tells me it will not bother me much as I never even noticed it before. I suspect that the real issue here with this vibrating rattle, being a prevalent characteristic of all V6 manuals as @Bimmernate states above, has more to do with the sound level of that rattle on each Emira or the individual driver's level of OCD.

 

[geoffbland]

I don't know what model year my car is classified as... It was first registered here in the UK in September 2025.. but is still a "first edition." It probably would have been marketed as a 2026 model in the USA. (I lived in the US the first 30 something years of my life and bought many cars there)

10th letter of your VIN gives the model year, P=2023, R=2024, S=2025, T=2026.

 

[nixx]

10th letter of your VIN gives the model year, P=2023, R=2024, S=2025, T=2026.

ooh-wow. It's a 2023.. but was first sold at the dealership end of 2025. Wild.

 

[geoffbland]

ooh-wow. It's a 2023.. but was first sold at the dealership end of 2025. Wild.

There were quite a few FEs like that, been sitting at dealerships for quite some time undriven. Looks like they are nearly all sold now.

 

[Bimmernate]

I don't know what model year my car is classified as... It was first registered here in the UK in September 2025.. but is still a "first edition." It probably would have been marketed as a 2026 model in the USA. (I lived in the US the first 30 something years of my life and bought many cars there)

Yeah 26 model cars will have the adas features and the little black box on the front bumper. No “first editions” are 26 cars in the US. Only 24 cars are first editions

 

[RyanGphoto]

I will say that I didn't think it was a "ticking" noise either when I noticed mine right away. I came online and low and behold a lot of people have it. Mine isn't terrible, but it's def not quiet. I notice it way more in a higher gear at low RPM when I give it more gas. The car is currently at the dealership for a variety of things for a month and they said they replaced a lot of things and they don't notice it now, but I will see when I get the car back the first week of July. Hopefully they did fix everything and nothing new is "broken".