Emira Issues - from final production cars

[DF_Toronto]

Fantastic! I was literally about to post about being all for discussion but to have a separate moderated summary of issues noted that’s easily accessible just to get a summary of what to look out for. This is perfect, thanks for doing the work!

 

[EspritGuy]

This thread serves a very useful purpose (and commendable).
Now, what monetary credit can be issued to Forum members for providing useful owner feedback leading to refinement of a sportscar that we expect to cherish and enjoy?
The FE was supposed to be a loyalty reward.
How about field testing?

 

[Evotion]

Worthwhile thread. Nothing here to scare me yet!
1000 and 5000 miles reviews may be really interesting.

I hope Lotus are seeing and tracking all issues centrally and making on the fly amendments.
Like to think later buyers will be getting better and better cars.

Should they have been perfect off the block? Nobody truly believed that would happen.

 

[Lotus64]

The FE was supposed to be a loyalty reward.
How about field testing?

Field testing wouldn’t catch a lot of these issues. By the time production tooling takes over prototype tooling and start of production is planned, there isn’t feasibly enough time to re-validate the whole vehicle assembly. The goal is for most issues to be caught during the design validation but that’s not realistic.

Not making excuses, but the first customers are always field testers. That’s how it has to be. These issues are to be expected and we can expect Lotus to implement solutions on a rolling basis as they get quality data from customers and their vehicle fleet.

 

[KusaKusa]

I support the thread, and its kind is definitely one of the most valuable reasons forums like this should exist.

 

[Markc]

Just developed a clutch pedal creak 🙄. I sure it will be an easy fix once they determine the cause.

 

[1stczechemira]

Copy of my post from another thread where this info was misplaced:

I noticed on the new demo car at Central the headlamps already had a lot of condensation in them.
Hopefully burn off when they are on

My Emira's headlamps have (time from time) some condensation in them too. It depends on how the weather is. The "heat" of LEDs is not strong enough to dry the headlamps.

I think this is a common problem of LED headlamps and not a specific issue of Emiras.

 

[TomE]

To my understanding we have one more to add to the list:
I am lacking the appropriate wording to explain it in English, surely anybody here will help.
On the Demo car that arrived this week in Bilbao I spotted on both sills what I consider a bad fitting of the rubber strip on top of the carpet. I forgot to take pictures, you can barely spot it on the video I took of the inside, I also saw on the video of the Japanese car, and on one of the yellow demos in UK, and I thought may these cars where not final custom version, but I just saw it also on the customer car just delivered in Hethel.
Confirmation from members in here with customer cars delivered would be appreciated, and if Lotus is aware and solutions to this issue for both existing and new deliveries

Picture of !st Hethel collection: @shaank could confirm if he sees this as an issue

View attachment 10766

Posts about door seal imperfections moved to new thread:

Door seal imperfections

On the Demo car that arrived this week in Bilbao I spotted on both sills what I consider a bad fitting of the rubber strip on top of the carpet. I forgot to take pictures, you can barely spot it on the video I took of the inside, I also saw on the video of the Japanese car, and on one of the...

www.emiraforum.com

 

[Kwarstler]

In summary the issues have been relatively minor in that they all appear to be something easily fixed or corrected on the assembly line thus when my car eventually… soon… in the future… someday comes in, it will be perfect! 🤗

 

[Billyidoliser]

I'm sure I've seen it commented on before as a problem that existed on the Evora that seems to have, unfortunately, been carried over to the Emira (isn't in the page 1 table) the friction/gearbox (don't know if thats the correct description??) noise when in low gears/revs, how can they possibly be building new cars with an inherited problem??? Matt at Endeavor didn't seem to surprised or fussed, strange!

 

[Shahaf2911]

Copy of my post from another thread where this info was misplaced:



My Emira's headlamps have (time from time) some condensation in them too. It depends on how the weather is. The "heat" of LEDs is not strong enough to dry the headlamps.

I think this is a common problem of LED headlamps and not a specific issue of Emiras.

You are correct it’s also a problem with the new Rivians I read an article about it.

 

[Mctaff]

bristol demo also has bad seals on passenger side.

the rear lip of the rear right wing also appeared to have some paint finish issues - it look a bit like the paint had dripped down from the lip... I meant to look closer and photo it after the test drive but forgot...

 

[TomE]

I'm sure I've seen it commented on before as a problem that existed on the Evora that seems to have, unfortunately, been carried over to the Emira (isn't in the page 1 table) the friction/gearbox (don't know if thats the correct description??) noise when in low gears/revs, how can they possibly be building new cars with an inherited problem??? Matt at Endeavor didn't seem to surprised or fussed, strange!

Yes, there have been some reports from test drives of transmission noise at low revs in 1st/2nd - a slightly mechanical or agricultural sound. Apparently not as loud as on the Evora and not affecting every car.

It's a key thing I want to check on my test drive, as I have it on my Evora and although it's not a fault it is slightly annoying. I hoped it would be fixed for the Emira but I guess there is the same inherent challenge of an engine, clutch, gearbox and transmission made up of parts that weren't originally designed to be integrated together.

I haven't seen any reports of it from customers, so am holding back from adding it to the table at the moment.

 

[Pugwash]

I can confirm from my test drive the Emira makes the same low down growl that my Evora made on pulling away. It was not as pronounced however. In some ways I was pleased it did it!

 

[hml_xy]

I haven't seen any reports of it from customers, so am holding back from adding it to the table at the moment.

I can 100% disappoint you in this regard, even if I was not yet able to capture the sound. Its exactly the same as on the Evora. Probably more even on my Emira vs. my GT430. But this impression could also be because of noise level difference. But to me its a fact: The famous gearbox noise is there!

Not a fault like Tom said but unusual. My passengers always commented it sounds like a racecar gearbox 😅

 

[hml_xy]

Ok, I kept quiet about this one due to the overall heated atmosphere and my long established dedication to the brand - I just want the guys at Hethel to be succesful. Also because I think that negative news travel too fast compared to positives in this world.

But now I decided it might be important for the statistics and hopefully Lotus reads this and takes consequences at some point.

Since the 2nd day after delivery (!) my passenger side door does not open anymore. I mean - not at all! Not from the inside or the outside. As if the lock mechanism is broken. You can still hear the mechanical sound of the lock when unlocking/locking. But the inside- or outside door handles just don't open the door.

Brought the car back to dealer on day five (after enjoying the rest of the car 🙄😁 for few more days) because I had 3 weeks vacation planned anyhow.

For sure the dealer would be able to fix it in the meantime and no big thing for me because I am away anyhow. Ok, not sure how to reach the inner mechanics of the door when you can't open it. First feedback from Lotus: remove the inner door panel to fix lock mechanics. But how to remove if the door panel is blocked by the seat, sills, cockpit...and the door itself?!! Did they forget, the problem was that we can't open the door!

Guess they somehow managed to remove the panel since I got feedback from the poor dealer that they ordered a spare part about two weeks ago. Which still hasn't arrived! I'm returning mid this week from vacation and I'll be really p*ssed if I can't collect the car right on the next day.

It is pretty normal that these things can happen on new cars, new models especially. Even more so in the first few early cars being delivered and well, yes I have to say it: I knew what I was getting into. Its not my first Lotus, I have heard all the stories since years. It was my decision because of love for the brand. I mean, at the moment I still own four (too many) of their cars, all of them excellent driver entertainment creators! So I knew what I was getting myself into.

Reporting a faulty door lock is just for the statistic and not a problem. All manufacturers have these kind of issues.

Not walking down to the factory floor and taking a spare part out of one of those now famous cardboard boxes if its not available inside the famously "full warehouses" is just a sign of how bad out of shape this part of Lotus as a company is. How is this case not a high priority for them? A new early adopter customer car being stranded for several weeks at the dealer.

Because first it was parked for three weeks due to what turned out to be the servo pump callback. Now another three weeks to sort a broken lock... have any of you followed the McLaren door debacle on their forums?

Not to mention the safety issue of not being able to open a door -at all-.

I won't make that post any longer but I hope I can come back to this thread in a few days and report that they fixed it just in time for my return.

PS: I said it before - no fault whatsoever for my dealer! The guys are doing everything they can and communicate in the best way possible and go out of their ways to do everything right. Literally the best car dealership experience I ever had. It's Lotus who are messing this up.

 

[emiraspain]

Ok, I kept quiet about this one due to the overall heated atmosphere and my long established dedication to the brand - I just want the guys at Hethel to be succesful. Also because I think that negative news travel too fast compared to positives in this world.

But now I decided it might be important for the statistics and hopefully Lotus reads this and takes consequences at some point.

Since the 2nd day after delivery (!) my passenger side door does not open anymore. I mean - not at all! Not from the inside or the outside. As if the lock mechanism is broken. You can still hear the mechanical sound of the lock when unlocking/locking. But the inside- or outside door handles just don't open the door.

Brought the car back to dealer on day five (after enjoying the rest of the car 🙄😁 for few more days) because I had 3 weeks vacation planned anyhow.

For sure the dealer would be able to fix it in the meantime and no big thing for me because I am away anyhow. Ok, not sure how to reach the inner mechanics of the door when you can't open it. First feedback from Lotus: remove the inner door panel to fix lock mechanics. But how to remove if the door panel is blocked by the seat, sills, cockpit...and the door itself?!! Did they forget, the problem was that we can't open the door!

Guess they somehow managed to remove the panel since I got feedback from the poor dealer that they ordered a spare part about two weeks ago. Which still hasn't arrived! I'm returning mid this week from vacation and I'll be really p*ssed if I can't collect the car right on the next day.

It is pretty normal that these things can happen on new cars, new models especially. Even more so in the first few early cars being delivered and well, yes I have to say it: I knew what I was getting into. Its not my first Lotus, I have heard all the stories since years. It was my decision because of love for the brand. I mean, at the moment I still own four (too many) of their cars, all of them excellent driver entertainment creators! So I knew what I was getting myself into.

Reporting a faulty door lock is just for the statistic and not a problem. All manufacturers have these kind of issues.

Not walking down to the factory floor and taking a spare part out of one of those now famous cardboard boxes if its not available inside the famously "full warehouses" is just a sign of how bad out of shape this part of Lotus as a company is. How is this case not a high priority for them? A new early adopter customer car being stranded for several weeks at the dealer.

Because first it was parked for three weeks due to what turned out to be the servo pump callback. Now another three weeks to sort a broken lock... have any of you followed the McLaren door debacle on their forums?

Not to mention the safety issue of not being able to open a door -at all-.

I won't make that post any longer but I hope I can come back to this thread in a few days and report that they fixed it just in time for my return.

PS: I said it before - no fault whatsoever for my dealer! The guys are doing everything they can and communicate in the best way possible and go out of their ways to do everything right. Literally the best car dealership experience I ever had. It's Lotus who are messing this up.

thank you for reporting it and yes, all these things should be reported so we can see if others who maybe didnt mention such things also had the same issue, which we hope they dont.
Your case is important as for you perhaps the dealer is only an hour away, but for others it maybe a days drive away and these kind of things then turn into something which means either Lotus compensate or you leave them behind, which would be a shame.
Yes lets hope, like the seals and other things, these are teething issues, soooooon to none exist after the first 100 cars or so, but I cant say I hold out so much faith and would think perhaps 500 cars will need to be made before most of these niggles, and quite serious niggles at that, are ironed out.

 

[Forlorn]

thank you for reporting it and yes, all these things should be reported so we can see if others who maybe didnt mention such things also had the same issue, which we hope they dont.
Your case is important as for you perhaps the dealer is only an hour away, but for others it maybe a days drive away and these kind of things then turn into something which means either Lotus compensate or you leave them behind, which would be a shame.
Yes lets hope, like the seals and other things, these are teething issues, soooooon to none exist after the first 100 cars or so, but I cant say I hold out so much faith and would think perhaps 500 cars will need to be made before most of these niggles, and quite serious niggles at that, are ironed out.

I remember when the Evora was rolled out in 2009, went to the dealer to look at the car and the passenger door handle came off in my hand. I walked away from Lotus until 2013 until build quality teething issues were sorted out. I guess we are seeing these issues now because of QC.

It’s a surprise for me due to the platform and car is so much related to Evora.

 

[Shahaf2911]

Ok, I kept quiet about this one due to the overall heated atmosphere and my long established dedication to the brand - I just want the guys at Hethel to be succesful. Also because I think that negative news travel too fast compared to positives in this world.

But now I decided it might be important for the statistics and hopefully Lotus reads this and takes consequences at some point.

Since the 2nd day after delivery (!) my passenger side door does not open anymore. I mean - not at all! Not from the inside or the outside. As if the lock mechanism is broken. You can still hear the mechanical sound of the lock when unlocking/locking. But the inside- or outside door handles just don't open the door.

Brought the car back to dealer on day five (after enjoying the rest of the car 🙄😁 for few more days) because I had 3 weeks vacation planned anyhow.

For sure the dealer would be able to fix it in the meantime and no big thing for me because I am away anyhow. Ok, not sure how to reach the inner mechanics of the door when you can't open it. First feedback from Lotus: remove the inner door panel to fix lock mechanics. But how to remove if the door panel is blocked by the seat, sills, cockpit...and the door itself?!! Did they forget, the problem was that we can't open the door!

Guess they somehow managed to remove the panel since I got feedback from the poor dealer that they ordered a spare part about two weeks ago. Which still hasn't arrived! I'm returning mid this week from vacation and I'll be really p*ssed if I can't collect the car right on the next day.

It is pretty normal that these things can happen on new cars, new models especially. Even more so in the first few early cars being delivered and well, yes I have to say it: I knew what I was getting into. Its not my first Lotus, I have heard all the stories since years. It was my decision because of love for the brand. I mean, at the moment I still own four (too many) of their cars, all of them excellent driver entertainment creators! So I knew what I was getting myself into.

Reporting a faulty door lock is just for the statistic and not a problem. All manufacturers have these kind of issues.

Not walking down to the factory floor and taking a spare part out of one of those now famous cardboard boxes if its not available inside the famously "full warehouses" is just a sign of how bad out of shape this part of Lotus as a company is. How is this case not a high priority for them? A new early adopter customer car being stranded for several weeks at the dealer.

Because first it was parked for three weeks due to what turned out to be the servo pump callback. Now another three weeks to sort a broken lock... have any of you followed the McLaren door debacle on their forums?

Not to mention the safety issue of not being able to open a door -at all-.

I won't make that post any longer but I hope I can come back to this thread in a few days and report that they fixed it just in time for my return.

PS: I said it before - no fault whatsoever for my dealer! The guys are doing everything they can and communicate in the best way possible and go out of their ways to do everything right. Literally the best car dealership experience I ever had. It's Lotus who are messing this up.

Now days parts are scarce and all manufacturers have issues and there’s always shippings issues, would you believe I waited 2.5-3 months for a replacement backup camera for my RS3 8Y ? Or waited 1.5 months for an oil sensor that was causing quite a big leak on my RSQ8 and just sat at the dealer for 1.5 months ? (For a car that costs 380K$ here you would expect more). So yeah it’s a difficult time especially for lotus considering they want to get as many cars out with all of the delays they had, having said that unfortunately don’t get your hopes up… but I sure do hope they will address the situation quickly for you!
Edit:
And a bonus haha: I received the RS3 with a faulty oil sensor and a check engine light, but it wasn’t there when they checked the car just bad luck haha luckily it fixed itself for some odd reason and never came back, things like that happen as you said! People got to understand it (as you do, not criticizing you by any means I’m glad you’re sensible not like a lot of people like here haha).
Got plenty more stories but that’s enough 😂

 

[PaperLawyer]

Yes, there have been some reports from test drives of transmission noise at low revs in 1st/2nd - a slightly mechanical or agricultural sound. Apparently not as loud as on the Evora and not affecting every car.

Yep, the Rybrook Birmingham demonstrator had it - both the Rybrook rep, Charlie, and I commented up it. I am not concerned particularly by it as it was only noticable (and even then, not very loud) at low revs/speed.