Lack of power steering on day one

[CDM1855]

just to add to the reports

I picked my car up from Hethel yesterday, I’ve never driven a Lotus before, so had no idea what to expect in terms of handling

Shortly after pulling out of the factory, I noticed that the steering fell incredibly stiff and heavy. Not knowing if this was a characteristic of lotus hydraulic steering I continued on my way. It didn’t improve and it got to the point that just going round a roundabout felt like I had to pull the steering wheel down with two arms just to get it to move

It would’ve been impossible to parallel park the car given how stiff it was.

I called the guys at Lotus, who told me they didn’t notice anything wrong with the car when they moved it around. So I said I would continue with it, but if I really felt that it was not right I would be bringing it back. I drive the car around for another hour or so to visit friends who also tested it and said it was not right, and no car should feel that heavy when steering. So the decision was made to return it to Hethel this morning.

Go in the car first thing this morning, fired up the engine, turned the steering wheel, and it was like someone had switched cars overnight. Suddenly the steering was light and I could do things with the wheel that I could never have done the day before . I put about 75 miles on the car today, and it was absolutely brilliant. I have no idea why the steering wheel seized up yesterday

 

[Cachaco131]

Did you hit the gym the prior evening? 😀

 

[digilotus]

just to add to the reports

I picked my car up from Hethel yesterday, I’ve never driven a Lotus before, so had no idea what to expect in terms of handling

Shortly after pulling out of the factory, I noticed that the steering fell incredibly stiff and heavy. Not knowing if this was a characteristic of lotus hydraulic steering I continued on my way. It didn’t improve and it got to the point that just going round a roundabout felt like I had to pull the steering wheel down with two arms just to get it to move

It would’ve been impossible to parallel park the car given how stiff it was.

I called the guys at Lotus, who told me they didn’t notice anything wrong with the car when they moved it around. So I said I would continue with it, but if I really felt that it was not right I would be bringing it back. I drive the car around for another hour or so to visit friends who also tested it and said it was not right, and no car should feel that heavy when steering. So the decision was made to return it to Hethel this morning.

Go in the car first thing this morning, fired up the engine, turned the steering wheel, and it was like someone had switched cars overnight. Suddenly the steering was light and I could do things with the wheel that I could never have done the day before . I put about 75 miles on the car today, and it was absolutely brilliant. I have no idea why the steering wheel seized up yesterday

Might have been a small air pocket in the power steering system that dissipated overnight. This will usually result in some additional power steering noise.

Try turning the wheel full left then full right lock a couple of times. This might help remove any trapped air in the system. Check the power steering fluid level afterwards as it may have dropped a little bit.

 

[CDM1855]

@Cachaco131 No, but I was thinking I needed to in the morning. if this was reality with an Emira

 

[CDM1855]

Might have been a small air pocket in the power steering system that dissipated overnight. This will usually result in some additional power steering noise.

Try turning the wheel full left then full right lock a couple of times. This might help remove any trapped air in the system.

@digilotus there was no noise at all, so no indication that something was wrong, but the steering was the heaviest I’ve ever felt in a car in my life

 

[digilotus]

@digilotus there was no noise at all, so no indication that something was wrong, but the steering was the heaviest I’ve ever felt in a car in my life

Heavy steering on a hydraulic system is usually a result of air in the system. If the air is near the pump then it might increase pump noise, or if it’s in the rack then it may not.

 

[TomE]

There was a reported issue with steering pumps on several early cars resulting in a warranty recall. I'd be surprised if that's now happened again but worth asking.

Steering pump issue on early cars - warranty recall

My first real car issue: - recall for the servo steering pump - my actual car had problems with less/no servo support at low rpms/shortly after the start of the engine - the pump came in about 3 working days after ordering it (would be more quick if there was no customs border between GB/EU...

www.emiraforum.com

 

[GTEvora]

There was a reported issue with steering pumps on several early cars resulting in a warranty recall. I'd be surprised if that's now happened again but worth asking.

Steering pump issue on early cars - warranty recall

My first real car issue: - recall for the servo steering pump - my actual car had problems with less/no servo support at low rpms/shortly after the start of the engine - the pump came in about 3 working days after ordering it (would be more quick if there was no customs border between GB/EU...

www.emiraforum.com

Not just on early cars - some cars that were manufactured in January also had this issue. There were several cars that were in the first batch delivered to the UAE (March collection and Dec/Jan build) that had this issue that was found at PDI. Ask me how I know...

 

[CDM1855]

There was a reported issue with steering pumps on several early cars resulting in a warranty recall. I'd be surprised if that's now happened again but worth asking.

Steering pump issue on early cars - warranty recall

My first real car issue: - recall for the servo steering pump - my actual car had problems with less/no servo support at low rpms/shortly after the start of the engine - the pump came in about 3 working days after ordering it (would be more quick if there was no customs border between GB/EU...

www.emiraforum.com

Tom, I did mention that to Scott but he said those issues were addressed a while ago. Anyway whatever it was has managed to sort itself out

 

[kitkat]

This is occurring to someone on Facebook Emira groups too.

 

[CDM1855]

The issue suddenly returned in the middle of me, driving the car yesterday

It could be some air trapped in there, so I’m gonna take the car to the local service centre today to check it out

 

[virtualmacho]

OK everyone, time to renew those gym memberships!

 

[Cachaco131]

The issue suddenly returned in the middle of me, driving the car yesterday

It could be some air trapped in there, so I’m gonna take the car to the local service centre today to check it out

You can't just hit the gym once and pretend you are stronger. You need to be consistent, increase loads progressively. Stay at it and you'll see that the issue is gone. 🏋️

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

The issue suddenly returned in the middle of me,

It could be some air trapped in there,

Maybe you ate too many beans. 😜

 

[emirahl]

sadly, I can contribute to this topic, but I need to change the header to
Lack of power steering BEFORE day one.​

My Hethel Yellow V6 FE Manuel was produced in mid March. It is with the dealer in Germany since 7 weeks. One week it took for XPEL all over, fine. Than it took the dealer another 6 weeks for preparing the car and licensing it!!
Anyway, yesterday was supposed to be the big hand over day.
In the morning I found an e-mail from my dealer in my mailbox telling me the hand over will not happen today as the car lost its power steering when they loaded the car on the trailer. They have to order parts from the UK and a fast solution is not likely.
I called my dealer and he told me the pump of the power system is not working properly. They bled it but still "it works whenever it wants to work, but mainly not.
Now all depends when Hethel will send out the parts and than the dealer will built in. He told me that quite some parts need to be dissambled to replace the pump. Means, when I finally get my brand new car it is not brand new but a repaired car.
On top of all I am running out of time as I planned a long trip through the Swiss Alps, all the way down to the French Riveria and to Mallorca Spain and back to Germany via the Italian alps. All hotels ferry and so on is booked already.
Even if the car is repaired and handed over, I think a certain fear of break down will follow me all the way.
Keep the fingers crossed that the parts are coming within 3 days as mentioned in another post here.

 

[CDM1855]

sadly, I can contribute to this topic, but I need to change the header to
Lack of power steering BEFORE day one.​

My Hethel Yellow V6 FE Manuel was produced in mid March. It is with the dealer in Germany since 7 weeks. One week it took for XPEL all over, fine. Than it took the dealer another 6 weeks for preparing the car and licensing it!!
Anyway, yesterday was supposed to be the big hand over day.
In the morning I found an e-mail from my dealer in my mailbox telling me the hand over will not happen today as the car lost its power steering when they loaded the car on the trailer. They have to order parts from the UK and a fast solution is not likely.
I called my dealer and he told me the pump of the power system is not working properly. They bled it but still "it works whenever it wants to work, but mainly not.
Now all depends when Hethel will send out the parts and than the dealer will built in. He told me that quite some parts need to be dissambled to replace the pump. Means, when I finally get my brand new car it is not brand new but a repaired car.
On top of all I am running out of time as I planned a long trip through the Swiss Alps, all the way down to the French Riveria and to Mallorca Spain and back to Germany via the Italian alps. All hotels ferry and so on is booked already.
Even if the car is repaired and handed over, I think a certain fear of break down will follow me all the way.
Keep the fingers crossed that the parts are coming within 3 days as mentioned in another post here.

Sorry to hear that

 

[NicolasB]

I can just imagine if I had driven my new Emira home 4 hours from the nearest dealer and this happens... unbelievable how they cannot even get the most basic, used since the 1950's type of systems to function.

 

[kitkat]

I can just imagine if I had driven my new Emira home 4 hours from the nearest dealer and this happens... unbelievable how they cannot even get the most basic, used since the 1950's type of systems to function.

This and the ECU issue are my biggest concerns, they better fix this before US deliveries.

 

[KAR120C]

I can just imagine if I had driven my new Emira home 4 hours from the nearest dealer and this happens... unbelievable how they cannot even get the most basic, used since the 1950's type of systems to function.

Failures can happen on any new vehicle. I had a power steering failure on a brand new Honda (gasp). Yes, it's frustrating, but not that drama inducing.

 

[Hell4Leather]

This and the ECU issue are my biggest concerns, they better fix this before US deliveries.

I know right. Not sure about the EU but lemon laws here where I live would force Lotus to replace the vehicle or offer a full refund if a safety issue needs repair 2x in 24 months, or 4 other warranty repairs in 24 months, or if I lose use of the vehicle for 30 days(not all in a row) in 24 months.