New car teething issues

BeagleButler · Jul 20, 2026

Tech called with an update, sort of. Said he got access to the airbag SRS module and wiring harness, could not find any issues or reasons for the airbag warning. Updated the factory and waiting for next steps. This doesn't sound like it's going to be fixed any time soon. So sad for a car with 300 miles on it.

OppositeLock · Jul 20, 2026

It's a Lotus. They come 90% finished from the factory, then have to be completed by you or the dealer. It shouldn't be this way, but it is

My Elise was similar. Once you fix the teething issues, they're good cars, since they're relatively simple compared to many others. The Emira is a very old design in a new skin.

Mine had some telematics issues, and a power steering pump failure, and the passenger seat occupancy sensor was wonky, but software fixed it. I do worry about the long term consequences of things like passenger sensors and parking sensors.

BeagleButler · Jul 20, 2026

OppositeLock said:
It's a Lotus. They come 90% finished from the factory, then have to be completed by you or the dealer. It shouldn't be this way, but it is My Elise was similar. Once you fix the teething issues, they're good cars, since they're relatively simple compared to many others. The Emira is a very old design in a new skin.

Mine had some telematics issues, and a power steering pump failure, and the passenger seat occupancy sensor was wonky, but software fixed it. I do worry about the long term consequences of things like passenger sensors and parking sensors.

Haha. Thanks for the candid response. With my last 6 cars being Porsches, I guess I'll have to change my perspective. Hoping for the best.

OppositeLock · Jul 20, 2026

I have a Porsche too (Cayenne, not sure if that counts), but it's not been as solid as my Elise was in terms of reliability

BeagleButler · Jul 20, 2026

OppositeLock said:
I have a Porsche too (Cayenne, not sure if that counts), but it's not been as solid as my Elise was in terms of reliability

We had 4 different 718 cars (base, gts 4.0, Spyder, and Spyder RS) that had very few issues. Wife has a 911 for 2 years now and has had zero issues. The Taycan she had prior to it was a different story. Nearly triggered the lemon law in the first year. Even the tech who worked on it wanted the car to go away and never come back. You can tell which products the manufacturer believes is the brand.

Eagle7 · Jul 20, 2026

BeagleButler said:
Tech called with an update, sort of. Said he got access to the airbag SRS module and wiring harness, could not find any issues or reasons for the airbag warning. Updated the factory and waiting for next steps. This doesn't sound like it's going to be fixed any time soon. So sad for a car with 300 miles on it.

I hate to keep beating on this drum, but honestly this sounds exactly like a battery that either isn't fully or can't hold a full charge. Tell the tech to try this: swap out the battery with a new one that's fully charged. Start the car, drive it around a bit then pull over, stop and turn it off. Wait a few seconds, then start it again and drive it around some more. He may need to do that one more time, but if it IS the battery, then all those dash lights should begin to go off on their own as the various modules in the car are able to pass their own internal diagnostic tests.

That was one of the frustrations of sub-standard batteries. The car would throw codes, the various areas would either be tested or even replaced, and it would still show the codes. They'd test the various areas and it would show they were working, yet the car would throw codes. I hate to see you missing your car when it could be something as simple as a battery swap, but inexperienced techs aren't familiar enough with this issue to try a quick trouble-shoot.

OppositeLock · Jul 20, 2026

Batteries also aren't magic. They have a voltage when under load which depends on the amount of the load. This is something directly measurable. A weak battery would have lower voltage under a given load than a new one, and if the car is this sensitive, it means we'll be changing batteries quite a lot as the cars age.

dillyskills · Jul 21, 2026

I have similar issues with one i. purchased out of state and hoping to get in to Rockville as well. Many of my issues revolve around Carplay whether connected by USB or over the air and with the latest IOS26 version. Connecting over the air seemed to solve a great deal of of the UI poblems (not just related to Carplay, thats just the factor that starts the problems). Problem for me being that streaming tunes over the air leads to bad quality and low volume, i realize that audio is not everyones priority.. heres a few more details

Software Info System and other problems with basically new 2026 Emira

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!! On either the literal problem or about dealing with the whole situation. I bought a 2026 used Emira with 1,700 miles on it and it didn’t survive the first 2 hour road trip with nothing but problem the whole way! Obviously this explains why an...

www.emiraforum.com

BeagleButler · Jul 23, 2026

- update. Tech called this morning and said he discovered water in a wiring harness upstream of the airbag module main connector. Cleaned it out and all of the warnings cleared. Not sure how the water got into the harness so he is checking with the field tech to find out if he needs to do anything else before putting the car back together.

Figured I'd update since it's now the start of week 2 with the car being out of service. Unfortunately, nothing positive sounding. When I pinged the tech this morning to find out if the factory had any ideas on how to diagnose or resolve the issues his response was that he was "running some calibrations", but silence since then.

Foosh · Jul 24, 2026

It sounds like it could be related to water intrusion problem a number of cars have experienced causing electrical system gremlins. As a result, many have installed a much larger and more durable water protection membrane over the much smaller OEM membrane, which is brittle and subject to cracking, even in the newest cars. My new '26 was already beginning to crack when I checked. There are a couple of threads here pertaining to that issue, and I know your tech is aware of the issue since we've discussed it with him.

We've had a number of very heavy (1-2"/hr) storms in this area, and a car parked in those types of downpours is exactly the type of scenario where water intrusion could happen because of so much water running down the windshield, overwhelming the drains, and flooding through the hood vents.

Below is a picture (without plastic covers re-installed) of the new membrane a fellow local owner installed in his and my car. It's made of a very pliable silicone material purchased from Home Depot. Your tech told us it would be advisable to install this over the smaller OEM membrane to avoid warranty issues associated with removing the factory-installed rubber shield.

I'll be in contact with you so we can discuss.