Paint blistering on replacement doors

[dkm]

My emira had blistering on both doors, and lotus took it in to fix it under warranty back in November.

Now, the replacement doors are showing way worse blistering than the original doors. And I’m currently waiting advice from lotus on how to proceed.

So, in short, I’m wondering if the issue is actually fixed. They are claiming in the shop they never seen doors blister again after they have been fixed.

Have anybody here had their blistering doors fixed, only for the blistering to return on the new doors

 

[geoffbland]

I believe it is not moisture but gas trapped in the panels at manufacturing time. Many of the blisters are occurring where water cannot get into the panel and/or cannot setting there. Gas expands with temperature and the blisters show up more on warm days.

It is not an issues with the paint.
Fully stripping, repriming and respraying will not fix the underlying problem - it'll just come back . Bodyshops have refused to do this as a repair now and insist on new panels.
Repairing the panel also does not work as the problem will just reappear elsewhere on the panel (I suppose reskinning the whole panel may work - but may cost more than a new panel).
PPF does not help as the blister will eventually come through the PPF too but it can mask some of the symptoms for some time.

Putting a hole on the bubble does not really work, the damage lifting the paint off has already been done.

I will mention again - if you are concerned by this, especially if your warranty is about to end - Beaconsfield Bodyshop will do a free inspection. They have repaired this issue on the high-100s of Emiras now so are experts at spotting the issues, it can be difficult to see the issue when it starts.

 

[dkm]

I believe it is not moisture but gas trapped in the panels at manufacturing time. Many of the blisters are occurring where water cannot get into the panel and/or cannot setting there. Gas expands with temperature and the blisters show up more on warm days.

It is not an issues with the paint.
Fully stripping, repriming and respraying will not fix the underlying problem - it'll just come back . Bodyshops have refused to do this as a repair now and insist on new panels.
Repairing the panel also does not work as the problem will just reappear elsewhere on the panel (I suppose reskinning the whole panel may work - but may cost more than a new panel).
PPF does not help as the blister will eventually come through the PPF too but it can mask some of the symptoms for some time.

Putting a hole on the bubble does not really work, the damage lifting the paint off has already been done.

I will mention again - if you are concerned by this, especially if your warranty is about to end - Beaconsfield Bodyshop will do a free inspection. They have repaired this issue on the high-100s of Emiras now so are experts at spotting the issues, it can be difficult to see the issue when it starts.

This is kinda interesting. I wonder if the second issue is actually the same issue as the first. The blistering is way way worse, and literally, water is coming out if you press the blisters

 

[geoffbland]

This is kinda interesting. I wonder if the second issue is actually the same issue as the first. The blistering is way way worse, and literally, water is coming out if you press the blisters

That is interesting - this is the first time I've heard of anyone saying water is coming out of the blisters. It's also the first time I've seen it reported on the interior of the door. I would agree with you that this may be a different problem.

 

[Enut]

Seriously? On a car which costs £90K+?

£90K + cars get stone chips, I'm talking about drilling a TINY hole to see if it sorts the bubbling out and prevents a £5K+ bill when the car is out of warranty. Just imagine if it worked, it wouldn't be a stupid idea then would it?

 

[John_Matrix]

how many body shops have fitted new doors which have blistered again? Very few or many? Is it possible some have retained the ‘new’ doors and just sanded and repainted the old ones? Far less labour doing that. Would explain why some cars have had repeat issues as well.

 

[SimonT]

Any chance of some photos of what the issue actually looks like?

Any pattern in terms of colour, PPF, country of delivery etc.

I find it very hard to believe that 30% of cars have this issue.

You may find it hard yo believe but no doubt true. Had both doors replaced a year ago and passenger blistered a month ago, Lotus replacing under warranty but 4 months wait here in the UK.

 

[SimonT]

how many body shops have fitted new doors which have blistered again? Very few or many? Is it possible some have retained the ‘new’ doors and just sanded and repainted the old ones? Far less labour doing that. Would explain why some cars have had repeat issues as well.

They have to destroy the original to get payment from Lotus.

 

[SimonT]

£90K + cars get stone chips, I'm talking about drilling a TINY hole to see if it sorts the bubbling out and prevents a £5K+ bill when the car is out of warranty. Just imagine if it worked, it wouldn't be a stupid idea then would it?

They don't require 'drilling', I've purchased some very fine surgical needles and will be doing just this once the dealer has confirmed the replacement door has been ordered. Lotus agreed to cover the 5 Yr warranty, though I stated it was a body panel issue that is covered by the original 8/9 Yr warranty.

What I intend doing is piercing the main bubble, 7" below the window, to drain water out, let it dry out then squirt some epoxy primer in and see if it will just stick back down. I intend sanding down the other bubbles that are on the top of the door where the glass goes down. I'll then give a quick sand, dry it out, prime with epoxy primer and spray matching colour. Will it be a pro job, no but I'm reasonably proficient at painting to give it a go on a door that's going to be replaced to see how it turns out.

 

[SimonT]

Has anyone tried drilling a tiny hole in the bubbles? To allow moisture out? It just seems like it might work, and if it does just then reseal like a stone chip.
I suppose the problem might be that Lotus would then reject any claim because you had tried to fix it yourself.

They would reject to get out of the £3500 cost of replacing.

 

[SimonT]

I 'popped' a small blister on mine and water came out.

 

[Beachbum]

I 'popped' a small blister on mine and water came out.

We're still talking about the car, right ?!?!?!

 

[SimonT]

An update.

Lotus CS/Escalations have agreed to replace the door in question, I reminded them to confer with their legal department if they were going to say no.

I was initially told 4 month lead time but received an email from them to say the parts required would be delivered to the dealers paints hop next week! I think someone's getting a delay in their door.

I popped all the bubbles and all had water inside. The paint has clearly stretched a little as the paint wouldn't lay flat. This is what was underneath.

 

[Briggo]

I have had my V6 FE since new and it is just 3 years old. I have had both doors replaced due to paint blistering and now have paint crazing (not blisters) on the drivers door. The car was serviced and MOT'd on 23 March and I am awaiting a decision from Lotus as to how this will be dealt with. The dealership will be reaching out to the bodyshop intially to see what course of action they recommend. My concern is that if the current door is just repainted and not replaced, the problem may reappear. That said, if the replacement door panels are still faulty it could reappear in any event for a third time! My original warranty is about to expire but I have been assured the work will be done under warranty. In terms of warranty, I appreciate that it is a panel fault issue and not a paint issue.

Interestingly, I have previously challenged Lotus CS on the reduction in paint warranty from 5 years to 3 years and had the following response recently -

Regarding your question about the paint warranty:

The Emira has always been covered by a three‑year paint warranty. Unfortunately, a publishing error on our website temporarily displayed an incorrect warranty term. Once this was identified, we made the decision to honour a five‑year paint warranty for Emira vehicles purchased directly from Lotus by the original owner during the period when the incorrect information was shown. This means that for your vehicle, we will honour the five‑year paint warranty that was displayed at the time of your purchase.

This may assist others, and I was not asked to sign an NDA!

Happy to update when I have a decision on strategy.

 

[SimonT]

It makes no difference them saying its only those buying direct from Lotus are covered, consumer law here in the UK covers you for 6 yrs for inherent faults. Normally the problem is proving the fault existed from manufacture, them replacing doors for years means that problem doesn't exist for owners. Their 'mistake' on the website is their problem, not owners. It was there for nearly 3 years before they changed it in November 2024. Clearly not 'temporary'.

Also note that it isn't a paint issue, it's the panels that are faulty. Panels were covered for 12 years before being changed to 8 years, another 'mistake' by Lotus. Shit show of a company.

 

[Dave H]

It makes no difference them saying its only those buying direct from Lotus are covered, consumer law here in the UK covers you for 6 yrs for inherent faults. Normally the problem is proving the fault existed from manufacture, them replacing doors for years means that problem doesn't exist for owners. Their 'mistake' on the website is their problem, not owners. It was there for nearly 3 years before they changed it in November 2024. Clearly not 'temporary'.

Also note that it isn't a paint issue, it's the panels that are faulty. Panels were covered for 12 years before being changed to 8 years, another 'mistake' by Lotus. Shit show of a company.

Is there any way of proving they had the 5 year paint warranty up on their website until November 2024?

 

[Briggo]

Is there any way of proving they had the 5 year paint warranty up on their website until November 2024?

Here is a link which you may find helpful

UK paint warranty

It appears the UK paint warranty has changed from 5years to 3years. One screenshot from 9th October and the other today.

www.emiraforum.com

 

[SimonT]

Is there any way of proving they had the 5 year paint warranty up on their website until November 2024?

Wayback Machine.

Lotus Cars Official Site

web.archive.org

 

[Beachbum]

Is there any way of proving they had the 5 year paint warranty up on their website until November 2024?

It really is not a paint warranty issue, its body work and depending on when the car was first sold you have either an 8yr or 12yr warranty on that, as per the screen shots provided by Briggo.
Going by the dates on that screenshot, sometime late October 2024, is the magic date for when the Warranty durations changed, so if your car is registered pre that date, you get the longer duration

 

[jamesbxxx]

I visited the dealer for a single door replacement, only to find a small blister on the other door. These are replacement doors from 2025. Apparently Lotus now have a new supplier and request photos of replacement door stickers to verify the replacement source. Back in the queue for another door, but at least within warranty…

 

[geoffbland]

Apparently Lotus now have a new supplier and request photos of replacement door stickers to verify the replacement source.

Was this told you by the dealer? If so - which dealer told you this?