Poll for Those with Paint Blistering / Bubbling Defect

[Boostmiser]

So has this paint bubbling been resolved on '25 and '26 model years?

 

[Nick in Sydney]

There are definitely 2025 cars that have had blisters. Don't know about 2026.

 

[geoffbland]

So has this paint bubbling been resolved on '25 and '26 model years?

No. There is no evidence it has been resolved in newer cars or with the replacement panels - and plenty of evidence to show the problem is still present in newly fitted panels.

 

[freefall_junkie]

No. There is no evidence it has been resolved in newer cars or with the replacement panels - and plenty of evidence to show the problem is still present in newly fitted panels.

It beggars belief that 3 1/2 years into production Lotus are apparently still building cars with this fault, and still supplying replacement doors which will likely need replaced again in the future. Why? Why continue to alienate your customers, trash the brand's reputation and future sales, and soak up huge warranty costs? It can't be that hard to resolve: use a different supplier to Teijin, use a different material, change your production processes, redesign the doors, whatever it takes. It smacks of hopelessly weak and ineffective management. Either that or their financial situation is so bad that they have given up and are resigned to Geely pulling the plug on the Hethel factory. It really is unfathomable.

 

[geoffbland]

It beggars belief that 3 1/2 years into production Lotus are apparently still building cars with this fault, and still supplying replacement doors which will likely need replaced again in the future. Why? Why continue to alienate your customers, trash the brand's reputation and future sales, and soak up huge warranty costs? It can't be that hard to resolve: use a different supplier to Teijin, use a different material, change your production processes, redesign the doors, whatever it takes. It smacks of hopelessly weak and ineffective management. Either that or their financial situation is so bad that they have given up and are resigned to Geely pulling the plug on the Hethel factory. It really is unfathomable.

Teijin although a multinational company (with a factory in Portugal where the Emira TMC panels) were originally a Japanese company. However they were `bought out` by a Chinese company and have had a lot of Chinese investment (possibly $Bs) recently including the building of two massive factories in China with another on the way.

https://www.teijin.com/about/history/

https://www.industrialinfo.com/news/article/teijin-chem-invests-in-chinas-development--111144

Lotus are owned by Geely an Chinese company, if a parent company mandates your suppliers you will be unable to control this. Also note that now no ex-Lotus staff remain in upper management at Lotus as far as I know.

This is also why many of the plastic parts in the car are made by Lynk & Co.

Luckily the front wings, bonnet and roof are made by Lotus themselves; these panels have had very few issues.

 

[Blackthought_]

It beggars belief that 3 1/2 years into production Lotus are apparently still building cars with this fault, and still supplying replacement doors which will likely need replaced again in the future. Why? Why continue to alienate your customers, trash the brand's reputation and future sales, and soak up huge warranty costs? It can't be that hard to resolve: use a different supplier to Teijin, use a different material, change your production processes, redesign the doors, whatever it takes. It smacks of hopelessly weak and ineffective management. Either that or their financial situation is so bad that they have given up and are resigned to Geely pulling the plug on the Hethel factory. It really is unfathomable.

Probably not a popular opinion here, but I’d wager that a majority of Emira owners aren’t experiencing pant bubbling. Yes, there are dozens on here and the paint issues feel widespread, but there are thousands of emiras worldwide at this stage that aren’t on the forums. It’s similar to insurance company issuing a recall- thousands of vehicles may be experiencing an issue, but if there are hundreds of thousands of the same vehicle on the road, they are fine to eat the cost on the ones that have issues.

I hear ya though, would be awesome if they just get their crap together and change suppliers/paint process or whatever is causing the issue.

 

[virtualmacho]

It is not that obvious if you have PPF, which I think many Emira owners do. They all might have some amount of blistering, but haven't noticed it yet or just are not thinking that much about it...

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Probably not a popular opinion here, but I’d wager that a majority of Emira owners aren’t experiencing pant bubbling.

Agree 100%. There are specific batches of incorrectly manufactured panels; it's not "something that will eventually happen to all of them."

 

[geoffbland]

Agree 100%. There are specific batches of incorrectly manufactured panels; it's not "something that will eventually happen to all of them."

I wish this were true. From a couple of polls on this forum and from what I've discussed with some bodyshops and delaers, around 30% of cars have been affected, that's several thousand - so far. You may be lucky of course and the issue never cause any symptoms on your car - you can certainly hope for the best.

 

[Briggo]

I agree it is not just a bad batch of panels that is the issue. I have had both doors replaced and now I have paint crazing on the drivers door within a year of that door being replaced. Currently waiting to see if it is a bodyshop repair/repaint or a second door replacement. Interestingly, my local Lotus dealer has dealt with over 20 Emira panel replacements to date! So frustrating as it is a great car and owners deserve better!

 

[virtualmacho]

Are you folks getting door "panels" replaced, or the whole door? My whole door is being replaced, and the body shop cannot provide me with pictures of the inside of the outermost "panel" because they are not prying it off of the framework.

This is a photo of my removed door. The equivalent assembly (not shown) is being prepped and painted.

 

[ADC]

Are you folks getting door "panels" replaced, or the whole door? My whole door is being replaced, and the body shop cannot provide me with pictures of the inside of the outermost "panel" because they are not prying it off of the framework.
View attachment 77553
This is a photo of my removed door. The equivalent assembly (not shown) is being prepped and painted.

It is always the whole door that is replaced, never just the skin.

I disagree with the assertion that PPF make it less obvious.

 

[geoffbland]

Are you folks getting door "panels" replaced, or the whole door? My whole door is being replaced, and the body shop cannot provide me with pictures of the inside of the outermost "panel" because they are not prying it off of the framework.

The whole door. The composite can't be repaired without the issue just showing up on unreplaced parts of the door.

 

[geoffbland]

I disagree with the assertion that PPF make it less obvious.

Unfortunately this is not the case.
Issues were found on my car on both rear quarter panels only after the PPF was removed by the body shop, previously it was not visible.
PPF can hide or delay the symptoms but the issue is still present and will eventually show through the PPF.

 

[virtualmacho]

I disagree with the assertion that PPF make it less obvious.

It is visible, I'm not arguing that. Just less obvious because the PPF will squish the blisters down and hence less shadows from sideways light.

The top picture is from my car with PPF, bottom picture is from a car without PPF. The more height and "jaggedness" of the blister, the more obvious.

with PPF

without PPF

 

[F1 SML8R]

View attachment 77553
This is a photo of my removed door. The equivalent assembly (not shown) is being prepped and painted.

Thank you for posting this. I've actually asked for this very pic and no one was willing to post for whatever reason. I think the pic is insightful because part of the problem is tied to moisture (or at least most would agree that it is). So, this pic shows where water could collect and over time trigger the bubbling.

The center crossbeam appears to have a large lip at the top that would likely serve as a channel to collect water. Also, the enclosed portion at the top has various holes/openings in it that could collect water. Not surprisingly, both the preceding align with the areas that have shown the paint bubbling on the outer skin.

I certainly would encourage anyone else who had their doors replaced and spoke to the repair shop to share what the repair shop's take is as far as root cause. Or if you never even thought of asking, definitely engage and see what they think. Remember, this is their day job. So, I'm pretty sure the skilled shops will have a "take" on what's going wrong.

Additionally, @virtualmacho if your repair shop is going to destroy the door, perhaps they can first try to pry-off/separate the outer-sheet/skin from the main door assembly to see if that gives any additional insight?

Lastly, I hope your repair goes perfectly and the car looks better than new when done!

 

[Nelumbo nucifera]

Bad case of the Blister/Bubble issue??

Garaged and rarely sees bad weather; I drive something else if it's raining. Also, in Sydney we don't get very cold weather, which may be a factor.

Same in Queensland (Aus). Garaged and not used in wet weather. After driving, park it (2024 model) in the garage, doors open, glass boot lid up overnight with the idea of removing heat from within the cabin and engine compartment as soon as possible in an attempt to equalise with the garage atmospheric conditions (temperature, humidity). Unlike Sydney, we in Queensland have high humidity to deal with at this time of year (summer). Will my infantile thinking help, I do wonder.

 

[geoffbland]

Thank you for posting this. I've actually asked for this very pic and no one was willing to post for whatever reason. I think the pic is insightful because part of the problem is tied to moisture (or at least most would agree that it is). So, this pic shows where water could collect and over time trigger the bubbling.

The center crossbeam appears to have a large lip at the top that would likely serve as a channel to collect water. Also, the enclosed portion at the top has various holes/openings in it that could collect water. Not surprisingly, both the preceding align with the areas that have shown the paint bubbling on the outer skin.

@virtualmacho's photo shows the crossbeam is just under halfway up the door
@virtualmacho other photos shows the blistering at the top of the door and a few inches down from that.
My blisters on the door were about 3 inches from the top of the door and I have seen others similar. I also had the issue down the front of the door. The other place I have seen the blisters is around the door handle recess.
There is nowhere for water to collect in these places.

Difficult to get the blisters to show up in a photo - but this is my door before replacement (the blue ringed circle is the affected area).

 

[F1 SML8R]

@virtualmacho's photo shows the crossbeam is just under halfway up the door
@virtualmacho other photos shows the blistering at the top of the door and a few inches down from that.
My blisters on the door were about 3 inches from the top of the door and I have seen others similar. I also had the issue down the front of the door. The other place I have seen the blisters is around the door handle recess.
There is nowhere for water to collect in these places.

Well, I'm not sure we can actually say there's "nowhere for water to collect" based on the pic provided.

Per the pic and my description also refers to an area described as "enclosed portion at the top has various holes/openings in it that could collect water." I believe there might be water collection behind that blocked/unexposed area (we can't see behind it or under it through the large door opening that exposes the crossbeam because of the pic's angle).

The preceding is also why I'm super curious for someone to snap a pic of the outer skin removed. It would allow us to see what's behind the outer skin panel (and in that blocked area) as far as damage. I think that photograph would be quite telling and potentially reveal possible root causes. This may also be why Lotus wants them destroyed per someone's earlier post.

Again, all just a theory, but a pic of the back of the door skin would be telling...

 

[virtualmacho]

[EDIT] This was a picture of my old (blistered) door. It has white material with Dark Verdant overspray.

This is a picture of the unpainted door taken from a low angle looking up. You can see a seam between the inner panel and the outer "skin". The inner structure has drain holes, but they are tiny. Maybe this is an updated design? I am asking for a picture of the removed door from the same angle to compare.

I think what all of us want to see is what is happening on the other side of that area (that is where my blisters are), and that is why I am asking the dealer / body shop for a picture of the outer skin removed. I don't know if they can do this for me, but will let you folks know how it goes.