Poll for Those with Paint Blistering / Bubbling Defect

[geoffbland]

How prevalent is the problem really? They must have sold thousands of emiras over the years and if the only ones that bubble are on the Facebook and Emira forums then the percent affected is really really small. Who knows?....but if it's the start of a bigger issue then I'm surprised there is no class action lawsuit yet.? If your dealing with this outside of warranty it's big bucks....they need to fix the problem and extend the paint warranty. Like Porsche did with the gt3

This has all been discussed before, several times on this forum - worth you reading up on the information already posted.
The percentage looks like 30% of cars /panels affected (or all cars are affected and it has only shown up on 30% so far) and this has been mostly confirmed by the body shops and dealerships doing the warranty work, so not a "really really small" percentage. This specific problem is not the paint and so is not covered by paint warranty.

Edit: Also just re-read what you posted "if the only ones that bubble are on the Facebook and Emira forums then the percent affected is really really small" - I'm not sure this makes statistical sense - are you claiming a correlation between posting on Facebook/Emira forums and the blistering problem?

 

[Beachbum]

General consensus is about a third of cars suffer this and then about a third of replacements do too
The Paint warranty is 5yrs for older cars, 3yrs for newer cars(Post Aug 2024). However this is not a paint issue, its a bodywork issue and therefore the warranty duration is 12 years for older cars, 8 years for newer cars(Post Aug 2024). Therefore plenty of time for people to still get these resolved under warranty.
Long term, the rumour is, Lotus have moved to a new Panel/Door supplier and this should hopefully resolve the issue long term. Again hopefully before the 12/8 year warranties run out. This maybe why no class action has been necessary........yet

 

[geoffbland]

Long term, the rumour is, Lotus have moved to a new Panel/Door supplier and this should hopefully resolve the issue long term. Again hopefully before the 12/8 year warranties run out. This maybe why no class action has been necessary........yet

I think this rumour has come from one specific dealership as was reported here. As far as I know no-one else has heard this, I will double check this but as far as I know bodyshops and dealerships are still getting the same panels from the same supplier (Teijin).

I think we have all had those salesmen at the dealerships just making things up to get the sale - or sometimes just to stop the customer asking awkward questions.

 

[Dino67]

I too question that paint bubbling occurs in 1/3 of all Emiras. I know the poll results, but it is a self-selected poll and those with paint bubbling issues are more likely to voice their problem, skewing the results.

I am going to go into full nerd mode here so stop reading if you don't want a poindexter explanation.

According to the poll, 255 people voted and 93 have an issue. Over 10,000 Emiras have been built. That means we are extrapolating that a self-selected 2.5% of the population perfectly represents the entire population of Emira owners.

I believe CST's point was that we only know about a small number of owners who have voiced an issue. I certainly believe there are more Emira owners out there who have a paint issue and have not voiced their complaint publicly. However, I also believe that the number of affected Emiras is far less than 1 out of every 3 Emiras. A 33% defect rate is a ridiculously high number. Even for a Lotus.

Only Lotus knows the extent of the problem and I doubt they will ever disclose the actual number.

 

[Orchardbike]

I’m not going to argue with you, as I agree with most of your logic. However, in the UK, there seems to be a higher rate of bubbling. Just from people I’ve spoken to and asked the question, the percentage seems to be higher than 30%.

 

[geoffbland]

Whilst I agree that more people are likely to post about a problem than post that they have not had a problem and this can be self-selecting - this was an open poll for members of this forum that had already joined the forum regardless of whether they had the issue or not. Are you saying the self-selection means the "percent affected is really really small"?

In my actual experience speaking to Emira owners at various events in the UK - I have probably met around 100 owners - I would say the percentage affected is actually quite a bit more than 30% - probably over half them have been affected. Also many are on their second or third set of panels.

Speaking to various dealerships and body shops in the UK and hearing the number of cars they have worked on also confirms this.

It is worth reading what has already been posted on these forums - there's a lot of evidence on these forums about the issue - if you read that and then still think only a small percentage of car are affected then fair enough but it's a good idea to be informed.

 

[Orchardbike]

In my actual experience speaking to Emira owners at various events in the UK - I have probably met around 100 owners - I would say the percentage affected is actually quite a bit more than 30% - probably over half them have been affected. Also many are on their second or third set of panels.

This was the point I was trying to make. It may be less than 30% in the US or elsewhere, but the UK is definitely a higher percentage. All countries added together, the average appears to be circa 30% of the total cars sold.

 

[seriously]

@Dino67 I think your analysis is totally reasonable and I tend to agree with that perspective.

At the same time @geoffbland it does seem like there are more reported cases originating from the UK.

Perhaps both are true? It doesn't really make sense that there would be a difference across countries if it is truly a factory bodywork defect, but the anecdotal information we're receiving seems to point in that direction. Of all the Emira owners I've met in the US, I have met exactly one with a paint bubble issue and it was not in the usual door location.

 

[Dino67]

This is pure speculation on my part, but I would guess that there is a higher incidence of paint bubbling in UK cars because the car was first released in the UK. I am assuming that early production cars are more prone to paint bubbling. If late production UK cars are continuing to bubble at a similar rate as early production, then my hypothesis is wrong and I have absolutely no clue why UK cars are so prone to bubbling.

 

[bhavz]

I found one on the left door when I bought the car there was one on the driver door. Not sure if it will stay one or get worse. Anyone face one bubble before. As I believe lotus no longer cover Ppf as part of the claim so don’t really want to pay out of pocket again for Ppf.

 

[F1 SML8R]

It's interesting to me that the more recent examples of bubbling are materially different from the more common and largely original finding of what I coined "micro bubbles" or almost "dimples". The example above does begin to look a lot more like a paint defect when you have a much larger piece of the paint delaminating.

Just food for thought, but I believe this bubbling now involves a new variable that triggers a different type of bubble (a much larger one).

 

[Hobiedick]

I no I am not a lucky person, my Emira has been a bit of a disaster since I checked out in 2022, it is currently having it's second blistered driver's door replaced?

 

[geoffbland]

This is pure speculation on my part, but I would guess that there is a higher incidence of paint bubbling in UK cars because the car was first released in the UK. I am assuming that early production cars are more prone to paint bubbling. If late production UK cars are continuing to bubble at a similar rate as early production, then my hypothesis is wrong and I have absolutely no clue why UK cars are so prone to bubbling.

Current cars are just as prone to the panel issue. There have been new cars delivered with the issue - well at least in 2025. I don't know anyone that has a 2026 car.

It's interesting to me that the more recent examples of bubbling are materially different from the more common and largely original finding of what I coined "micro bubbles" or almost "dimples". The example above does begin to look a lot more like a paint defect when you have a much larger piece of the paint delaminating.

Just food for thought, but I believe this bubbling now involves a new variable that triggers a different type of bubble (a much larger one).

There have been a few different issues on the forum reported for sure that are likely paint issues . But the same more widespread issue with the micro blistering due to the panels is still occurring - although note that the size of the blisters does vary quite a bit and there are other symptoms too. For example, the ones on my passenger side (mm diameter) were very small compared with the blisters on my drivers door (cm diameter).

I no I am not a lucky person, my Emira has been a bit of a disaster since I checked out in 2022, it is currently having it's second blistered driver's door replaced?

You're not the only one by a long way - there's plenty of owners on their second or third set of panels.

I found one on the left door when I bought the car there was one on the driver door. Not sure if it will stay one or get worse. Anyone face one bubble before. As I believe lotus no longer cover Ppf as part of the claim so don’t really want to pay out of pocket again for Ppf.

Probably it'll get worse and/or more blisters will appear, also the blisters usually get bigger with temparature. My drivers door started with one blister, next day there were 3, a week or so later there were quite a few more.
I was told that PPF will be covered if it was fitted by a dealership - if not and you have your invoice for the PPF you can at least ask and there's always the legal option as warranty in UK law has to "make good".
If you are still in warranty (you are 2022 cars have 12 year panel warranty) get it in a hot spray booth for a couple of hours under good lighting to bring out any more blisters so you can get all the affected panels replaced in one go.

 

[bhavz]

Current cars are just as prone to the panel issue. There have been new cars delivered with the issue - well at least in 2025. I don't know anyone that has a 2026 car.

There have been a few different issues on the forum reported for sure that are likely paint issues . But the same more more widespread issue with the micro blistering due to the panels is still occurring - although note that the size of the blisters does vary quite a bit and there are other symptoms too. For example, the ones on my passenger side (mm diameter) were very small compared with the blisters on my drivers door (cm diameter).


You're not the only one by a long way - there's plenty of owners on their second or third set of panels.

Probably it'll get worse and/or more blisters will appear, also the blisters usually get bigger with temparature. My drivers door started with one blister, next day there were 3, a week or so later there were quite a few more.
I was told that PPF will be covered if it was fitted by a dealership - if not and you have your invoice for the PPF you can at least ask and there's always the legal option as warranty in UK law has to "make good".
If you are still in warranty (you are 2022 cars have 12 year panel warranty) get it in a hot spray booth for a couple of hours under good lighting to bring out any more blisters so you can get all the affected panels replaced in one go.

Thanks I will get it logged with lotus, I have the invoice the 1st time they covered the Ppf as that car was like that on collection. It’s a 24 made car bought in April 25.

 

[Mic]

Hi All
For those of you who have had doors replaced what is your opinion of the quality of the work carried out by your respective body shop. i.e. did the car come back in prefect condition with paint colour matched with the rest of the car. Were all the inside door panels fitted properly? I understand the process of replacing doors is very intrusive.

 

[OliverB]

Am I COOKED or is it the PPF?

 

[geoffbland]

Am I COOKED or is it the PPF?

That looks like the problem discussed here - blistering door panels.
Take it to your dealer.

 

[OliverB]

That looks like the problem discussed here - blistering door panels.
Take it to your dealer.

The dealer who sold me the car is gonna love this one since they are paying all the repairs out of pocket until next spring.

 

[geoffbland]

The dealer who sold me the car is gonna love this one since they are paying all the repairs out of pocket until next spring.

It should be covered by Lotus under warranty, although you will likely be waiting several months for replacement doors. If I were you I would get the other panels looked at too by a bodyshop, the doors will need blending into the other panels and if there's a problem with then best to get them all sorted at once.

See my post here --> https://www.emiraforum.com/threads/paint-blistering-issue-update.6632/post-196770

 

[OliverB]

It should be covered by Lotus under warranty, although you will likely be waiting several months for replacement doors. If I were you I would get the other panels looked at too by a bodyshop, the doors will need blending into the other panels and if there's a problem with then best to get them all sorted at once.

See my post here --> https://www.emiraforum.com/threads/paint-blistering-issue-update.6632/post-196770

They sold me the car with an unlimited mileage warranty, backed by Lotus, even though we do not have that in North America. The manufacturer told them to go fuck themselves since they had nothing to do with their mistake.

The sales manager had a deal on the table to get me into a new car and send mine to the auction in order to get out of this situation, but the owner of the dealership said he preferred to gamble over losing 20k CAD on a new car. I warned him about my passenger door, among many other ongoing problems.