Rattling interior, AC not working and window leaking (still not resolved)

[Razz]

HI all, I've had my Emira for 2 months now but unfortunately it hasn't been all perfect. During the drive home form the factory I noticed a really annoying and quite loud rattle coming from the rear. I investigated when I got home with the help of a passenger, and worked out that the noise is coming from a loose bit of trim next to the rear glass behind the passenger seat. Called Lotus to get it fixed but was told the earliest time I could bring it in was 3 weeks away. Not great for a brand new car but I had no choice.

A week before dropping the car off to my dealer the dash started to creak, and the creaking would get worse if the ac was on. I told my dealer about the dash creak and they said they would sort it, fast forward a week and I collect my car assured its fixed and start driving home. The rear rattle had been resolved (it didn't have enough packing material behind the trim) but the dash creak was still there and was more pronounced when turning. I immediately went back to the dealer to say the problem hadn't been resolved and they told me they will rebook my car in to get it sorted which was 2 weeks away. I couldn't argue with them because my car was booked in for PPF 2 days later otherwise I wouldn't have accepted the car.
Then I was driving home from the dealer (we all now where this is going) the AC stopped working, it would blow air as if I had set the climate on 1 and you can hear the fan struggling. This is a huge problem when your windscreen fogs up all of a sudden.

A couple of days before dropping the car off it rained a lot and I notice the driver side window leaks, had water marks all over the seat and door. I've dropped my car off to the dealer AGAIN for 2 WEEKS and hoping they will resolve everything. Lotus has been really unhelpful saying I need to go through the dealer even though I bought the car directly from them and haven't offered any sort of compensation for my brand new car being in the garage for nearly half the time I've owned it. All of this wouldn't have annoyed me as much as it has if they didn't put a huge emphasis on QA during the factory tour.

If this was any other brand new car giving me this much headache and not to mention the crap speakers I would of got rid of the car but the driving experience is amazing (pervious car was an M2).

Also as a side note, my dealer is 60 miles away and the courtesy car for all UK dealers is either a Vauxhall Corsa or a small MG SUV. Not really a fitting courtesy for a £85,000 car.
Will keep you posted.

 

[Andy H]

I remember things like this being common on the early deliveries but I was kinda hoping they'd ironed out most of the niggles by now. I hope they can sort out the issues. I'm relatively close to B&C - about 25 miles but it's still a round trip that I don't want to be doing more than necessary! Do keep us posted on how things pan out. Glad you're enjoying the drive when it's working!

 

[Razz]

I remember things like this being common on the early deliveries but I was kinda hoping they'd ironed out most of the niggles by now. I hope they can sort out the issues. I'm relatively close to B&C - about 25 miles but it's still a round trip that I don't want to be doing more than necessary! Do keep us posted on how things pan out. Glad you're enjoying the drive when it's working!

Honestly Andy at the moment it seems to be just luck. I spoke to someone who picked up their car on the same day as me and they have had no issues. I hope you’re one of the lucky ones!

 

[Toby L]

I too have a terrible creaking coming from what sounds like the passenger footwell. Happens when I accelerate, decelerate, go over bumps pretty much all the time. Took it in, dealer said it was fixed, it wasn’t. They had it for 2 weeks and it’s back there again to try and remedy it. Lucky I’m out of the country at the moment.

That’s not to mention all the other issues I’ve had with mine. Steering pump failure, multiple CEL’s, creaking undertray. BUT it is fantastic to drive. Hope you get yours sorted 🤞

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Sounds like a terrible dealer. If you've failed to fix a problem you say "bring it back tomorrow" not "we can fit it in two weeks from now".

 

[TomE]

Sorry to hear about the issues and lack of resolution. I hope the dealer can get it sorted for you.

Sadly I think the strained relationship between Lotus HQ and many of the UK dealers is contributing to this situation. Lotus took over the sales channel and give only a modest fee to the dealer. Then on any post delivery issues the dealer has to get approval from Lotus for any remedial work to be covered under warranty, which Lotus are apparently being difficult about. Plus the dealer only gets reimbursed for that work at discounted rates set by Lotus. On top of that, some parts are taking longer to arrive for some of the failures and the dealers have more investigation and warranty work than expected, so are busy and can only fit in bookings several weeks ahead.

All that doesn't help the customers. I think the dealers are caught in the middle and most do want to help but are being hampered by Lotus. Lotus really need to sort out factory QA, parts supply and warranty approvals.

 

[Razz]

I too have a terrible creaking coming from what sounds like the passenger footwell. Happens when I accelerate, decelerate, go over bumps pretty much all the time. Took it in, dealer said it was fixed, it wasn’t. They had it for 2 weeks and it’s back there again to try and remedy it. Lucky I’m out of the country at the moment.

That’s not to mention all the other issues I’ve had with mine. Steering pump failure, multiple CEL’s, creaking undertray. BUT it is fantastic to drive. Hope you get yours sorted 🤞

That’s insane to have that many problems on an expensive new car! Especially steering pump failure and CELs. How long/miles have you had your car for? Hope yours gets sorted to.

 

[Razz]

Sorry to hear about the issues and lack of resolution. I hope the dealer can get it sorted for you.

Sadly I think the strained relationship between Lotus HQ and many of the UK dealers is contributing to this situation. Lotus took over the sales channel and give only a modest fee to the dealer. Then on any post delivery issues the dealer has to get approval from Lotus for any remedial work to be covered under warranty, which Lotus are apparently being difficult about. Plus the dealer only gets reimbursed for that work at discounted rates set by Lotus. On top of that, some parts are taking longer to arrive for some of the failures and the dealers have more investigation and warranty work than expected, so are busy and can only fit in bookings several weeks ahead.

All that doesn't help the customers. I think the dealers are caught in the middle and most do want to help but are being hampered by Lotus. Lotus really need to sort out factory QA, parts supply and warranty approvals.

Thanks for the insight! Most of my anger is with Lotus HQ, as you said if they had better QA less people would have problems and the dealers could actually keep up with repairs.

I spoke to Lotus days before dropping my car off and they said they would keep on top of it and call the dealer after I get off the phone to ensure it’s done in a timely manner. I asked the service manager if Lotus called them and apparently they didn’t.

The lack of customer care from Lotus is unbelievable. My uncle bought a new M3 recently and had a problem, BMW responded by fixing it and giving him a free oil change as compensation.

 

[Toby L]

That’s insane to have that many problems on an expensive new car! Especially steering pump failure and CELs. How long/miles have you had your car for? Hope yours gets sorted to.

Picked the car up in early May. It’s got about 2k miles on the clock. To be fair, once the creaking is sorted it’ll be perfect. Until the next issue 😬

 

[Toby L]

Update on my car. The dealership got the stethoscope out and finally diagnosed the noise. Apparently it was a loose chassis plate. My Emira is now rattle free!

 

[Nick in Sydney]

That's great news!

 

[Razz]

Update on my car. The dealership got the stethoscope out and finally diagnosed the noise. Apparently it was a loose chassis plate. My Emira is now rattle free!

That's brilliant! hope the car stays trouble free.

 

[Razz]

HI all, I've had my Emira for 2 months now but unfortunately it hasn't been all perfect. During the drive home form the factory I noticed a really annoying and quite loud rattle coming from the rear. I investigated when I got home with the help of a passenger, and worked out that the noise is coming from a loose bit of trim next to the rear glass behind the passenger seat. Called Lotus to get it fixed but was told the earliest time I could bring it in was 3 weeks away. Not great for a brand new car but I had no choice.

Update
It’s been about 2 weeks since I dropped off my car to Lotus for repair. I have now been informed that the reason my AC stopped working is because the heater resistor has failed, not a great start for a car that is only 2 months old. My dealer has said the part will probably arrive in January so I’ll most likely be waiting 2 months, which is ridiculous considering that the car is pretty much undrivable with the current UK weather as I wouldn’t be able to defog my windscreen.

My dealer organised a long-term courtesy car for me but it was an Aygo, which I believe isn’t really fair after spending so much money buying the Emira for something only to go wrong which isn’t my fault. I expressed this to my dealer but they said it is Lotus HQ’s decision and I will have to contact them directly as they aren’t able to change the booking nor did they make it. The last couple of days I’ve been talking to Lotus customer care who have been very unhelpful in this situation trying to upgrade the car. I finally got confirmation from the manager that I will be getting a C-class Mercedes, but when Enterprise got in touch on the day of pickup, they informed me the car is an Aygo. To top it all off Lotus had made the booking at a branch that was 70 MILES away from my dealer where I needed to drop my short-term courtesy car to which Lotus HQ is aware of.

I called Lotus again explain the situation and after going round in circles for 15 mins the rather rude representative speaking over me told me that they will have to rebook the car at the right branch and couldn’t give me a time or date of when that will happen or whether that it will be another Aygo. Again, this isn’t my fault the wrong branch was booked or the fact it was an Aygo after being promised a C-class, but the rep tried to make it out as if I’m being difficult. Rather disappointing as I had already set aside time to go drop and collect the cars that day. I spoke to my dealer that assured me this wasn’t right and offered to call HQ on my behalf to sort this out. After several hours my dealer told me that I can keep their courtesy car for another day and everything is sorted for tomorrow. When I went to collect the car I was giving a Volvo V40 which isn’t in good condition and honestly is worse than an Aygo. Great!

Lotus HQ reps have said “we don’t own Enterprise so call them if you want an alternative car”. Why I’m expected to sort this out when my brand-new car is broken is beyond me. Lotus also wants me to call then weekly to remind then to extend my courtesy cars lease because they don’t want the lease longer than a week at a time. Again, why am I expected to call HQ when this whole situation has been created by their poor manufacturing skills.


All in all I feel so let down by Lotus after waiting a year and a half for this car and have lost confidence in the brand. I will most likely start the refund process(will probably be painful with how bad their customer service is) or sell the car and get a V8
F-type or M3 comp for the same money. Lets see how long it actually takes to repair.

Thanks Lotus!

 

[Rainier]

Hmm ... buying a Lotus only to get a much lighter weight courtesy car...