There has been some discussion about the Emira needing to sit on a battery maintainer/charger otherwise going flat quite quickly.
Well after a work trip, and then a holiday I went to use my Emira this week after it has been sat for a month. I was half expecting it to not start and was ready to take another car..
But it started perfectly first time, no errors or issues. Just as if I had parked it up the night before.
So don't be afraid to leave your car parked up for weeks without being on a maintainer. If you are experiencing issues then perhaps you have an underlining problem (water ingress into the electronics etc).
There are other factors at play: the main one likely being where you parked your Emira (for example). If in a heated garage or any enclosure which protected it from temperature fluctuations...and/or if the outside temperature was mild/steady during the month it remained parked, you may have had improved your chance of starting it w/o problem, after that month.
Lotus recommends the use of the battery maintainer which most of us in North America received with our new vehicles, when the Emira is parked for some time. This is from page 252 of the Canadian Owner's Handbook, in the "Vehicle Care" section:
Battery Charging
With normal daily use, it should not be necessary to use a battery charger. In low usage conditions, it is important to maintain the battery charge state using a suitable trickle charger, or automatic battery management conditioner.
Starting difficulties may be experienced after an unused period of 18 days approximately. (emphasis added)
The Handbook applies to both the V6 and V4 Emira versions.
I suspect Lotus is being cautious with that 18 day estimate, so perhaps an Emira battery will usually start the car, after more days. But others on this Forum have posted start problems after their vehicles have sat for less than 18 days. Congrats on being able to start your vehicle after that month MiamiBlue, but personally I wouldn't count on it, especially if you really need to use your Emira for something and wouldn't have time to charge the battery, if it's found to be too low on "juice" or dead.
Note that none of this applies to me: I daily drive my Emira, except when the snow sticks on the roads. It's parked on a 4-post lift in a heated garage with a battery tender on it (and added storage fuel stabilizer), during those 3-4 winter months and starts AOK each spring. So I'm just pointing out the Owner's Handbook and what others have experienced, as food for thought. We each decide on our level of comfort.
