Water membrane
- Thread starter cst
- Start date
The membrane is underneath the plastic covers
Ah, ok gotcha. I just hadn't seen any pics with the black plastic covers on before, as all the ones on here seem to be without them on and just show the crappy rubber membrane.
So, next question - please forgive my ignorance. Why doesn't the rubber go on top of the black plastic cover? That way it would follow the contours and water would run off naturally instead of pooling on the rubber underneath the cover if that makes sense...?!?
Cheers
Gotta ask lotus that question. The rubber shroud is clearly a bandaid fix they decided was good enough, who knows if they'll ever implement a real solution.
So glad you found this video. Here's another screenshot from one of the vids on that channel (not sure if same one you pulled from):
Attachments
If the shroud went over the top, you would have to bodge/seal the top edge somehow onto the plastic to stop the water running underneath the shroud
So having already experience the full Lotus experience of water in my electrics in my first Emira V6 2023, I thought take a look at the water membrane in my new Emira I4 2026. I was staggered to see that in just 3 months like other pictures in the thread the membrane is already failing and to see an open wiring connector with no seal.
I would urge everyone to check their cars and to Lotus to make a much better shroud than they are currently making.
So following the really useful info here, I bought some neoprene rubber and decided to make my own, I have taken a few photos showing what I found, the membrane we bought and how we installed it, I have left the Lotus one in place and will flag it at the first service.
I would urge everyone to check their cars and to Lotus to make a much better shroud than they are currently making.
So following the really useful info here, I bought some neoprene rubber and decided to make my own, I have taken a few photos showing what I found, the membrane we bought and how we installed it, I have left the Lotus one in place and will flag it at the first service.
Attachments
- Thread starter
- #109
.... weird...you got the power steering fluid in front of the cabin filter....most have an open space ...I guess it really has no purpose. I guess I can store some food in there.
Also your OEM membrane on the brake fluid side is very short without having the bar bolted through the membrane....must be different versions out there.
My car was built in Feb 2026 and the membrane is cracked worse than yours..lol. I got a huge silicone sheet coming from home depot next week.
I don't know how long lotus thinks the membrane will last. We all have to remove part of it to replace the cabin filter...gonna tear quick
Also your OEM membrane on the brake fluid side is very short without having the bar bolted through the membrane....must be different versions out there.
My car was built in Feb 2026 and the membrane is cracked worse than yours..lol. I got a huge silicone sheet coming from home depot next week.
I don't know how long lotus thinks the membrane will last. We all have to remove part of it to replace the cabin filter...gonna tear quick
I4 power steering is in the front
I wonder instead of this membrane can we seal the plastic covers better? Since the membrane is over the top of the electronics, lotus believes the water intrusion is coming from the top. I wonder if it’s possible to make those plastic covers better sealed using maybe door weather stripping from a home improvement store
- Thread starter
- #111
This sounds good to me. I'd rather waterproof it on the OUTSIDE than let the water in only to be (hopefully) defeated by the membrane. I wonder if the whole plastic covers could be clad in the rubber sheet... 
Potentially it could be fixed to the plastic covers with silicone sealant? If the sheet needs removing for access to the service bay, then a hobby knife along the silicone seal would remove it quickly and hopefully leave the sheet in tact? Just spit balling, so it's not all going to be gold!! 
Potentially it could be fixed to the plastic covers with silicone sealant? If the sheet needs removing for access to the service bay, then a hobby knife along the silicone seal would remove it quickly and hopefully leave the sheet in tact? Just spit balling, so it's not all going to be gold!!
Mine is a V6 manual although I suspect the location of the key water-vulnerable parts, which are the HVAC resistor at the bottom and Fuse box at the top, are basically the same in the i4. Judging from your pics, the design of my DIY shroud version (also from neoprene) came out very similar to yours with perhaps the exception that I went deeper in the bottom section reaching basically to the end of the lower plastic covers. This because I wanted to ensure that I covered entirely the HVAC resistor pack part which sits almost vertically below the plastic pollen filter encasing. Time will tell if the neoprene material will hold up any better than the oem one, but something tells me it can’t be any worse. I second your recommendation that everyone check their oem shrouds, particularly when reaching the 2 yr timeframe. The consequences of water infiltration are not insignificant.
- Thread starter
- #115
Even if u could stop all the water ...wouldn't the water that got diverted to the lower aluminum tray cause some condensation in the heat back up to the electrical parts? This truly is a design flaw.
Even if my 911 engine or front area gets drenched...water still gets in everything....there never is a problem with electrical corrosion.
Even if my 911 engine or front area gets drenched...water still gets in everything....there never is a problem with electrical corrosion.
That this component water intrusion is a lotus design flaw is a well established fact and so is the fact that the shroud is merely a band aid solution, but it’s the only one we have so far. Your 911, like mine and most other prime brand manufacturers, just use better sealed electronic components.
As for condensation… maybe someone has taken too many chemistry lessons?
.
Last edited:
I have yet to get my Emira delivered and when I decided to look at this growing thread and figure out what it's about. Being in So Cal with virtually no rain, ex HVAC guy for 36 years, I look forward to seeing what is in mine!!
Thanks for the advanced work and solutions here!
Thanks for the advanced work and solutions here!
Last edited:
Similar situation here across the pond, near Liverpool we get virtually no sunshine!! Create an account or login to comment
Join now to leave a comment enjoy browsing the site ad-free!
Create account
Create an account on our community. It's easy!
Log in
Already have an account? Log in here.
![Air con known issue -no fix yet [EDIT: now with official fix]](https://www.emiraforum.com/data/files/featured_images/42/featuredimages_9bda8bb7beea4e84.webp)
Similar threads
Supporting Vendors
View all →
