Wiper speed issue

[TomE]

Reported by Harry in his Emira road trip video (at 20:38 below) and also by a few other owners. Seems to be after an undefined period of time in auto-sensing mode that it then becomes impossible to manually switch the wipers to the fastest setting.

This can be reset by turning off the ignition and turning it back on again, although that's not really feasible at 70mph on a motorway when intermittent drizzle turns into a downpour. Lotus have said this issue will be fixed in a software update, provisionally due some time in January.

 

[duff]

I am pleased to report that the car is now back home with 2 new seatbelts and a software update - although not the one that fixes the wipers which I am told should come soon.

Hats off to Lotus for turning it around and thanks to the chap who travelled across from Hethel to fix it.

 

[Markc]

Hi Tom. Do you happen to know when the software update is due? My car is booked in with the dealer to have some ‘teething issues’ addressed and was hoping to avoid multiple visits.

 

[TomE]

I wasn't told when in January but got the impression it was end of the month rather than early on. I believe it includes the ECU update too. Your dealer should know more about it.

 

[shaank]

Moderator note: copied from Journals sub-forum

UPDATE....

So, unfortunately a few software glitches has caused Lotus to recover the vehicle back to the nearest dealership to check it out and apply some updates to resolve.

Issues (that others have experienced too I can see)

1) Wipers when on auto mode sometimes don't go into full speed mode when needed - Harry mentions this in his video also.
2) Engine Management Light - it's come on randomly a few times with no errors at all the last few days - but car drives fine.
3) Engine Management Light - and car goes into 'Engine Reduced Acceleration' mode - effectively limp mode, max 3500rpm etc. Turning off and on sorted this, but why did it happen?
4) The car needed the battery disconnected and reconnected to do a full restart on the car's software because it wasn't starting, or fully turning off once, super weird, like it was stuck in diagnostics mode loop. Easily sorted, but could be related to software or battery issue?
5) Passenger seat belt is twisted, and keeps twisting even if you untwist it.



Hoping to have it back in next few days and I'll update on the fixes. Lotus, and Scott in particular, service has been decent, and as an early adopter I'm accepting this is just part of the experience, and can be quickly resolved with some updated software coded on.

 

[TomE]

The wiper issue seems to be related to auto-sensing. After some unspecified time in auto-sensing mode it it unable to be switched manually to the fastest setting. An ignition off/on resets it. Somewhere there is a piece of software between the switch and the wipers that's got confused.

 

[Pugwash]

The wiper issue seems to be related to auto-sensing. After some unspecified time in auto-sensing mode it it unable to be switched manually to the fastest setting. An ignition off/on resets it. Somewhere there is a piece of software between the switch and the wipers that's got confused.

Bit surprised that in heavy rain the auto sensors don’t just put it into fastest speed. Maybe the sensor is not appropriately calibrated. Otherwise what’s the point of having auto sensing?

 

[duff]

Bit surprised that in heavy rain the auto sensors don’t just put it into fastest speed. Maybe the sensor is not appropriately calibrated. Otherwise what’s the point of having auto sensing?

I would agree, I had assumed auto rain sensor would cover all bases. I suspect the statement that they are stuck in auto mode, which is what Lotus told me, is something of a simplification.

In my experience the wipers do not reach what I would call normal speed, at least if that is normal speed it is not fit for purpose and you'll be wanting high speed whenever it rains. I am also fairly certain that the issue occurs whether I use auto mode or not.

 

[Kimmax]

I would agree, I had assumed auto rain sensor would cover all bases. I suspect the statement that they are stuck in auto mode, which is what Lotus told me, is something of a simplification.

In my experience the wipers do not reach what I would call normal speed, at least if that is normal speed it is not fit for purpose and you'll be wanting high speed whenever it rains. I am also fairly certain that the issue occurs whether I use auto mode or not.

I can confirm this 1:1. Also have the ominous update due. I put down quite a few miles in the first two days across Germany and it was almost non-stop pouring - wasn't fun at all

I switched them to fastest almost immediately after a quick stop-over and they didn't want to go fast then either.

Currently they're "okay" I guess. Maybe they struggle a bit with high speeds (wind resistance) and new blades if they're electrically underpowered.

 

[Porter]

This is the sort of thing that I can't wrap my head around with Lotus' development process.

How is it possible that not a single engineer for the company ever drove these cars in heavy rain for any extended period of time? It's simply not possible to be outright missed like this, in my opinion, unless they were not using the intended control electronics in the verification cars?? This is exactly the kind of issue that should have been caught during the verification testing they were doing all through early 2022... that's specifically supposed to be a "systems complete" car with the production control units and switchgear.

And that's fully a YEAR ago now. How in the world could they possibly have failed to address something as safety-relevant as the wiper system, in all that time?

 

[VL3X]

This is the sort of thing that I can't wrap my head around with Lotus' development process.

How is it possible that not a single engineer for the company ever drove these cars in heavy rain for any extended period of time? It's simply not possible to be outright missed like this, in my opinion, unless they were not using the intended control electronics in the verification cars?? This is exactly the kind of issue that should have been caught during the verification testing they were doing all through early 2022... that's specifically supposed to be a "systems complete" car with the production control units and switchgear.

And that's fully a YEAR ago now. How in the world could they possibly have failed to address something as safety-relevant as the wiper system, in all that time?

There are a lot of things going on that has me worried for these same reasons. There was a worker who once claimed the China spec cars had more stringent quality checks than Euro specs before leaving the factory.... maybe that's what we are seeing. Didn't Chris Harris test his Emira on Anglesey in pouring rain? I think there were some other early reviews done in the rain too. Wondering if they experienced this issue with those early cars.

 

[Porter]

There are a lot of things going on that has me worried for these same reasons. There was a worker who once claimed the China spec cars had more stringent quality checks than Euro specs before leaving the factory.... maybe that's what we are seeing.

I would be absolutely shocked if this were the case. It would turn the entire brand reputation on its head. At the root of it, those kinds of practices are racist. I understand it coming from Japanese manufacturers in the '90s, because frankly the corporate culture was insanely racist in those companies at that time, but I simply can't imagine a British team doing something like that to the British and EU public deliberately in the present day. If I were in a position of authority in a company like Lotus I would resign before participating in something like that, and I suspect many of the current team there would also.

Didn't Chris Harris test his Emira on Anglesey in pouring rain? I think there were some other early reviews done in the rain too. Wondering if they experienced this issue with those early cars.

I'm wondering whether they had the same electronics. The production cars use this computer controlled business with an Auto mode and a sensor, but we don't know whether that was present on the tested vehicles. A traditional 12v multi-stage control circuit for the motor is an easy thing to wire up on a development car.

 

[duff]

My latest update from Lotus on this is that they currently do not have a solution for the issue.

The interim fix, as Lotus refer to it, is to stop the car, turn it off, open the door, close it again, lock and unlock the car, move the wiper to the desire position and restart the car. This is not a one off because it will revert to the failed mode, in my experience on Any interaction with the wiper stalk.

I am not sure if my failed mode is slower than others, but I find even moderate rain won’t clear at 40 or above. When driving through bands of rain I found myself trying to find a safe place to stop every couple of miles in order to reset the car.

 

[Leonard]

A dual branding opportunity for Lotus maybe.

I jest of course. But for those struggling this would be a good interim solution...

 

[BeHappy]

My latest update from Lotus on this is that they currently do not have a solution for the issue.

The interim fix, as Lotus refer to it, is to stop the car, turn it off, open the door, close it again, lock and unlock the car, move the wiper to the desire position and restart the car. This is not a one off because it will revert to the failed mode, in my experience on Any interaction with the wiper stalk.

I am not sure if my failed mode is slower than others, but I find even moderate rain won’t clear at 40 or above. When driving through bands of rain I found myself trying to find a safe place to stop every couple of miles in order to reset the car.

Wow but this is a safety issue especially in the UK with our weather ️🌧 are all cars affected ….

 

[TomE]

No, not all cars are affected. We don’t have info on the percentage that are affected. There have been 3 confirmed cases amongst forum members so far.

 

[Hethel Merman]

Maybe they couldn't build the prototypes for the same reasons they couldn't build customer cars.

 

[KJD]

No, not all cars are affected. We don’t have info on the percentage that are affected. There have been 3 confirmed cases amongst forum members so far.

And a certain Mr Metcalfe.

 

[dgrace]

Wiper motors and software seem like places that shared Volvo/Geely parts bins would pay dividends. This really should be a solved problem at this point.

 

[Forlorn]

Wiper motors and software seem like places that shared Volvo/Geely parts bins would pay dividends. This really should be a solved problem at this point.

I run a 2018 XC60 Volvo, it’s wonderfully built and I have had no issues at all software or otherwise. I cannot understand why Geely/Volvo didn’t use the full software architecture from Volvo, they used items like switches and stalks - it would have been common sense to take the full system and transpose. You know what they might have been able to install ADS systems as well, sorry there is a chip shortage I forgot!