Wiring loom replacement prior to handover

[PaperLawyer]

I've deliberately kept off the board for a few weeks as the anticlimax of delivery has gotten to me. My emira was due for collection from Lotus Birmingham in April and Lotus Birmingham kindly liaised with Elite Car Detailing to have the car fully PPFed during the week prior to handover to me at the end of April. Unfortunately the car exhibited some electronic glitches (such as the wipers not behaving as they should) on return from Elite and ultimately the diagnosis was that the wiring loom needs to be replaced due to corrosion. This has suprised me as I didn't think cars being delivered in April had spent any time sat around in the rain (and the car was certainly pampered at Elite - I popped in to see their past work, not realising the Emira in there was mine....). I spoke to Lotus Customer Services to speed up the authorisation process and currently the car is with Lotus Birmingham, having the wiring loom replaced (not a small task).

I filled in the Customer Services feedback form (received by new owners) yesterday accordingly...

Lotus Birmingham are doing their best and it is better the issue is resolved prior to handover than suffer the glitches during new ownership (and potentially be left stranded) but it really isn't an auspicious start to ownership....

 

[Nick in Sydney]

I've deliberately kept off the board for a few weeks as the anticlimax of delivery has gotten to me. My emira was due for collection from Lotus Birmingham in April and Lotus Birmingham kindly liaised with Elite Car Detailing to have the car fully PPFed during the week prior to handover to me at the end of April. Unfortunately the car exhibited some electronic glitches (such as the wipers not behaving as they should) on return from Elite and ultimately the diagnosis was that the wiring loom needs to be replaced due to corrosion. This has suprised me as I didn't think cars being delivered in April had spent any time sat around in the rain (and the car was certainly pampered at Elite - I popped in to see their past week, not realising the Emira in there was mine....). I spoke to Lotus Customer Services to speed up the authorisation process and currently the car is with Lotus Birmingham, having the wiring loom replaced (not a small task).

I filled in the Customer Services feedback form (received by new owners) yesterday accordingly...

Lotus Birmingham are doing their best and it is better the issue is resolved prior to handover than suffer the glitches during new ownership (and potentially be left stranded) but it really isn't an auspicious start to ownership....

Bugger. Complete wiring loom replacement on a car that hasn't been stripped down is no easy task. Fingers crossed for you.

 

[Andy H]

Stories like this are becoming a real worry. I understand that they're in the minority but still, this feels quite fundamental. If this was a US delivery it sounds like the kind of thing that would be caught by their lemon law.

I'm not sure how confident I would feel about the dealer doing such a significant tear down on the car. I would have thought it should be getting properly addressed back at Hethel?

 

[action_turtle]

How can it be corroded? Some water entry point, i assume, do you know where? A car will sit in the rain for months and not have this happen

 

[PaperLawyer]

How can it be corroded? Some water entry point, i assume, do you know where? A car will sit in the rain for months and not have this happen

Not yet. I am popping over next week to see the car (and now extensive the job is). Nearly £5k on ppf so rejecting it is problematic without lotus picking up the cost of ppf on its replacement.

 

[PaperLawyer]

I'm not sure how confident I would feel about the dealer doing such a significant tear down on the car.

I know what you mean but (a) the fact Lotus were initially retraining seamstresses to bolt together engines doesn't exactly inspire confidence; and (b) Rybrook BIrmingham (i.e. Lotus Birmingham) are also a McLaren dealership and so I'd hope their service team are pretty skilled. Let's hope my confidence is well placed.

 

[PaperLawyer]

Popped into Rybrook service centre to see my Emira sandwiched between a Rolls Royce and a Mclaren. Good news is the wiring loom has been installed but subsequent testing has revealed the ABS module needs replacing and is now on back order. However, had a good chat with Andrew at Rybrook and confident the car is in safe hands to get the issues ironed out before handover.

 

[PaperLawyer]

An update of sorts from me - despite several calls to Customer Services over the past fortnight, there's still no listing within the Lotus parts catalogue for the ABS module (HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT ASM-ESC part number 8892895979) and despite various assurances, no one from Lotus Customer Services is coming back to me, forcing me to phone up every few days to try to obtain an answer.

I'd like to escalate by emailing Scott or another director - my car was supposed to be handed over on 28th April and yet I still can't drive it. If anyone has contact details, please message me.

 

[TomE]

I've messaged you with info. Hope you get it sorted.

 

[shaank]

I've had that done, or having it done now rather, and it is hopefully the root cause of a lot of issues. All I can say is better it's happening now, than you have the car, have issues, then have to wait for weeks or months without it.

 

[PaperLawyer]

Lotus have expedited the process by taking the ABS module off the production line to send to Rybrook. Hopefully sorted in 7-10 days. By bypassing LCC, the wheels have turned at a much quicker rate and I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

I agree that it seems likely that the electronic gremlins suffered by a number of owners could be caused by wiring loom issues. I hope the replacement loom resolves your issues, @shaank