Elise floor corrosion.

[jamesc_1729]

I've recently purchased a '99 S1. This morning lifted the floor mats to clean and found the dreaded floor corrosion.

Possibly I should have spotted this when I inspected it, as I knew it was a known issue, but its not easy to ask if you can rip up the (glued) pvc carpets on someone's pride & joy.

Fortunately the floor isn't holed, but it is awfully pitted. Have cleaned and scrubbed it to get rid of the white powder, and am now wondering what to do next.

Obviously the car is now out of its 8-year corrosion warranty (by 9 months), so does anyone know how much a dealer would charge for the floor corrosion treatment Lotus offered (fitting of secondary panels), or even if Lotus might still pay for this as a gesture of goodwill etc.

Anybody have any experience of this??

Many Thanks.

[Mr_B]

Lotus won't pay or help after 8 years. I beleive the full dealer fix is around £500. Have a look on Seloc as several people have treated their own cars after cleaning back the corrosion.

[lamb jiblets]

This was a dealer recall, if yours has not had it you could try your luck. but what ever get rid of the old plastic mats as they are the main problem causing the floor to swet.

[MiniDiva]

I think the general protocol for treating the corrosion, or preventing it further at least is to apply ACF50 to the floorpans. It's a greasy anti-corrosion solution that you leave on - doesn't really dry! Bit messy but if it does the job then what the heck, oh and it's purple! Ther is probably other types of product avaiable too.

If you search on this forum, and/or on the Seloc forum you will probably find some more info.

I did some research and then treated my floorpans with this stuff a little while ago.

[ludo]

Mr_B said:

Lotus won't pay or help after 8 years. I beleive the full dealer fix is around £500. Have a look on Seloc as several people have treated their own cars after cleaning back the corrosion.

It is only £500 if they need to put in another panel over the top. I had mine done at the factory service center (definitely recommended) earlier this year and it was only about half that (there was some pitting, but no holes, so they just cleaned it up and put a treatment on it and a breathable sub-mat).

[andybuk99]

Mr_B said:

Lotus won't pay or help after 8 years. I beleive the full dealer fix is around £500. Have a look on Seloc as several people have treated their own cars after cleaning back the corrosion.

Thats a load of tosh I'm afraid, or at least you were unlucky or I was lucky. My car was over 8 years old when mine was treated by Westover. Lotus told me there is no time frame and it would be done as a good will gesture.

Here is the email that I received from Lotus

---

Dear

We are pleased to be able to assist you.

The footwell rectification is a goodwill gesture offered by Lotus and is not
dependant on the car being under warranty.

We trust this answers your query.

Kind regards

Name and number withheld

Edited by andybuk99 on Sunday 27th July 21:55

Edited by andybuk99 on Sunday 27th July 21:56

[wezzer-45's]

Upto 8 years lotus will pay 100%
8 to 9 years Lotus will pay 50%
9 years plus and louts won't pay a penny.
This is the lotus warranty policy.
The repair procedure is also dependant on the level of corrosion in your footwells.
Photo's have to be taken by your dealer and then authorised by the Lotus warranty dept.

[cjm]

Are there specific model years that are worse for this or does it effect all s1 and s2s??

[DamienCBR]

I had mine done earlier this year by Lipscomb's mine is 8 years old in Sept so just got in there. Had new panels on both sides, they did a really good job.

D

[wezzer-45's]

Only S1's with the fixed in rubber mats. they hold in the moisture.
S2's aren't affected or covered by this mod.
Part of the mod is to fit breathable mats. A bit cheap but at least they don't cause your floor to rot.

[RodC]

andybuk99 said:

Thats a load of tosh I'm afraid, or at least you were unlucky or I was lucky. My car was over 8 years old when mine was treated by Westover. Lotus told me there is no time frame and it would be done as a good will gesture.

Here is the email that I received from Lotus

---

Dear

We are pleased to be able to assist you.

The footwell rectification is a goodwill gesture offered by Lotus and is not
dependant on the car being under warranty.

We trust this answers your query.

Kind regards

Name and number withheld

Edited by andybuk99 on Sunday 27th July 21:55

Edited by andybuk99 on Sunday 27th July 21:56

Hi Andy,

I know this is a very old post and a long shot but I was wondering whether there was any chance you still had the details of who it was at Lotus that you were dealing with.

I have recently bought a 1999 S1 Elise which was accessed by Bell & Colvill back in 2006 and deemed to need the footwells covering with the aluminium panels, however this was never carried out.

Given the response you received from Lotus, and the fact it should have been done anyway, I contacted Lotus today who have told me that as the car is over 8 years old and there is no good will basis either I would have to cover the cost myself.

As I say, I appreciate your post was a long time ago and it’s unlikely you would have kept their details but I thought it was worth asking.

All the best,

Rod

[Composite Guru]

And people take the mickey out of me for putting mine in a Carcoon over the winter.
This is what I want to avoid sorting out.

[Fonzey]

Composite Guru said:

And people take the mickey out of me for putting mine in a Carcoon over the winter.
This is what I want to avoid sorting out.

It was fixed in the very early S2s when they stopped gluing down rubber (non breathable) mats. Your S3 would never have to worry about this with or without the carcoon.

Lack of use definitely hurts Lotus' of all eras though

Edited by Fonzey on Tuesday 10th December 15:29

[Composite Guru]

Fonzey said:

Composite Guru said:

And people take the mickey out of me for putting mine in a Carcoon over the winter.
This is what I want to avoid sorting out.

It was fixed in the very early S2s when they stopped gluing down rubber (non breathable) mats. Your S3 would never have to worry about this with or without the carcoon.

Lack of use definitely hurts Lotus' of all eras though

Edited by Fonzey on Tuesday 10th December 15:29

Believe me, mine gets plenty of use in the summer.

I really can't be ar$ed cleaning cars in the winter so I'm not going to let the car suffer with neglect.

Edited by Composite Guru on Tuesday 10th December 16:10