Thar be bubbles

[thegingerone]

On both doors and rear quarter, least I know what I won't be driving for the next six months...

[BertBert]

If I was Mr Geely, I'd be closing the UK Lotus sports car company. What a shambles.

[240Cup]

so strange this, no hint off them on mine and mine was an early delivery (December 22) and is out in all weathers as daily driver.... *runs out to check again*

what have they proposed to do? I heard of one on Saturday where they had simply offered a brand new replacement as opposed to any suggestion of re-painting etc. If it happened to mine there is no way I would entertain a repaint.

[thegingerone]

Thing is, I reported it with pics to the dealer two weeks ago. Silence since but as it's on most panels I'm not sure a repair will do. Shadow grey which is pearlescent too makes it a little tricky.

[croyde]

This ain't good. There's a thread about rust on Alpines as well.

Would love one but would be really stretching the finances to own one but to hear about rust on a new modern car

[ziggy328]

I was at the dealers having some work done on my Evora on Monday. They had numerous Emira's in the car park. Three of them all had issues with bubbles on the paint. They are not going to be selling any of the electric vehicles and are only doing warranty and servicing work on the ICE cars.

[240Cup]

When was your car delivered and do you have a rough idea of build date?

[thegingerone]

June 2023, no idea of build date though.

[Meteor Madness]

BertBert said:

If I was Mr Geely, I'd be closing the UK Lotus sports car company. What a shambles.

Or, lamenting the decision to stop making their composite body panels in-house.

[bcr5784]

Meteor Madness said:

Or, lamenting the decision to stop making their composite body panels in-house.

Anyone know why they are having these paint problems? While Lotus quality in the past may not have been subject to the same scrutiny as more mainstream rivals, I don't recall paint being the big issue it now seems to be.

[Enut]

bcr5784 said:

Meteor Madness said:

Or, lamenting the decision to stop making their composite body panels in-house.

Anyone know why they are having these paint problems? While Lotus quality in the past may not have been subject to the same scrutiny as more mainstream rivals, I don't recall paint being the big issue it now seems to be.

I think the original theory is that outsourced door panels weren't dried properly during manufacture, a later theory is that water gets inside the door and sits against the inside, eventually bubbling through. It seems to be mostly on door panels although has been the boot as well. It also seems that some cars can seem to be fine for 1 yr plus but then suddenly the bubbles start to appear, others develop it really quickly. There's a whole thread trying to get to the bottom of it on the Emira forum

[BertBert]

Enut said:

I think the original theory is that outsourced door panels weren't dried properly during manufacture, a later theory is that water gets inside the door and sits against the inside, eventually bubbling through. It seems to be mostly on door panels although has been the boot as well. It also seems that some cars can seem to be fine for 1 yr plus but then suddenly the bubbles start to appear, others develop it really quickly. There's a whole thread trying to get to the bottom of it on the Emira forum

Who'da thought it, the good old Lotus osmosis is alive and well and with us today as it was in the 60s!

[240Cup]

Saw my first example of this earlier in the week (not on my car).

The latest theory is that there is a strengthening bar inside the door which should have had drain holes in it but hasn't and that the water goes down the window - then inside of the door, sits on this and gradually soaks through the bare skin of the inside of the door. The bubbles I saw were all in a line along the top of the door.

The rear quarters (and apparently some rear panels) are a bit stranger though!!

Also odd that mine is out in all weathers and not a hint of it.

[thegingerone]

I'm going to contact the finance company (not lotus) and reject the car. My view this isn't a quick fix and one that could recur, no confidence so even if offered a repair I'm not conviced it will be permanent, such a shame really.

[speedluvver]

240Cup said:

Saw my first example of this earlier in the week (not on my car).

The latest theory is that there is a strengthening bar inside the door which should have had drain holes in it but hasn't and that the water goes down the window - then inside of the door, sits on this and gradually soaks through the bare skin of the inside of the door. The bubbles I saw were all in a line along the top of the door.

The rear quarters (and apparently some rear panels) are a bit stranger though!!

Also odd that mine is out in all weathers and not a hint of it.

I was told they haven't seen this on yellow so far - so maybe it is paint related ? (I also have yellow and don't have it)

[L1OFF]

My sons VX220 had these paint issues, had it resprayed FOC and was told it would probably happen again.

[BertBert]

L1OFF said:

My sons VX220 had these paint issues, had it resprayed FOC and was told it would probably happen again.

How can you be sure they are the same paint issues? On different manufacturers cars made generations apart?

[L1OFF]

BertBert said:

How can you be sure they are the same paint issues? On different manufacturers cars made generations apart?

VX220, common problem. Paint bubbles (osmosis) on a fibreglass body. weren't they built and painted by Lotus?

[av185]

speedluvver said:

240Cup said:

Saw my first example of this earlier in the week (not on my car).

The latest theory is that there is a strengthening bar inside the door which should have had drain holes in it but hasn't and that the water goes down the window - then inside of the door, sits on this and gradually soaks through the bare skin of the inside of the door. The bubbles I saw were all in a line along the top of the door.

The rear quarters (and apparently some rear panels) are a bit stranger though!!

Also odd that mine is out in all weathers and not a hint of it.

I was told they haven't seen this on yellow so far - so maybe it is paint related ? (I also have yellow and don't have it)

Agree never seen any paint defects on Hethel Yellow.

Coincidentally it is the only non metallic colour (initial Emira colours at least) which may or may not be significant.

[targarama]

I assume they are ally panels? Same problem afflicts McLaren, Aston Martin and many other more normal manufacturers. I saw a 1 year old Peugeot 5008 (or something like that) in a carpark last week with the same issue along the edge of it's bonnet.