Collection Day Nightmare - 6 mile review

[pete]

Because of your troubles I would get the dealer to put new tyres on and to deliver the car to you once they have it all sorted. The least they can do for trying to sell a car not properly serviced. Are you able to name the garage. 

[C8RKH]

4 hours ago, EGTE said:

The Ackerman is a feature of the Pirellis (which most of us gleefully replace with PS4/PS4S anyway).

Not the tyres fault at all, I also got it/get it on Michelin Cup2's and PSPSPSPSPSPS4SPSPS or whatever they are called....

[EGTE]

I occasionally get it on the PS4s (when it's cold), but the Pirellis were horrendously worse (and not good in the wet).

Edited February 11, 2023 by EGTE

[Rambo]

3 hours ago, pete said:

Because of your troubles I would get the dealer to put new tyres on and to deliver the car to you once they have it all sorted. 

Good point, as long as they don't fit Kwik Shit Ditchfinders. Could save you the best parg of £900/1000.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

I would expect them to respray the damaged paintwork, or take it back for a full refund. You didn’t pay for a scratched car.

[Chillidoggy]

What a dreadful experience. I’d be worried about what would break next, and so I would take it back for a refund. Sounds to me like Mr. Nice Guy the dealer didn’t bother to inspect it, or drive it, prior to sale. Being nice and helpful also means you feel less inclined to drive it through his showroom window, or ask for said refund.

[Niffty951]

Guys, I'm blown away by the quantity and level of response from this community. It's been helpful reading all of these messages and suggestions while battling out with myself over what to do next.

UPDATE: The garage phoned this morning, I'm told after a nights rest the car drove back to the dealership running faultlessly, without any warning lights illuminated?! When they plugged in the code reader it showed several electrical faults to ground and the simultaneous failure of 3 coil packs on the same bank of the engine logged.

On further investigation it appears that the valet company they use took it upon themselves to remove the engine cover and pressure wash the engine. This (surprisingly) isn't a Lotus approved activity. I'm not suggesting I'd ever do this but I'm curious as to where the effected connectors lay in the engine and if there's any way to improve them. I'd have thought they would be Toyota standard parts and IP67 rated minimum 'resistant to direct spraying of water jets' perhaps the water pools somewhere and seeps in?

They have offered to either sort or give me my money back so I've written an email asking for an independent report on the car, because right now, with nothing other than those first 20 minutes to judge it by, I have no confidence it isn't riddled with issues.

I hear your points regarding getting a chance to drive the car and feel the magic before walking away. I'm so annoyed the car literally didn't get a chance to turn a wheel in anger in those 6 miles of traffic! Even so, it did feel very reminiscent of my gone but never forgotten TVR Cerbera 4.2. More so than any other car I've driven for the good and the bad 

Lastly, regarding naming/actions of the garage. Really I have nothing to complain about with the way I've been treated. If anything their response to what is generally a very awkward situation, has been exemplary so far and makes me more inclined to mention in recommendation than warning.. but I feel it's wiser to just keep names out of it.

[Niffty951]

6 hours ago, Cdm2018 said:

Forgot to say

i have owned my car for 5 years and for very first time I joined the local lotus cars on their Sunday morning drives around Leicestershire Notts area.

I said to myself on way home WHY did I leave for 5 years ! I learned a lot about my car and driving skills and more importantly a bunch of nice people are lotus owners 

I could be wrong but your car may in fact have been one of the reasons I ended up buying an Evora, I kept seeing a red one with a rather potent exhaust being driven as intended near the M69 and A5 junction area  sounded fabulous although be warned the noise, which made me smile, was audible for about 5 miles after the car had gone from sight.

Also, pleasingly those aluminium buttons are still available from Lotus, set of three switches part number B132M0038F if interested

[Bibs]

13 minutes ago, Niffty951 said:

driven as intended

Not Clive then

 

[Cdm2018]

1 hour ago, Bibs said:

Not Clive then

 

Yes I can testify it not me although it’s part of my domain 

I have a lotus sports exhaust but I think it’s pretty tame and I am unlikely to be driving it that hard to heard 5 miles away 😳

[Alfa2Evora]

13 hours ago, Niffty951 said:

........I pushed it to see what it was and the petrol cap popped up. So I got out of the car and tried to shut it but it wouldn't stay down. I held it down firmly a few times but it came back up.

Most of your points raised have been covered quite comprehensively by others already. About the only additional input I can make is on this subject. Sometimes, the rubber 'string' that tethers the fuel cap to stop it going walkabout can become twisted and coil itself around the hinge/locking/opening mechanism resulting in the issue you describe. It's simply a matter of untwisting it and watching in future that you don't repeatedly rotate the 'string' each time the cap is removed. As has already been mentioned with regards to closing the flap, applying pressure at the hinge end is more successful.

While on the subject of the fuel flap, another little quirk (sorry, I mean feature) that you may discover is that on pressing the button, the flap does tend to pop open with excessive enthusiasm which can result in it literally bouncing off the bodywork at the hinge end. I cured this with a little 'surgery'. If you look inside the red circle in the photo, you'll see 2 tiny springs. Carefully remove 1 of these and the flap will only flick up enough to clear the bodywork and you can then stick a finger in under the slightly-open end of the flap and raise it fully manually.

p.s. I've got a 2010 NA, bought in 2015 with 32k miles on the clock and is now sitting on 88k miles. Apart from 1 occasion when it briefly went into limp mode due to a fill of rubbish fuel, it has performed faultlessly all this time and even now I have a grin to rival a Cheshire cat every time I get in it,  .

[Escape]

Pressure washing an engine is never a good idea. Especially a petrol engine. The military went to great lengths to water proof the ignition on the old Land Rovers, but no reason to expect that from an engine in a ordinary car (or that same engine transplanted in an extraordinary car). Most connectors may be waterproof, but the high tension plug leads wont be. I would never pressure wash an engine, steam cleaning is a lot better, but at removing grease and avoiding excess water pressure to cause problems.

I can understand you're a bit reluctant now, but on the bright side there is an obvious cause. Which does rasie the question why the dealer let that valet company lose on the car... Still, the dealer has so far proven they will step up if need be.  Go get it back and start enjoying it, your smile can only grow bigger with each mile. 😉

[TdM]

I think the plugs that would be affected are on top of the engine and fairly easy to see. I don't have the car in front of me right now and I don't have a supercharger bolted to the top of mine, but I know there are a number of electrical plugs on top of the engine which are super easy to access and should be obvious to you with the engine cover off.

 

Not sure they need improving though, they are essentially open to the elements, as per the rest of the engine and they are absolutely fine for everyone, so I suspect pressure washing specifically was not a good idea (which is generally accepted on all cars I think!).

[r3nault]

So for those who have the louvred rear window, do they need to avoid pressure washing at certain angles?

[Nathan Pitman]

I had an Exige Cup 430 with the louvred rear deck, never had any issues pressure washing that.

[Escape]

I rarely have a reason to use a pressure washer on a Lotus or similar. Unless it's one that applies the car shampoo. In that case you can go gentle on the pressure and/or keep a reasonable distance from the bodywork. Which means there's little or no risk pointing it at the louvred tailgate.

It's a different story if you go at the engine full blast and close up in an attempt to remove a couple years' of crud without putting in much effort.

[exeterjeep]

5 hours ago, r3nault said:

So for those who have the louvred rear window, do they need to avoid pressure washing at certain angles?

Certainly would not pressure wash mine near the rear window or anywhere really. Bucket and sponge....maybe the odd hose.

Many years ago went to test drive a Rover 820, had real problems driving it, lucky to get back to the dealer, he did not believe me, so went out in it with him driving. Same issues, he almost burnt out the clutch getting it back, he said the car was fine before, but they had pressure washed it.... Having remembered that would never consider pressure watching any engine.

[Barrykearley]

Never ever get water near the engine bay of an esprit then.

the angles spark plug recess holes fill with water and the car then does it’s best to imitate a john Deere.

get out and drive that car in anger - but if them tyres are 10tears old replace them 🤪

[Alfa2Evora]

5 hours ago, exeterjeep said:

Certainly would not pressure wash mine near the rear window or anywhere really. Bucket (ideally x2, and with grit guards) and lambswool or microfibre mitt....maybe the odd hose.

FTFY, .

[C8RKH]

13 hours ago, Nathan Pitman said:

I had an Exige Cup 430 with the louvred rear deck, never had any issues pressure washing that.

Same on my Evora Sport 410 with the carbon louvre, no issue at all with using my jet washer though I don't tend to stick it between the louvres anyway as don't see the point. Just use it like any other body area.

[Phaeton91]

@Niffty951 sorry to hear of your woes.  I can empathise.  
 

On my drive home from picking my car up (100 miles or so), I had the traction control light come on and stay on which kicked me out of cruise control. I also noticed some play in the steering.  I subsequently arranged with the dealer to have a full inspection at Lotus (which I paid for but on the understanding that they would deal with any defects).  This uncovered the air con wasn’t working (unnoticed by me) and so that was changed at the dealer’s expense.  
 

Then having got the car back the front wheels started making an awful clicking racket on lock and soon after that I had the engine management light come on too - the traction control light made an encore appearance.  So I was starting to have buyers remorse at that point.

Through my stubbornness and the determination to prove that I made the right choice, I’ve sorted all of these points now - choice of fuel, new brake pedal switch (£25) and a thorough clean of the MAF sensor means its running beautifully.  This forum has been a great help.
 

My car had been doing an average of 2-3k miles pa before me.  I’ve done 5k since I bought it in March.  Touch wood, the issues are history and I put most of that down to regular use.  Notably, my son works for Porsche so through all of this his wise and supportive words -regularly conveyed were “I told you you should’ve bought a 911”.  But, I’ve never had to call a breakdown out for it at least.
 

I can imagine It’s a tough call for you.  I think for peace of mind, I’d insist on a Lotus inspection with an agreement with the dealer to sort out any defects.  Very carefully inspect the service history of the car.  A car that isn’t used will cause problems as many have said but if it’s been well maintained, those problems should fall away with use and minor repair. 

Incidentally, I bought a 9 month old 2000miler Volvo XC90 from Blackbushe auction a number of years ago. It was out of a Volvo UK specific sale so I thought it would be ok. I paid £30k on the hammer and had the car delivered on a low loader.  I duly and excitedly got the whole family in to go for a drive in our new car. It probably lasted less than 6 miles.  Breakdown service called, and as they couldn’t fix it, Volvo recovery came round and 4 hours after delivery the car was being low-loaded away.  It was a software issue.  We got the car back and owned it for 6 years.  In the following 60000 odd miles, we had one minor issue with it. Other than that, the underlying tank like qualities were a constant.  

Many people have commented on the reliability of the Evora’s Toyota mechanicals.  If you decide to keep it, and the report comes back sound, I’m sure you’ll have many happy years of ownership.

Chet.

ps: just looked back at the length of this post. Apologies - it’s a monster!

[Spinney]

Never ever use a jet washer directly on to an internal combustion engine. At the pressures used, the water can and will get into wiring connectors and all sorts of places it isn’t meant to go. I suspect the reason the car started and ran fine after standing for a few hours is due to residual heat from the previously running engine having dried out the water. 

On all my Lotus cars I’ve only ever used a low pressure hose with spray attachment to wet it all down before washing with a noodle mitt and then to rinse afterwards. Even then I still wouldn’t aim it directly at the engine. 

Others have already addressed the Ackerman issue which is certainly disconcerting when you first experience it but not unusual in high performance sports cars. Some Lamborghinis have the same as well as Porkers. 

Get the car fixed and go enjoy it. 

[r3nault]

Just to clarify my earlier post, I did mean washing the exterior of the car with a louvred window. I have never washed inside an engine bay!

Hopefully for OP there won’t be too many lingering issues.

[Rambo]

I've never washed a car with a louvred window either. I prefer sponges and soft, lint free cloths.

[Cdm2018]

I never pressure wash a vigorous hose pipe and good decent wash  products & procedures is all you need unless you go off roading in a jungle ?