The Evora 400 Diaries

[JayEmm]

3 minutes ago, CocoPops said:

Bootlid rubbing issue? Rubbing against which bit?

The boot lid rubs on the rear most air vents. Most 400s I have seen so far do it. The first sign is white markings on the black vent where the paint is rubbing. Mine had got to the stage where it had taken the paint down to the primer on the boot lid.

I only noticed it by accident at first because the panel fitment was shocking on my boot.

[CocoPops]

Might have to check and then apply some clear armour fend vinyl.

[mcx]

I have this issue on one side, the paint has slightly worn off the rhs black vent.

[CocoPops]

Odd given these parts sound like the same parts carried over from s1 Evora rather than E400 parts.

[mcx]

Only minor paint scuffed off at the mo.

[blindside]

1 hour ago, JayEmm said:

So,

My car was back at Lotus for the whole week last week (ie Mon > Fri) with several issues being tended to.

The car was making a hideous noise (like running over twigs) on full left lock, or vigorous left-handers, this was apparently due to over-use of copper slip on the wheel hub! A prize for anyone who can get me to understand how that works, the factory couldn't.

The tailgate was repainted due to the rubbing issue, although the black part it was rubbing against hasn't been replaced because they haven't got any spares.

My seat was NOT replaced because the seats they were expecting did not arrive in time. So I've got my old one back, creaks and all.

 

Given the fact that I have now been without my car for 15% of its ownership and that the number one problem I have had (creaking seat) is still not fixed, I have told Lotus that I will only entertain one more attempt at fixing it. I truly hope that they can.

James

@jayemm, Having followed your ongoing 'creaky seat saga' on here to be honest  I thought that the issue was likely to be unique to your car. (Possibly because you had the seats taken out to have the backs painted). However, after a long weekend 'road trip' through the Scottish Borders & Yorkshire last week I noticed the same problem when cornering at speed. I normally live with minor creaks & rattles and minimal sound proofing, but this was loud enough to be fairly irritiating on a long journey.

When I got back home I took the drivers seat out and sprayed silicon grease liberally onto the floor bolts/rails, but sadly this has not worked. At one point I thought it might be the centre console forward of the gear stick that was causing the noise..... it is relatively easy to become paranoid about this kind of thing. It would appear that you have a point that could be down to seat manufacturing or fitment process. That said I do find the sparcos to be pretty comfortable apart from the now predictable creaking when cornering. I am fairly tall with long arms & legs, so getting the seat placement exactly right from new did take a bit of trial & error for a few weeks. 

Anyway it is a minor irritation for me, which (as a Lotus new boy) has not spoiled my overall enjoyment of the 400 driving experience which is just fantastic!

Some 3000 miles covered after just 2+ months of ownership perhaps says it all. 

[JayEmm]

@blindside it is not really the creak which is getting to me, more the five failed attempts and two weeks of losing the car to not come up with a solution

It is not a problem unique to my car at all, I know of a number of 400s and owners with the issue. 

As far as I understand it the V2 seats have been redesigned somewhat to fix the creaking. As for the leather wearing rapidly, I am less hopeful.

[blindside]

@jayemm Understand your concern and you can definitely add my 400 to the creaky sparco list!  Being some distance plus a sea crossing away from Hethel is probably a blessing in disguise in my case. I will just have to live with it. 

[JayEmm]

Just now, blindside said:

@jayemm Understand your concern and you can definitely add my 400 to the creaky sparco list!  Being some distance plus a sea crossing away from Hethel is probably a blessing in disguise in my case. I will just have to live with it. 

No-one should have to live with it. I think I might get Joanna Lumley to write in!

I can understand the need down at Hethel to cut costs and run a tight ship, but on this one they've cut too far

[mcx]

It is odd as for the first 800 miles or so ( it had 700 ish on when I bought it) the seats didn't creak at all. So I surmise that something is working loose. The sound seems to come from the mounting points not the seat itself to me.

[JayEmm]

Just now, mcx said:

It is odd as for the first 800 miles or so ( it had 700 wish on when I bought it) the seats didn't creak at all. So I surmise that something is working loose. The sound seems to come from the mounting points not the seat itself to me.

My assumption aswell. My creak sounded very metallic, so I thought it might have been the rails or something... but Lotus assured me it wasn't. We shall see.

The annoyance is that I believe the mounting points are unique to the Evora 400 and this seat. So you can't just buy another Sparco bucket and use that.

[blindside]

Just now, mcx said:

It is odd as for the first 800 miles or so ( it had 700 wish on when I bought it) the seats didn't creak at all. So I surmise that something is working loose. The sound seems to come from the mounting points not the seat itself to me.

+1  Seemed to be at floor rail level. That's why I took the seat out to check the bolts.

[JayEmm]

@mcx and @blindside are you leather or alcantara seats?

[blindside]

21 minutes ago, JayEmm said:

@mcx and @blindside are you leather or alcantara seats?

Alcantara in my car

 

[JayEmm]

Interesting. Lotus had implied it was largely a "leather" issue.

[Neal H]

It took 1782 miles for my seat to start creaking - it started this morning

Mine is also alcantara.

 

[mcx]

Alcantara. I can't see how the seat facing material makes any difference.

[JayEmm]

And to add to my joy this afternoon  I turned the AC on to demist and it just pulsed a bit and didn't give much air out. Started to work again after a couple of minutes but I expect this may be the problem @Gm77 had.

[JayEmm]

And further to the above, one of my other major issues with the car (a horrendous noise when on full left lock, like running over twigs all the time) appears to still be there. Despite having been "cured" last week.

[C8RKH]

I'm trying hard not to be smug and contrite that I did not hand in my paid for S1 2010 NA PLUS £40k ish for a 400. Sorry guys but I still believe I got the performance car bargain of the decade and that £40k ish in the bank could go on a 2-11 or something similar to sit beside it. I'm watching the classifieds!

I'm not trying to piss you all off, merely pointing out that with a well sorted S1, even an inferior +0 NA, in my opinion, Lotus just got it so right!

[JayEmm]

8 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

I'm trying hard not to be smug and contrite

You're failing on that front, but you are correct that considering the 400 costs more than the last of the S1s (by some margin) quality should be a step UP - or at least "as good".

[Gm77]

11 minutes ago, JayEmm said:

You're failing on that front, but you are correct that considering the 400 costs more than the last of the S1s (by some margin) quality should be a step UP - or at least "as good".

Were the launch edition S1 Evoras perfect with no niggles? It's an honest question.

I'm unaware of any new model from any manufacturer that has been perfect. Most recently, Focus RS mk3.

[JayEmm]

I'm not expecting perfection Greg, but I do think it's not unreasonable to be peeved when it's taken five attempts and 12 days in the shop to not fix something as "trivial" as a creaky seat.

[Gm77]

1 minute ago, JayEmm said:

I'm not expecting perfection Greg, but I do think it's not unreasonable to be peeved when it's taken five attempts and 12 days in the shop to not fix something as "trivial" as a creaky seat.

I'm not disagreeing James. I just think that problems will arise with the first few cars that couldn't have been predicted pre production. Consequently Lotus won't necessarily have answers immediately. 

My eyes are wide open and my car has not been perfect. But rarely have the issues stopped me driving it and peoples' experiences on the S1 appear to be that when answers to the issues have been found (which may take the first couple of years of production to find), even the first batch of cars once updated become very reliable and to quote @C8RKH, a performance car bargain!

I'd have loved my car to have been perfect, but I knew it would be unreasonable to expect it to be given it was a new model. The goodwill I have towards the car and Lotus gives me faith that it will all be sorted out over time. And the enjoyment I currently get is more than sufficient to give me patience to persevere. 

I could have bought a 911. I'd probably have been bored of it by now though and would be back looking for my next fix. 

Many who know me know I am buying a new house currently. Finances are tight and Charlotte suggested we sell the 400. My answer, I'd rather we missed out on the house, niggles and all!

[JayEmm]

My car is much earlier than I thought. I had originally thought it was built around Feb/March 2016, but it was actually a September 2015 build. There is a possibility I am experiencing certain issues which have already been fixed.

Believe me, were it any other car from any other manufacturer, it would have been sent back already.

Even when I dropped it off the other day, I thought if they gave me my money back, what the hell could I get that'd come close? Truth is I still don't think anything will.

I'm still very hopeful the factory will come through for me, I have stated as much to them and I do believe they are trying.