Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | ||||||||||||||||
| 11V510000 | LOTUS CARS LTD | from 06/01/2004 to 11/30/2006 | V (Vehicle) | 5047 | 12/19/2011 | ODI | LOTUS CARS LTD | 10/14/2011 | 10/25/2011 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | Lotus is recalling certain model year 2005-2007 elise and exige vehicles manufactured from june 1, 2004, through november 30, 2006. the oil cooler line may become detached from its fitting. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | A detached oil line could spray oil on a tire, increasing the risk of a crash, or it could spray oil throughout the engine compartment increasing the risk of a fire. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Lotus will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles as necessary free of charge. the safety recall is expected to begin on or before december 19, 2011. owners may contact lotus at 1-800-245-6887. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov . | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 200620 | 03/08/2006 | 10020370 | Momentary engine power interruption. *tt | 09/25/2006 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | ||||||
| PE11022 | LOTUS CARS LTD | 07/18/2011 | 11/03/2011 | Engine Oil Cooler Line Detachment | 11V510000 | |
| On october 14, 2011, lotus cars usa inc. notified the office of defects investigation (odi) that it will conduct a safety recall (11v-510) to address concerns with engine oil cooler lines detaching from its crimped fitting on my 2005-2006 lotus elise vehicles.in its 573 report to odi, lotus indicated that they have identified instances where the oil cooler lines would detach from their fittings.lotus attributes this condition to a majority of single supplier affected parts built from june 2004 to november 2006.lotus states that the cause of the failure is an inadequate process by which the hose is crimped into its fitting by the supplier.in october 2006 the supplier implemented an improved crimping process.reports indicated that this condition can occur while driving or while the vehicle is stationary with the engine running.in cases where the failure occurred while driving, oil would be expelled under pressure and could come into contact with the tires and or brake friction surfaces, potentially causing a loss of braking or vehicle control. one crash and one vehicle fire were also reported with no injuries.additionally lotus indicated that the same condition can occur in my 2005-2006 exige vehicles as well. these vehicles are also included in the recall.the action taken by lotus is sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation.this investigation is therefore closed. | ||||||
| PE11022 | LOTUS CARS LTD | 07/18/2011 | Oil Cooler Line Rupture | |||
| Consumers state that while driving smoke would appear in the interior of the vehicle, or an oil leak would become otherwise apparent.on further examination the consumer discovered an oil cooler line had failed causing oil to spray within the engine compartment area, and/or near one of the wheel or brake assemblies.one report alleges an engine compartment fire, while others allege a vehicle control concern due to oil leakage on a tire.odi is opening this pe to further examine the issue. | ||||||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - HOSE | ||||||
| PE11022 | LOTUS CARS LTD | 07/18/2011 | 11/03/2011 | Engine Oil Cooler Line Detachment | 11V510000 | |
| On october 14, 2011, lotus cars usa inc. notified the office of defects investigation (odi) that it will conduct a safety recall (11v-510) to address concerns with engine oil cooler lines detaching from its crimped fitting on my 2005-2006 lotus elise vehicles.in its 573 report to odi, lotus indicated that they have identified instances where the oil cooler lines would detach from their fittings.lotus attributes this condition to a majority of single supplier affected parts built from june 2004 to november 2006.lotus states that the cause of the failure is an inadequate process by which the hose is crimped into its fitting by the supplier.in october 2006 the supplier implemented an improved crimping process.reports indicated that this condition can occur while driving or while the vehicle is stationary with the engine running.in cases where the failure occurred while driving, oil would be expelled under pressure and could come into contact with the tires and or brake friction surfaces, potentially causing a loss of braking or vehicle control. one crash and one vehicle fire were also reported with no injuries.additionally lotus indicated that the same condition can occur in my 2005-2006 exige vehicles as well. these vehicles are also included in the recall.the action taken by lotus is sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation.this investigation is therefore closed. | ||||||
| PE11022 | LOTUS CARS LTD | 07/18/2011 | Oil Cooler Line Rupture | |||
| Consumers state that while driving smoke would appear in the interior of the vehicle, or an oil leak would become otherwise apparent.on further examination the consumer discovered an oil cooler line had failed causing oil to spray within the engine compartment area, and/or near one of the wheel or brake assemblies.one report alleges an engine compartment fire, while others allege a vehicle control concern due to oil leakage on a tire.odi is opening this pe to further examine the issue. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 02/01/2012 | 13000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 lotus elise. the contact stated that the vehicle was included in the recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 11v510000 (engine and engine cooling:cooling system:hose). the manufacturer was made aware of the situation and the contact was awaiting a response to find out how to pursue repairs. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 13,000. kmj | |||
| 02/01/2012 | 13000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 lotus elise. the contact stated that the vehicle was included in the recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 11v510000 (engine and engine cooling:cooling system:hose). the manufacturer was made aware of the situation and the contact was awaiting a response to find out how to pursue repairs. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 13,000. sm. | |||
| 03/14/2012 | 10000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 lotus elise. the contact stated that the vehicle was parked when he noticed that oil was leaking abnormally. an independent mechanic examined the vehicle and advised the contact that oil was leaking from the oil filter. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 11v510000 (engine and engine cooling:cooling system:hose). the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 10,000. kmj | |||
| 02/01/2012 | 13000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 lotus elise. the contact stated that the vehicle was included in the recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 11v510000 (engine and engine cooling:cooling system:hose). the manufacturer was made aware of the situation and the contact was awaiting a response to find out how to pursue repairs. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 13,000. sm. | |||
| 03/14/2012 | 10000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 lotus elise. the contact stated that the vehicle was parked when he noticed that oil was leaking. an independent mechanic examined the vehicle and stated that oil was leaking from the oil filter. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that this failure was not included in the recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 11v510000 (engine and engine cooling:cooling system:hose). the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 10,000. sm. | |||
| 02/13/2012 | 40000 | ||
| Oil cooler hose separated from fitting at the sandwich plate on the engine. | |||
| 12/22/2011 | |||
| As i was pulling onto my street, the oil light came on the dash. i immediately found a place to stop and park the car, at which time i noticed the smell of oil in the cabin. upon exiting the vehicle i noticed oil on the front driver's side tire & wheel, and approximately 30 minutes after parking there was a large puddle of oil underneath the front half of the car. my online search for a possible cause of this incident has lead me to believe that i experienced a failure of the oil cooler lines. | |||
| 08/15/2011 | |||
| Oil cooler supply line connected to the sandwhich plate where the oil filter screws in, on my 06 lotus elise became disconnnected from the coupleing, spraying oil everywhere and perrmanently damaging my engine. the engine only has 50k miles on it, and now it needs to be replaced. new motor, and labor costing over 6000 dollars to fix. this is an issue that seriously needs to be addressed by lotus, as numerous lotus owners are reporting this and discussing this on the online forums. being the 2nd owner of the vehicle, i am not covered by warrenty and all the repair cost are coming out of my own pocket. i wish there was some way i can get some compensation back from lotus, as i only put 5k miles on the car before this happened... | |||
| 08/19/2011 | 30000 | ||
| I was driving home from work, and after about half of a mile i started to smell burning oil and thought to myself boy, i'm glad that smell isn't coming from my car! i was traveling at about 55 mph. i looked in my rear view mirror and saw a thick trail of oil following me and looked at my oil light and saw that it was on. i immediately pulled over. there was oil covering the right rear tire, brake assembly, and suspension. the remaining two or three quarts came out while i was calling the tow truck. the shop mechanics said that the oil cooler hose slipped out of it's crimp and he showed me a photograph. i found out later that there is no easy fix. according to the experts in the lotustalk forums, it's common for the crimps to come undone. although i had shut down the engine in time to avoid a complete seize up, the repair cost will still be around $2000 to replace the hoses and clamps. most of the cost is from labor because it's difficult to pull the hoses through and the front clamshell needs to be removed. there are aftermarket kits to replace these oil cooler hose/clamp systems. i haven't figured out how i'm going to do the repairs yet because the nearest lotus dealer is $250 miles away. although i was uninjured, i can see how this could cause injuries - either from the brake rotors getting coated with oil, fires, or the engine seizing up in the middle of a busy highway. the lotus elise is a great car, but the oil cooler hose clamps in the earlier models are a big problem! | |||
| 10/12/2010 | 40400 | ||
| Was traveling at approximately 30 mph when i noticed oil light came on. drove car to nearby service station and noticed rear passenger side rear tire was covered in oil and there was a puddle of oil under car. had car towed to dealer where the problem was diagnosed as a failed oil cooler line. several sources (web forum, mechanic) have told me this is a common failure in these cars. i am concerned that this failure could result in loss of traction, or engine fire under the right circumstances. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 10/12/2010 | 45860 | ||
| Oil cooler line crimp fitting failed at the sandwich plate adapter while driving onto a highway ramp. cloud of white smoke appeared in rearview mirror and oil pressure light illuminated. turned vehicle engine off and repaired myself by modifying the crimp that failed. | |||
| 04/25/2011 | 38827 | ||
| The hose connecting the two oil coolers in the front of the car failed on the freeway. i felt the car dangerously losing traction on the left side of the driver and i also saw the oil light coming on, and pulled over immediately. i had to replace the hose, it costed me $775. two weeks from that, the hose fitting failed again, my car is in the shop right now, who knows how much the damage is now. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 03/17/2011 | 35000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2006 lotus elise. the contact stated that the oil line hose fittings connection failed causing the oil to spill onto the engine. while driving 65 mph the interior of the vehicle filled with smoke from the oil that spilled on the engine. the contact drove the vehicle to the side of the road where he noticed the engine compartment of the vehicle was on fire. the contact put the fire out himself and no one was injured. the vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who confirmed that the oil line hose caused the failure to occur. the vehicle will not be repaired for at least four weeks. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 35,000. | |||
| 03/17/2011 | 35000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 lotus elise. the contact stated the oil line hose fittings connection fail causing the oil to spill all over the engine. while driving 65 mph the interior of the vehicle filled with smoke that was burning from the oil being spilled all over the engine. the contact pulls the vehicle to the side of the road where he notices the engine compartment of the vehicle was on fire. the contact put the fire out himself and no one was injured. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic shop after inspecting the vehicle found out it was the oil line hose that fail. the vehicle will take at least four weeks to be repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 35,000...mw | |||
| 06/25/2009 | 8700 | 1 | |
| Badly worn second cam causing misfire. *tr | |||