[doma]

Doh! :crazyeyes

That was exciting. I was in traffic today and tried to shift and 'snap!'. The shifter just fell on its side. Traffic came to a stop and there I was in 4th, clutch in, and no way to shift.

So I just sat there thinking 'ok, i'll fix this when I get home ... now I'll just shift into 1st and ... oh wait.'. Okay, I can't shift. Hmm. Well, let me pull off the road ... oh wait, I can't shift'. I think my brain tried to shift 5 times while attempting to find a solution for the broken shifter. :huh:

So... I figured I could shift if I could get under the boot so while folks behind me were going nuclear with their horns (this is 101 in california) I dug my finger into the boot and ripped it up.

Luckly I could then shift, albiet with great difficulty, by grabbing the linkage and moving it around. A million 1st, 2nd, and 3rds later I was home in the garrage. Fingers are cut up.

Hmm. Now what? I thought Sector111 had a shifter replacement ... but i just checked and I don't see one.

I showed my wife and all she could say was 'OMG!' 'OMG!'. etc.

So, me thinks....
Goto dealer, order new shifter and boot. Have fun DIY project at home.

Or... drive car to dealer (about 3 miles away) and have them fix it. (ka-ching)

Or... take shifter to shop, get a bar sistered up to it and welded ... and order a boot.

Or... find the shifter upgrade that I thought Sector111 was selling but now isn't.

Bah. Anyone know the shifter cost or boot cost?

Oh well. Here's a glorious pic:

 

[rnr]

Wasn't this fixed with the recall???

 

[doma]

and another...

 

[doma]

Wasn't this fixed with the recall???

Hmm. I think you are right. I remember something about the dealer replacing the shifters. Think it's too late to get it fixed via the recall??

 

[Amarao]

Holy hell! There was a recall for this sort of thing?

 

[Chococar]

Recall.

 

[agirls]

LMAO, OMG !!!

 

[JungleJim]

POS Lotus again!

 

[doma]

fun with Paint Shop.

Poor Elise Don't cry. We'll get your thingy reattached.

 

[Tyger]

Build Dates: April 8, 2004 through February 3rd, 2005

Vin range: SCCPC11155HL30002 - SCCPC11105HL32482

US cars with a vin prior to 2415 are affected. The main thing to note is that if you have a hex shaped shift lever you are affected. You will get the later round cross section shifter. If your car came with the round shifter, you are already all set and are not affected by the recall. You can feel the shift lever shaft through the leather shift boot to determine if you have a hex or round shifter. The hexagonal cross section levers that break have the same approximate shape and cross section as a pencil.

 

[sleepe]

Damn, that is awful. You can get it fixed free of charge even if out of warranty. At least it wasn't the wheel!

 

[delise]

.

Total Recall

 

[shokwaves]

How the heck do they put such a weeeney shifter? With all the muscle we Lotus drivers have. tisk tisk.

 

[fpitas]

Yep, the old hexagonal shifter shaft. Should be covered under recall. And on the bright side, think of the weight savings :crazyeyes

 

[RacyTracy]

This might be a good time to alert others, since we have so many new 2nd and 3rd owners now....It's an easy check. Just feel the shaft through the shift boot. If it's hexagon, it was recalled...if it's round, you should be OK.

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

It's an easy check. Just feel the shaft through the zipper hole. If it's hexagon, that's pretty weird and will probably hurt...if it's round, you should be OK.

I edited this for my amusement. Sorry.

 

[RacyTracy]

I knew when I wrote it someone would mess with it, the only really question was who.

 

[buzzy]

Have you ever taken your car to a dealer? They should be checking for recall's on every service.

Though I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't check. There's a service bulletin to check the oil cooler connections at ever service and mine were never checked and failed...

 

[doma]

Have you ever taken your car to a dealer? They should be checking for recall's on every service.

I took it in for the 1k and 7.5k oil changes. When they charged me $550 for the 7.5k oil change I gave them the finger and haven't been back. Looks like I'll stop in today.

 

[A7594217]

Damnanic: I have not heard of the recall either. I have an 05 also but I think it was built in october. I better check.