[ROCKCENTER]

I have come to love them all... feel free to add...

1. squeaky toy noise when cornering
2. freaking out about overheating in traffic
3. Blaukpunt *beep*
4. *rattle rattle rattle*
5. console light must face down...
6. brake lights only come on under hard braking
7. my radio display turns off when changing tracks on CD's
8. shift light comes on at 6,200 (sometimes)


I love my Elise... these are not complaints - just observations. Afterall, these "quirks" are what will keep away the non-believers.

 

[sleepless]

I have come to love them all... feel free to add...

8. shift light comes on at 6,200 (sometimes)

If the car is cold, then this is normal and not uncommon on some other higher revving cars. It's telling you to not run it too hard when it is cold. Listen to it

 

[Stan]

1. squeaky toy noise when cornering

Tends to go away after a few thousand miles...may come and go too....can be banished with some silicone spray on the inner lower a-arm bushings up front.

2. freaking out about overheating in traffic

The car seems to have huge cooling capacity...and dual, staged cooling fans. I have not heard of any instances of overheating. My Europa's radiator has roughly the frontal area of a sheet of paper...and the single, small, low RPM cooling fan came with no relay to handle the current...it all went through the temp switch itself = time bomb. The car s/b fine cooling wise.

3. Blaukpunt *beep*

IIRC this can be turned off somehow.

4. *rattle rattle rattle*

You can change this to *rattle rattle* if you work on it!

5. console light must face down...

Sure for the alarm to work properly....not sure why this is a problem though.

6. brake lights only come on under hard braking

EZ fix. The switch lives in front of the pivoting end of the brake lever. It removes by hand with a 1/4 turn. Bend the sheet metal bracket and reinsert the switch. If you will be adjusting the brake pedal height via the push rod tweak, this may solve the switch issue at the same time!

7. my radio display turns off when changing tracks on CD's

Haven't noticed this...I'll have to try this out.

8. shift light comes on at 6,200 (sometimes)

As mentioned, this is warm up related...it can come on sooner than that....and the Rs are limited. You can't get up on the cam until you have roughly 160 F of water temp. You should wait a few moments past when water temp reach the 180s before really excercising the car if longest engine life is a priority for you.

 

[kbob]

5. console light must face down...

What do you mean by this? (I don't have a car yet.)

Thanks.

kbob

 

[AutoXr]

The console light works by tilting it up (always off) center (always on) and tilting it down (on when door it opened, courtesy mode). The interior light is located in the center behind the two seats on the bulkhead/firewall.

 

[MikeAR303]

Listed in no particular order...


Various rattles and squeaks (not a big deal)

Dull spots in paint, more appearing

Steering wheel turned slightly to the right when the car is moving in a straight line. Car tracks straight when you let go of the wheel.

Brake lights (as stated by others)

Mouse living in engine compartment

 

[Samurai]

Dull spots in paint, more appearing

Just wondering, could this be the wax rubbing off? It may just be time to wax the car.

 

[Jim Itin]

Listed in no particular order...


Various rattles and squeaks (not a big deal)

Dull spots in paint, more appearing
-Might be either a wax problem or a clear coat problem.
Definitely bring it to the dealers attention just in case.

Steering wheel turned slightly to the right when the car is moving in a straight line. Car tracks straight when you let go of the wheel.
-Easily fixed by dealer or alignment shop - minor adjustment
of idler arm in front suspension.

Brake lights (as stated by others)
-As noted by Stan, easily fixed by you.

Mouse living in engine compartment

-As noted by others: good luck, but relocate the critter
before critical bits of the car (wiring, anything plastic) go
missing. I once had a mouse eat the plastic nozzle off a gas
container (full of gas -- so it wasn't attracted by the aroma).

 

[Stan]

>>>The console light works by tilting it up (always off) center (always on) and tilting it down (on when door it opened, courtesy mode). The interior light is located in the center behind the two seats on the bulkhead/firewall.<<<

It also changes alarm modes, hence the comment about needing to keep it facing downward.

 

[Jack]

If you will be adjusting the brake pedal height via the push rod tweak, this may solve the switch issue at the same time!

Stan: Can the height of the brake and/or gas pedals be easily adjusted? I'm finding that the brake pedal is too low (under hard braking) for me to comfortably heel and toe. Any advice/input on a fix for this would be much appreciated. TIA

EDIT/UPDATE:

Stan: Please ignore my question -- I found your earlier posts on the subject. Your contributions to this Forum are great.

 

[MikeAR303]

Just wondering, could this be the wax rubbing off? It may just be time to wax the car.

Nope.

The spots are definitely some sort of defect in the clear coat. I also have a few discolored (brown) spots near the fuel door, though the paint is still shiny over the discolored areas.

 

[evomind]

looks like ur getting a new paint job under warranty, big mike.
maybe they'll throw the stripes in to cover ur inconvenience.

now that i have my car, ill have to watch out for that. i did notice a small dull spot on the inside passenger door....im not worried abt that though....havent had a nice day yet to really go over the car and its dark when i get home...

 

[blackburn]

When trying to mainitain a constant speed, (traffic), in the higher gears I hear a rattle/buzz. If I slow down or speed up the noise stops. Any ideas?

 

[Stan]

>>>When trying to mainitain a constant speed, (traffic), in the higher gears I hear a rattle/buzz. If I slow down or speed up the noise stops. Any ideas?<<<

This is pretty common but the details seem to vary car to car. I have not heard an exact cuplrit for the sound. My guess is the shifter cables. If that is the case, you can reach them for tweaking from the driver's side rear wheel well once you have removed the liner. There are some spots where the cable may rub or where some more mounts or weight on the cable may help if they are the noisy neighbors. Some say it is gear noise from the gearbox coming through the motor and tranny rubber mounts. If that is the case then a remedy may prove more troublesome if your goal is to eliminate the sound. In any case it does not mean that something is broken or about to break if that provides any relief.

 

[Cisitalia]

Samurai,

Dull spots in paint, more appearing
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just wondering, could this be the wax rubbing off? It may just be time to wax the car.

*******

No it is a slight defect in the base coat in my car. I have tried everything on the top clear coat to no avail. It's not that bad, so I will live with it. You only notice this type of detail, when being anal. I expected worse, so I am actually very happy with my car's finnish.

 

[Bill Swizz]

Don't worry about the overheating there are guys here in the UK with far more power who use the standard cooling system. I have 230bhp and the audi engined Elises have 300+bhp and don't overheat. The guys in places like Hong Kong also don't have problems with overheating so the general concensus is that the cooling is more than adequate, though if the fan stops working then you would have problems.

 

[Surferjer]

Hmmm. When Rothrock re-assembled my back panel, they must have re-installed the light upside down. Now my light is always off in the down position, always on in the middle and goes on when a door opens in the up position. I guess it doesn't really matter...