[Tdady]

I drove my car to and from work yesterday, about 100 miles round trip no problem. I then drove it about another 50 miles to a karting event, no problem. On the way home I exited the freeway, went another mile and a half to a stop sign. When I pulled away from the stop the check engine light came on and the car went into limp mode. Totally without warning. :facepalm

Someone please tell me its just something else stupid that these cars do and that its an easy fix.

 

[Lckitty]

I had several limp home mode episodes. They were misfires type that triggered limp mode. After my ECU update last August everything has been perfect. Get to the dealer.

 

[RBH]

You should take it to Jamie at Lotus EuroMotorcars Bethesda. Or just give him a call.

 

[tbd_Evora]

I don't think any of the limp mode issues we've seen here have had a serious cause. It might make sense to start a writeup of the causes we've seen (so let me start):
1. Issues related to older ECU S/W - I.e. S/W glitches fixed in a subsequent version
2. Issues coming from a loose connector in the engine electrics
3. Possibly moisture in one of the connectors
4. Engaging and disengaging tempostat within 1-2 seconds (happened 2x to me)

Limp mode is a good reason for an OBD-dongle & app. Recommended practice is to reset the faults once if it occurs. If everything is well afterwards note it for the next regular service. Just don't keep reseting the fault over and over again.

 

[goussama]

I once had limp mode because of a brake light code error in the car, it was cleared, several months later, no hiccups.

 

[Tdady]

On its way to Lotus of Bethesda. Very frustrating after only owning the car for a month and a half and 200 miles

 

[RWLott]

limp mode

I don't think any of the limp mode issues we've seen here have had a serious cause. It might make sense to start a writeup of the causes we've seen (so let me start):
1. Issues related to older ECU S/W - I.e. S/W glitches fixed in a subsequent version
2. Issues coming from a loose connector in the engine electrics
3. Possibly moisture in one of the connectors
4. Engaging and disengaging tempostat within 1-2 seconds (happened 2x to me)

Limp mode is a good reason for an OBD-dongle & app. Recommended practice is to reset the faults once if it occurs. If everything is well afterwards note it for the next regular service. Just don't keep reseting the fault over and over again.

I've experienced items #2 and 3 - throttle body connector (I reseated and cleaned), and had the engine bay connectors resealed at the dealer (would get check engine light whenever I washed the car). The only remaining problem is rough idle on a cold start.

Have not run the car since 1st of Dec - winter/road salt. Prior to the 1st of Dec, for some reason the car has been starting OK? The last failures were on successive days - 8th & 9th of October. I always document the codes and clear them.

If I get more codes, will check the version and update the software. I'm hoping after almost two months of no codes on cold start ...

 

[McEwansExported]

+1 for throttle body connector. I can tell when is was going to be a problem, stuttering sensation when coming off a moderately hard acceleration and / or lumpy when in first gear and crawling up my driveway slope, meaning I knew when to push the connector back in place and avoid the CEL and limp mode sometime later. Dealer still working out fix, their previous attempt was to put a plastic cable tie around the connector but of course, being plastic, the tie stretched in the heat and is now loose so no longer serving it's intended purpose of a quick work around vs addressing the route cause.

 

[Tdady]

Throttle body connector it was!! Car came out of limp mode on its own and the CEL turned off after I stopped to get gas on the way to the dealership So aside from having to drive 2 hours in the pouring rain Im very happy. And a big Thank You to Jamie at EuroMotorcars.

 

[XHILR8N!]

Miraculously, my limp mode experience happened 3 miles from the dealer (an hour from home) on the way to the first annual maintenance interval.

Software upgrade, no prob since.

 

[MTLDean]

I drove my car to and from work yesterday, about 100 miles round trip no problem. I then drove it about another 50 miles to a karting event, no problem. On the way home I exited the freeway, went another mile and a half to a stop sign. When I pulled away from the stop the check engine light came on and the car went into limp mode. Totally without warning. :facepalm

Someone please tell me its just something else stupid that these cars do and that its an easy fix.

Get an obd reader from your local hardware store, they're worth every penny!

 

[sacscimitar]

Today, I just had my own limp mode issue, 600 miles into the new car's life. I'm going to ask a couple of embarrassingly basic questions that will immediately expose my naivete. First, where is the throttle body connector (I want to see if that is the cause of the problem)? Second, I've seen multiple references to "clearing the codes" following some of the recommended fixes--how do I do that?

--Wearing the Dunce Cap in Sacramento, CA....

 

[McEwansExported]

Today, I just had my own limp mode issue, 600 miles into the new car's life. I'm going to ask a couple of embarrassingly basic questions that will immediately expose my naivete. First, where is the throttle body connector (I want to see if that is the cause of the problem)? Second, I've seen multiple references to "clearing the codes" following some of the recommended fixes--how do I do that?

--Wearing the Dunce Cap in Sacramento, CA....

Here is a picture of the TB connector - make sure it is pushed all the way in.

Also, the OBDII connector, it is in the driver's footwell on the left hand side right under the dash behind the ODB sticker. You really need to get upside down to see it. Easiest thing is to go to AutoZone or similar and ask them to do a check engine light reading and let them plug the reader in and then if you want the codes cleared, they will not do that but you can push the clear button yourself. However, I'd advise keeping the codes so can show to dealer else they may 'not be able to replicate' and will not do any work to fix.

 

[sacscimitar]

Here is a picture of the TB connector - make sure it is pushed all the way in.

Also, the OBDII connector, it is in the driver's footwell on the left hand side right under the dash behind the ODB sticker. You really need to get upside down to see it. Easiest thing is to go to AutoZone or similar and ask them to do a check engine light reading and let them plug the reader in and then if you want the codes cleared, they will not do that but you can push the clear button yourself. However, I'd advise keeping the codes so can show to dealer else they may 'not be able to replicate' and will not do any work to fix.

Thanks a lot!

 

[addertooth]

You know, a thread shouldn't start with this title so close to Valentine's day.

 

[phaphaphooey]

If you have a smartphone I would highly recommend getting an OBD bluetooth dongle off of Amazon or Ebay for 10-20 dollars and using Torque for Android or a similar app if you have an iphone to clear codes and to simply monitor your car's vitals as you drive along. This is much cheaper than getting a stand alone OBD reader and much more powerful as well.

 

[WestCoastLotus]

3 limp home episodes, soft wear glitch fix, no trouble since 15,000 miles ago

 

[dennis salagornik]

The problem is in the brake pedal sensor. I had the same thing happen to me. the brake sensor doesn't only turn on the brake lights, it also sends signals to the ecu and tells it how much brake is applied... the brake sensor needs to be adjusted and it will work. this sensor threw transmission codes, engine codes, *and turned on lamp mode which limited my torque. I fixed the problem and my Evora S drives perfectly.*if you have tried this method please reply to my gmail :*[email protected]*

 

[medfly21]

The problem is in the brake pedal sensor. I had the same thing happen to me. the brake sensor doesn't only turn on the brake lights, it also sends signals to the ecu and tells it how much brake is applied... the brake sensor needs to be adjusted and it will work. this sensor threw transmission codes, engine codes, *and turned on lamp mode which limited my torque. I fixed the problem and my Evora S drives perfectly.*if you have tried this method please reply to my gmail :*[email protected]*

Hi I was hoping you can tell me what your solution was to fix this problem you had with your car being in limp mode. I’m experiencing the same symptoms and I’ve already replaced the brake sensor. Did you have to clear the code to resolve this and how did you know you even had a code, does a light come on to indicate a problem with the car?
Thank you in advance.

 

[McEwansExported]

My issue eventually got traced to the wiring harness. Lotus HQ confirmed there was a quality issue with the supplier that lead to electrical dissipation issues that resulted in sensors voltage tolerances being thrown off resulting in codes and limp mode. New harness and zero issues. That was several years ago. I think other owners can attest the same. My car was a manual. Might be worth asking Lotus to check your build sheet to see if you had one of the suspect harnesses.