took exige in to get some things fixed and some things not so fixed -- www.TendCar.com

took exige in to get some things fixed and some things not so fixed

Question:

i got the car back today after it had to stay all day yesterday and part of today...

1. the first thing i needed fixed was the trunk (rear hatch) idk... but yeah... the latch wasn't working properly... this was something they had told me when i was picking up my car the first day and they just told me to bring it back anytime and they'd adjust it... so i did...

now the trunk is worse i think... when i let it down... it just sits and it won't go down any further... i have to shift it to the right a little and then it'll go down... then i would have to push down on it so it clicks and locks (and i don't push down on the wing... so i plan on calling the dealer tomorrow and setting up another time to get it fixed again... anyone else have this problem on their exige? how is the trunk supposed to close?.. idk since it's been weird from the first day...

2. some other things i had them look at was the headlights... since so many people were talking about having to adjust them... i had them take a look and see if it needed to be raised... and they took care of that under warranty...

3. my left turn signal started to blink really fast... so i had them take care of that as well

4. some sticky substances were coming from the rockpanels in the interior... i guess they stuffed that stuff back under...

5. i ran some checks on the alarm system after reading the manual... i checked to see if the motion sensor was working and if the window shock sensor was working... the motion sensor inside worked fine... but i couldn't get the window sensor to go off... so i had them check that out

now the alarm is freakin sensitive like no other... some people were looking at my car outside of chipotle... they just walked by and it went off... and my friend was peering through the window and was laughing at the time and it went off... did his laugh set it off? so i think i need to lower it somehow or just let them do it when i take it back in for the trunk

6. now on to the not so good part... i found a slight paint defect on top of my passenger side mirror... it's not smooth... there is a slight bump... i'll post pictures of it but they'll have to be pretty big for anyone to see it... so i'll just post a link so as not to take up the whole page...

anyway i wanted to know what they would do... what i really wanted was for them to get one painted and not take the part off my car.. so when it was done i can compare how it matches with my car... so then in case it comes out wrong... i won't lose my original one... but they got back to me saying that lotus will replace it under warranty but would have to take mine and repaint it... which means i won't have a sideview mirror... which also would probably mean i wont' have my car back for a while... this sucks

7. something i found today while playing with my trunk after i got it from the dealer... it's an indentation on the trunk... it's hard to describe... and even harder to take a picture of... it kind of looks like something hit it... but i have no idea how the heck something could have hit that spot espeically with the trunk lid down... and not leave a mark or scratch anywhere else... i took some pics of this too... it kind of looks like a cigarette burn on the clear coat... (if i had to describe it somehow)

and then to top it off... on the drive home tonight... i heard a pretty loud hit from some object... i have no idea where it hit... and it's bothering the heck out of me... *sigh*

http://xd5.xanga.com/339a37f3d6d3554.../b36833364.jpg
http://xfb.xanga.com/2eaa25e54503454.../b36833429.jpg
http://xe3.xanga.com/deba1af04033354.../b36833486.jpg
http://xba.xanga.com/f2da23e54943454.../b36833576.jpg
http://x58.xanga.com/0c4a04e620d3254.../b36833645.jpg

oh yeah... i almost forgot... i was in a hurry tonight to get somewhere but i needed gas... was about to pull into the first chevron i saw but saw that fuel truck there... and i read that it's not good to get fuel when that thing is there... so i skipped it... then came the next one... i pulled in... got out the car... stuck my CC in the machine... and then looked down to grab the hose... the premium was out of order... ... i tried to cancel it but i couldn't from outside and i didn't have time to go in there and have them cancel it and blah blah blah... so i grabbed some paper towel and carefully put 89 octane in my car.... but only a little bit... so i could get on my way... so i can get 93 back in my car ASAP...

and yet another thing... i met up with a friend i haven't chilled with in a while... we decided to go up to dave and busters to play some games and shoot some pool... drove up there... and there were like 6 cars total with a few people walking out... we're like... so we walk up towards the door and some people walking out tells us that it's closed cuz a bunch of high school kids rented out the entire place... ... so we both just ended up going home... and on the way home is when something hit my car...

it was just one of those days...

*edit again*

i keep thinking of more things... something i noticed that started the other day and tonight... i hear a slight squeeling from what seems like my brakes... i can only create the sound sometimes while i'm coasting up to a stop light in neutral and slowly applying the brakes... and the last second right before the car comes to a complete stop... i hear a squeel... at first i thought it was someone else... but now i know it's me... is this just part of the break in?

Answer:

No problem with the rear lid here.

I just release the strut, lower the decklid onto the latch, and reach over/under the wing and push down between the uprights to latch it.

My cluster, on the other hand, has developed a mind of its own.

I think my brakes squeaked once... not sure. I only use them to keep from rolling backwards on inclines.

Answer:

I think you're being slightly paranoid about your car and need to get a little more used two it. I understand...it's an awesome car.

I wouldn't bother with the defect on the mirror. Gives the car character. It is hand built.

Also, as far as the breaks squeaking when you're stopping slow, they all do that from time to time. There is a fix, but the noise doesn't mean anything is wrong with your breaks.

Answer:

mines got the broken front indicator light, popped out one day, the little square things that cover the inside roof cover latches fell out today, the rear lid latch thing doesn't work properly, just stays up. squeaky hardtop

haven't noticed any paint issues, but then the cars always dirty , the only issue there was the compound the factory or port uses and the cars black bits are covered with white spots like paint overspray but bigger.

so far much better than the 05 elise was

theres a new ecu program which is supposed to make the engine more responsive too (and it has the telltale software in it too! ) i don't have that.

ohh and my ac doesnt work

Answer:

i've got that white residue too...

but what is with the mark on my trunk though...

Answer:

can't tell from the picture but it looks a bit like a popped airbubble in the clearcoat. does it go into the paint ?

Answer:

charlie - What's this about an ECU upgrade?

Answer:

I do not have the telltale - I'll check out the ECU fix.

I drove an 05 Elise and felt the throttle response was good, maybe better. However, I thought my car was supposed to be better due to drive by wire. Could this be the issue?

Answer:

i guess your gonna need to decide if your going to drive , or just leave it parked in the garage and sit in it and amke engine noises while turning the steering wheel , you know, like my 10 year old kid would do. if you bought it to drive, guaranteed things are going to hit it, chip it, bump it ,bounce off it..........my car got devirginized the first time out by a rock from oncoming traffic, yeah, theres a mark if you look close. i dont care. things get used, either enjoy it and dont worry about it, or disconnect the battery, and just look at it parked in the garage. its just a car Bluejae, it why i bought mine used(600 miles) "dont worry, be happy". not trying to be harsh with you, but how can you enjoy the ride with that approach?
drive the hell out of it, you will be ALL smiles i promise: yeah man enjoy the car, stop nit picking
Cars are consumable items that get USED and will have flaws.
If you want a perfect specimen just get a bubble and store the car in there and never drive it

Answer:

i think i'm entitled to be like this... considering it's been only 10 days since i got it... maybe i'm still excited about owning a car like this for the first time... i figure i'll get over it... but you guys make it seem like my whole story is about the rock... i've been driving the car every night since i've gotten it... so don't assume i leave it parked in the garage with the battery disconnected... or that i should leave it in a bubble... thanks for the not-so-harsh comments

Answer:

haven't noticed any paint issues, but then the cars always dirty , the only issue there was the compound the factory or port uses and the cars black bits are covered with white spots like paint overspray but bigger.

Dirt - One of the big reasons I opted for silver. It'll look a little shinier when clean but not much different when dirty!

Answer:

Jae,

I guarantee you'll get over it the more you drive it. Every little mark on my Elise just proves I enjoy it every day. Yup-it's a lot of bucks for almost all of us-that makes it all the more imperative to enjoy it for what it is. If she starts, runs like a bat out of hell and corners like a suction cup, that's all you really want. Anything you can get fixed under warranty, go ahead but do it when the weather's bad! I had some of the same problems at first-once I realized that none affected the safety or performance, I forgot about them.

Tom

Answer:

if your exige has the telltale ecu dump feature . then you've already got it.

if not you might not want it its listed as better engine response and one other thing i forget, i'll check in the morning.
Sorry for the thread hijack, it'll only be a moment

How do I know if I have the new ECU firmware? I should be picking-up my Exige next week and I'm building a list of things for the dealer to check. This is definitely one of them.

Any pointers will be greatly appreciated.

Answer:

How do I know if I have the new ECU firmware? I should be picking-up my Exige next week and I'm building a list of things for the dealer to check. This is definitely one of them.

there is no visual tale tale i know of yet, occassionally the ECU has a colour coded dot (on the elise 05 if it had a white dot it was the newer program )

plug in a tech 3 and do the ECU dump if its all zeros its the old one, if not the new one. idle may be a little smoother on a newer one.

You could tell on the 05s because the RPM at idle changed, it was slightly higher on the later cars.

most of the cars on dealer lots should be updated by now, since they'll want the ECU dump.

Answer:

there is no visual tale tale i know of yet, occassionally the ECU has a colour coded dot (on the elise 05 if it had a white dot it was the newer program )

plug in a tech 3 and do the ECU dump if its all zeros its the old one, if not the new one. idle may be a little smoother on a newer one.

You could tell on the 05s because the RPM at idle changed, it was slightly higher on the later cars.

most of the cars on dealer lots should be updated by now, since they'll want the ECU dump.
Thanks!!

Answer:

5. i ran some checks on the alarm system after reading the manual... i checked to see if the motion sensor was working and if the window shock sensor was working... the motion sensor inside worked fine... but i couldn't get the window sensor to go off... so i had them check that out Did they change something? The Elise (at least my '05) does not have a shock sensor. The motion sensor is adjustable for sensitivity, but they have to remove the seats and panel behind the seats to get to it. It's probably that they cranked up the sensitivity that any slight movement of the glass (i.e sound waves hitting the glass) is setting of the motion detector.

Answer:

i got the report of the work today

the left turn signal problem - replaced left side turn signal/taillamp assy
traced to fault with taillamp assy

alarm - remove rear bulkhead trim and adjust microwave sensitivity

headlamps shining low - install headlight embellisher rims (didn't even noticed these... i'll check them out when i get home)

Answer:

Warm engine rough idle - not immediate
Water in lamps.
Weird noise - help please!! - Page 2
Weird noise - help please!!
wet spot - Page 2
wet spot
What brand oil filter has an anti-drain back valve?
What did I break at the track? - Page 2

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