Dom,
You began another subnest did you?
Did I?? Probably not. I don't know how to do it.

But fonts are fun...
We HAVe YouRe Mr. CHase

AlL your Talk Board is beloNg To Us!

If yOU waNT hIM BAcK YOU MusT rECaLL SHIFTER I too have noticed the stickness in the shifter in 1st and 2nd. I mentioned this too the dealer and they compared my shifting to a just arrived model and said they were the same. I didn't know what to say, but for $45k, I don't think this car should have such poor shifting performance. I'm coming up on the 7.5k checkup, what can I say to get them to replace or at least to TSB 2004/18? Btw, does anyone have that one they can post.
This can be adjusted out, most likely. The 1-2 zone's LHS is defined by the reverse lock-out device, the actual rectangular metal blocker. Your shifter might be set wrong. There are other adjustments that can be made too....3-2 downshifts can also be affected...the reverse lock out collar needs to move freely too. ACK!
Must...
Stop...
Sub-nesting......
Looks ugly, hard to follow, is that a feature or bug? No subnesting happening in my browser. The only one I saw was on the thread about Randy and causes no problems here.

Sorry, we are getting off topic. I have one of the original shifters, no problems yet but I always find the gates so I don't think I place any fatige on the shifter.

Maybe I got lucky Don't know the VIN but the manual says it was changed in Feb 2005.
Mine was built with the new shifter in Feb. 2005, #2575. I too have noticed the stickness in the shifter in 1st and 2nd. I mentioned this too the dealer and they compared my shifting to a just arrived model and said they were the same. I didn't know what to say, but for $45k, I don't think this car should have such poor shifting performance. I'm coming up on the 7.5k checkup, what can I say to get them to replace or at least to TSB 2004/18? Btw, does anyone have that one they can post.
I had my problem from before 4500, and then the grommets came unattached at around 4700 -- I am sure because of all the stickiness I endured up to their failure. Then the stickiness got worse, which stressed the shaft more until it was at the verge of breaking (badly curved) from fatigue. When I got the call that a replacement had arrived, I quickly took it in.

I only have 4900 miles on my elise since it's not a daily driver. (built in Oct 2004) Sorry, we are getting off topic. I have one of the original shifters, no problems yet but I always find the gates so I don't think I place any fatige on the shifter.
It's hard to say for sure unless you opened it up and inspected the danger zone for cracks. The welds and local stress risers vary...but the levers that have broken have all done so in the same region along the shaft.

My car has always shifted well...and the lever went limp at just under 20,000 miles. Most Elises don't see high mileage...were a "normal" car using the early shift lever design...you'd hear more about lever failures. I know a number of folks with early cars with < 5,000 miles. Note that it's shift cycles and not miles per se that lead to the metal fatigue. That is, cruising all day in 6th does nothing compared to a commute through stop and go traffic. No subnesting happening in my browser. The only one I saw was on the thread about Randy and causes no problems here.

Sorry, we are getting off topic. I have one of the original shifters, no problems yet but I always find the gates so I don't think I place any fatige on the shifter.

Maybe I got lucky
The subnesting stopped when the posts moved on to another page. The last subnested post on my display occurred at post number 40. All subsequent posts are normal. But posts 27 thru 40 are still subnested in my display system.

BTW, I have my options set to display 40 posts per page using the "yuk" pattern choice. But fonts are fun...
We HAVe YouRe Mr. CHase

AlL your Talk Board is beloNg To Us!

If yOU waNT hIM BAcK YOU MusT rECaLL SHIFTER I'm impressed. That took a lot of work. I thought you used a clever "ransom" font, but you didn't - you changed font and/or boldness for each character! I wouldn't advise anyone to purposely break their shifter. If you happen to be saddled with the early design, here's what I'd recommend:

1) Drive the car normally until 36,000 miles or 3 years. In all likelihood, if you drive much at all your shifter will probably fail before then. And you get a new one of the stronger design free of charge.

2) If your shifter doesn't break by 3/36, take it somewhere and get it welded stronger, TIG, stick, something. You're off warranty, so you might as well save yourself a bundle later on.

If you have the newer design, congrats. But I've been driving an Elise for at least 8 months longer than you. There's a price to be paid for that, I suppose. You guys scared me into the preventive weld, with support.
I know it's been done before. Here's my pix. Last pic is with paint, Is the curve stock? Or is that part of the prebreak fatigue? Is the curve stock? Or is that part of the prebreak fatigue?
Yes it is stock. The lever is deliberately bent towards the passenger side so that the shift knob won't foul your knee. Presumably RHD cars have it bent the other way. I agree with Trieu, Lotus should proactively replace the old style shifters for free. They know the original design was faulty. Anyone who cares to look at the part can tell it is a bad design. It is a rare example of sloppiness on an extremely well thought-out car. I will be very irritated if I end up stranded due to shifter failure. Also, I will no longer be able to tell friends and fellow track enthusiasts that the Lotus has been "remarkably well built and reliable."

I've emailed my dealer and asked that he pass this request on to Lotus. The way to get Lotus to do a recall is for everyone whose shifter broke to notify NHTSA.

www.nhtsa.gov

I would think that this would be a safety issue (as most people would freak out if it broke unexpectedly in traffic.)

Pretty please?
ed
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr...aintsearch.cfm

This the link to the area where things can be reported, and you can also do searches to see how many complaints have been filed. My mother had 3 window regulators go on her Lesabre in 5 years and I thought it was strange and then I did a search and found out that hundreds of other people had filed similar complaints so it was a common problem. Since it was not safety related, there was not a recall so GM dealers keep repairing them at $500 a window. Not may people know to file complaints so it would appear that 95% of the defects go unreported and the company makes a tidy profit fixing them.

I could not find Lotus on any of the drop down boxes on the government site, but I think you can report it by requesting a form by mail too.

I'm curious as to how many people have had their shifters actually break and what percentage of total cars produced have to have this problem reported before a recall is initiated or an investigation is started? Since it is safety related it would be a major concern. Lotus already recognized the problem by redesigning the lever, so they are being proactive which is a good thing, but a bad thing for them if they are knowingly allowing cars to operate with an unsafe part.

Since so many people like the B&M Shifter maybe Lotus could outsource all new shifters to them instead of their current supplier. The Research & Developments costs have already been paid for by B&M, so the the cost to Lotus might be less. Parts would then be readily available thru sector 111 and the dealer too. And if something breaks on the B&M ones Lotus would not be liable for manufacturing defects. Since so many people like the B&M Shifter maybe Lotus could outsource all new shifters to them instead of their current supplier. The Research & Developments costs have already been paid for by B&M, so the the cost to Lotus might be less. Parts would then be readily available thru sector 111 and the dealer too. And if something breaks on the B&M ones Lotus would not be liable for manufacturing defects.
??? The latest version 5 shift lever solves the breakage problems exhibited by the early shifters with the skinny hexagonal shafts. It is massively stronger. Why engage B&M? There is no need. B&M's short shift is just a drop-in lever. Most of the shifter parts and action are unchanged if you use one. I told the Lotus Rep that they should come out with a separately available shift lever and/or a factory repair procedure for rewelding or beefing up existing early shifters. Dunno if this would be a warranty thing or not unless a lever broke though. The latest Lotus lever should cost way less than B&M charges. It's extra mass seems to subjectively improve shift action. I don't know how many shifters have broken, and we'll never know because only a fraction of Elise owners visit this board. But I personally know of at least 12 breaks, some from the board and some not. That's a lot for a NEW car. A recall would make sense because it only takes ONE BREAK that causes a major accident to put the cost at much more than simply replacing shifters. And Lotus should be replacing the shifter only, not the whole mechanism to the tranny. That would make the replacement easier to swallow from a financial standpoint.

In court Lotus would get destroyed in a lawsuit. They had knowledge of the issue, even changed the design. The number of replacements would come out, and the suer would win. Something they need to consider. I hate our litigious environment, but a suit would be understandable in this instance. Jer....not only could safety be affected...but things like peace of mind, brand reputation, customer satisfaction, future sales and similar things too. On top of nearly wrecking, some Elise owners were told that it was their fault, that they did something wrong, that they should not gorilla-shift the Elise. Well fatigue failure on a few month old car is not due to hard shifts. It's due to design /build aspects. It's a better business decision to replace levers IMO.

Look at it this way...you might have been hassled by the dealer...but your broken shift lever might be the one which, when examined by Lotus, lead to the redesign for the new cars! Look at it this way...you might have been hassled by the dealer...but your broken shift lever might be the one which, when examined by Lotus, lead to the redesign for the new cars! So maybe I 'took one for the team'. LOL I'm just glad to know if mine breaks again, I'll get a replacement, the new design. I feel 'exonerated' of my crime, finally. Justice took a while, though. Several people have mentioned a new part coming soon that will allow for a much simpler repair, rather than replacing the whole assembly. Lotus, there's your chance for a recall - we'll understand if you want to wait to recall this until that part is available, but once it IS available, if this is as much of a problem as people are saying it is, please do the right thing and take responsibility for it!