Evora door not registering shut.

[ephancock77]

Sorry if I've put this in the wrong section but was wandering if someone could throw me some advice on an issue that's happened tonight with my passenger door. 

When I shut the door it stays registered as being open on the dash meaning the footwell and interior lights stay on. A little pressure against the door from the outside sorts the problem (until I let go) so I'm assuming it's just a loose connection somewhere. Anybody had this problem that can help. 

 

Btw, I've had the Evora 18 months now with little to no problem except the door latch being replaced under warranty (funnily enough) a while back. Brilliant cars! 

 

[CocoPops]

Hmmm I was going to say there was a problem with door latches.... you may have the same issue again...

[ephancock77]

Is there a way to manually adjust the latches? it seems like there's a tiny bit of play in the door and it's not pulling it quite in far enough when it catches. (if that makes sense) 

[Dave Eds]

Microswitch. Been there - new door lock. Ouch! 

[Craig Red Evora]

Hi had the opposite problem in that the car didn't know the door was open. No interior lights and the window doesn't drop. I have been waiting for a door latch for six months (mine is a 2011 car with door lock buttons) and had an email from Lotus customer service advising that they didn't know when any would be available. They also suggested that I try to fix it myself. I found one person on the forums who managed to get his working just by freeing up a dirty latch mechanism with WD40. Mine was pretty grubby so I tried the same trick and after opening and closing the door a few times the interior lights came on. I now have the lights working and the display in the dash shows the door is open but the window still doesn't drop?! I guess another issue in the door. I tried it again last night and no lights first time of trying but the second time it did, so I guess I need to have a better go at cleaning the latch mechanism.

It might be worth a clean before trying anything else, particularly if yours is an early car with door lock buttons.

 

[2011 Chrome Orange]

The word over here is that the left side door latch mechanisms (our driver's side, your passenger side) for cars with door sill buttons (not the Inteva) have been on back-order for at least 6 months. They say at least 23 left side latch orders are waiting to be filled and no real ETA.

[ephancock77]

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys I really appreciate it.  With the waiting time and no real Eta time for these latches I'm now hoping even more so its an alignment issue that can be rectified rather than a replacement job. 

 

A little update, I've tweaked the Striker pin many times to no avail yet I can quite easily get the car to think the door is shut by using a screwdriver immatating the striker to trick the latch into thinking its shut. The window goes up and down to clear the sill like it should when I do this which is why I believe there could be hope that I don't need a replacement. Anyway it's booked into the same garage who fitted this mechanism only 7 months ago to see what he can do. 

 

Thanks again. 

[Registered]

Yep door latch will need replacing and will fail again in a few years.

Just had mine replaced again recently.  Approx £400-500 each time.

Its these little required repairs that are expensive on the Evora alongside passenger air bag cover, air con and peeling headlights.

Cost more to sort these out than replace a gearbox.

[Craig Red Evora]

Further update on my door latch/window issues which may help others. Had the door card off and re-plugged all the connectors for the window winder, car still knows when the door is open or closed but the window still doesn't drop or raise. Cleaned the door latch again a bit more thoroughly with WD40 and cotton buds and the window moved. Kept cleaning and tried the latch a few times and the window started behaving as it should. Another squirt of WD40 and quite a few open and closes of the door and it all seems to be working reliably. I am going to get some PTFE spray and apply it regularly, probably after every wash, which will hopefully stop it getting so gummed up as the PTFE is dry. If that keeps the latch moving and triggering the microswitch then hopefully I won't have any more problems.

[electro_boy]

Good to hear the door is working correctly again.  I had a related problem with my door latch where it would only partially release so door was loose but not open.  Turned out the latch mechanism was full of gunked up dirty grease preventing it from moving freely.  Liberal application of WD40 and cleaning it followed by a dry silicon lube also fixed my problem.

[ephancock77]

So I've got a new door latch on order which is estimated to be between 6-8 weeks. Its the first time whilst in my Lotus ownership where I've had to wait an significant amount of time for a new part so I guess I shouldn't moan to much but its still a pain as my Evora is my only everyday car. 

Just a quick question though, I now have two lh latches with different faults, I'm told that the latches can't be opened up to make one good latch. Can anyone confirm if this is correct?  Also do you have to be pretty handy with the spanners to attempt removing my current latch or is it a fairly simple job? And finally, I've done some searching and I've seen some people discussing updating their early doors with the later latch mechanism. Has anyone since tried this route?  Any help or advice is much appreciated, thanks everyone. 

[stephenwhyte]

Giving how Lotus are trying to take the brand forward, waiting that length of time for something as simple as a door latch is just plain wrong! They really need to get their **** sorted as it’s bad enough having failures like that on a car of such expense but to wait weeks for parts is simply not befitting........I know we all accept it but it needs sorted.

[Dave Eds]

It's pretty much a diy job to fit a new latch. Just need to take care and have patience.

[phil flash]

Difficult part seems to be getting the latch !  Technical Service Bulletin 2011/26 provided a kit to replace launch edition latches with a later variant and all the bits are available except the bloody latch ...  grrrr. Hethel still has no idea when they may supply some.  Have attached the TSB related fitting kit instructions as it has some useful info if your microswitch is just playing up. Mine has completely fallen apart and is beyond repair..  

58664_1808_LSL594_Evora_door_latch_fitment_guide (2).pdf

[Dave Eds]

Which side @phil flash

[phil flash]

42 minutes ago, Dave Eds said:

Which side @phil flash

Passenger Dave. ( left door for friends across the pond) 

1 minute ago, phil flash said:

Passenger Dave. ( left door for friends across the pond) 

It's a 2009 . 

[ephancock77]

I think my first initial faulty latch was the microswitch and why it got replaced, this time its the actual latch that appears to be the issue. So annoying these latches appear to be so fragile.  I did get a reply from Deroure stating a 6-8 week estimated arrival for the part.

I also did some digging online to see if anyone had converted their door with the new, improved part which was revised for the 2012 cars (no door button) but any info appears to be a scarce. I was tempted to do what a previous owner had successfully managed and that was to soak the old latch in electrical fluid and replace to see if it fixed the microswitch problem like it did his but I have ultimately decided just to wait it out with me being hopeless with the spanners lol. 

[phil flash]

Now I am really p'd off... Googled the left latch part number and found the shipping manifest for 3 Sept 2016 where 100 left latches arrived at Felixstowe with a value of $2961.9 ! So that's under $30 per latch ! How much are we being asked to pay???

[ephancock77]

Wow if that is indeed correct that's not very cool at all especially when this part is clearly not up to the job.