Corroded footwells

[Mark H]

As far as I know ALL cars are affected as the design hasnt changed much since day one. Mine is a 99 and it was only slightly affected as you can see above in the photos.

[Jonathan E]

FWIW I wouldn't be too worried if this was happening with my car as I agree that it is cosmetic but how does the water get under the mats in the 1st place?? leaking roof,windows or getting in out in wet weather can't be to blame for water getting so far under the mats and then just sitting there.My opinion is that the Elise tub leaks and not just a bit but alot,I base this argument on my ownership experience I'm now on my third Elise and all have had leaking tubs.I honestly believe that Lotus are also aware of how badly the tubs leak and lets face it the 'fix' they are suggesting is going to work out alot cheaper than trying to seal all Elise tubs that have been sold so far,I'm not saying the problem isn't caused by a chemical reaction between the ali and rubber as Lotus say, but some serious water is getting in somewhere and I think its through the floorpan/chassis.The fix Lotus are suggesting will keep the car/floor good for lets say another 4-5 years and by that time they will be able to turn around and say 'the cars ten years old Sir what do you expect us to do about it'.As I said its all in my opinion but if my car was to have the 'fix' then the next thing I'd be doing is sealing the floorpan as I have with all of my Elises so far and not a damp spot in sight.

Regards

Jon

[Jonathan E]

I'll try and speak to Tony on the Stelvio run to see if there is any further news.

Jon

[Mark H]

Added my Exige floor pics, got away much lighter on the Elise with the corrosion.

 

 

 

More Pictures

[Scott_Mac]

I lifted the carpet on mine to have a look, and found a wire that wasn't attached to anything.

 

As the car was working at the time, i carefully replaced the carpet and moved on.

 

So i have no idea at the moment!

[steve-n]

is it worth removing the rubber mats??

[JohnnyM]

i lifted the mats on my 160 and there is absolutely no marks on the floor whatsoever.... hurrah !

[ipanter]

With regard to the earlier post from the BCBBS, doeas anyone know if lotus have considered replacing the PVC mats with mats made from wetsuit material? As that should allow the floor to breathe.

 

Lotus if you're reading this there's a suggestion.

[Bramble111s]

neoprean (sp?) holds water like a sponge, so I don't think thats a good idea unless one wants to go squelch everytime one steps in.

But obviously we all need to use something as a floor mat, how about carbon!?

[Steve P]

My car is a 1999 car and there's little if any markings, but I think it had an easy life before I got hold of it so probably never saw rain.

 

I agree with Jon about the tub leaking. My car isn't garaged and so I tend to put my shower cape over the roof when the weather is bad. This always stops any rain getting inside - except once when I parked my car on a slope with the cape on and got back to the car to find the footwells full of water......which was nice

 

Jon, how did you seal the floorpan?

 

Also, I was at Nick Whales on saturday and they were suggesting that they/Lotus would be getting in touch with everyone over the coming months to arrange cars to be looked at and repaired if necessary. Maybe that's a bit optimistic with so many cars needing attention?

[Jonathan E]

Steve,

Take the seats out and seal with bathroom sealant silicone stuff all joins in the tub,its worked on mine including the 111r although to be fair the 111r is probably better than the others.Also do it on a dry day so you can leave the roof off because the stuff stinks like the devils armpit.

hth

Regards

Jon