RADIATOR COOLING FINS ARE METAL, BUT EACH SIDE HAS A RECTANGULAR PLASTIC TUBING THAT ALLOWS WATER TO FLOW UP AND DOWN EACH SIDE OF THE RADIATOR. AT 16,200 MILES, THE PLASTIC PORTION OF THE RADIATOR ON THE DRIVER SIDE CATASTROPHICALLY FAILED, RESULTING IN A 6 INCH CRACK IN THE PLASTIC PORTION, SPRAYING RADIATOR FLUID ALL OVER THE WINDSHIELD, UNEXPECTEDLY. (I HAVE A PICTURE OF THE CRACK, IF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.) FROM REVIEWS OF THE LOTUSTALK.COM FORUM, IT IS APPARENT THAT THIS RADIATOR IS CRACKING IN A SIMILAR FASHION, REGULARLY AND AT LOW MILEAGE, REQUIRING OWNERS TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR (MY COST WAS APPROXIMATELY $1,700 IN PARTS AND LABOR). SEVERAL OWNERS ARE NOTED TO BE REPLACING THE PLASTIC RADIATOR WITH AN ALL METAL UNIT, AT THEIR COST, PRIOR TO ANY FAILURES, FOR FEAR OF THE PLASTIC RADIATOR CRACKING ON THEM, AS HAS HAPPENED TO SO MANY OTHERS. I CONTACTED LOTUS TO SEEK ASSISTANCE WITH THE PARTS AND/OR LABOR AND DESPITE DOCUMENTING THE FREQUENCY THAT THIS IS OCCURRING, THEY REFUSED TO PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE, ONLY NOTING THAT THE VEHICLE IS BEYOND THE 3 YEAR / 36,000 MILE WARRANTY. RADIATORS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO FAIL AT 16,000 MILES - THE OEM PART IS CLEARLY A DEFECTIVE DESIGN AND LOTUS SHOULD MAKE THEM RIGHT; OWNERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY $1,700 TO HAVE A RADIATOR THAT WILL LAST BEYOND 16,000 MILES.
2008 Lotus Exige S
Routine
Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsEngine
Filed Aug 20, 201516,200 milesLA
1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 2007| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Deaths | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 — this page | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2007 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Routine |
Other Lotus models
All Lotus models →Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.