2019/01R – Passenger Toe-board Lacks Stiffness/FMVSS 208 – 2017-2018 Lotus Evora

April 2, 2019 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V263000

Passenger Toe-board Lacks Stiffness/FMVSS 208

In the event of a crash, if the occupant’s knee contacts the rigid structure, there may be an increased risk of injury.

Lotus Cars USA, Inc. (Lotus) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Evora vehicles. The toe board in the passenger footwell lacks stiffness, allowing the knee of an unbelted occupant to contact the rigid structure of the vehicle, in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, “Occupant Crash Protection.”

 

Remedy

Lotus will notify owners, and dealers will replace the toe board with a new design to provide the appropriate stiffness, free of charge. The recall began May 27, 2019. Owners may contact Lotus customer service at 1-800-245-6887. Lotus’ number for this recall is 2019/01R.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

 

Check for Lotus Recalls

 

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TITLE:

Replacement of the front passenger toe board assembly.

 

REASON:

It has been determined that 2017 and 2018 model year Evora USA specification vehicles manufactured between August 2016 and December 2018 fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No FMVSS 208 – Occupant Crash Protection. This is because the toe board fitted to the front passenger footwell was incorrectly manufactured, resulting in a reduction in stiffness compared to a correctly manufactured toe board.

 

Risk

In the event of an unbelted crash situation, the toe board may deform allowing increased front passenger movement which could result in the front passenger being exposed to an increased risk of injury to their upper leg area.

 

ACTION:

• New toe boards manufactured enabling the vehicle to meet the requirements of FMVSS 208 are now fitted as a production running change as from the introduction of the 2020 model year Federal specification Evora model range. A quantity of new toe boards, complete with carpet and 2 spare fasteners will be mandatorily issued to all Lotus Dealerships.
• Lotus is using its own sales records to inform the owners of all affected vehicles that a precautionary safety recall applies and advising them to contact their dealer to have the necessary rectification work carried out. A specimen letter is attached on page 3 of this bulletin for information.
• Not withstanding the above, dealers should immediately contact their own customers wherever possible to arrange an early appointment, confirming that the risk only concerns unbelted passengers and there have been no reported incidents outside the formal crash testing conducted by Lotus.
• Dealers should immediately inspect any cars in their sales stock and any affected customer cars currently on site.
• Any affected stock vehicles must be retained at the dealership until the replacement toe board is fitted as instructed in this bulletin.
• As per the communication recently sent to all Lotus dealers ‘To meet US regulations in these circumstances, it is essential that you do not deliver any further cars (New or Pre Owned) you may have in your inventory from this period of build until this modification has been carried out’.
• Any affected vehicle by campaign status will be displayed if its VIN is entered onto DC611 on the Lotus Dealer Connect warranty system, campaign number 2019/01R.

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Dear Dealer Partner

URGENT SERVICE ACTION – EVORA 2017 & 2018 MODEL YEAR

Lotus Cars USA has just announced a recall of Evora models manufactured for the United States market (only) between 3rd August 2016 and – 20th December 2018 (total: 414 vehicles). Customers will be contacted by Lotus Cars USA and asked to return their vehicles to their authorized dealer or service center for a part replacement.

Information regarding the specifics of this will follow in a separate service bulletin but in the meantime, to meet US regulations in these circumstances, it is essential that you do not deliver any further cars (New or Pre Owned) you may have in your inventory from this period of build until this modification has been carried out.

This decision for this action was taken after testing for 2020 model year uncovered a potential issue during unbelted passenger crash tests (a requirement in the USA where drivers and passengers are not mandatorily required to wear a seat belt in all States), resulting in an increased risk of injury to the upper leg of passengers of certain height and weight (5th percentile). As a result of this we have decided to make this alteration to all 2018 and 2017 model year cars as a precaution. The modification will replace the ‘toe-board’ (or fuse box cover) in the passenger footwell and the new parts will be available from Lotus Cars USA later this month.

It is important to emphasize that while it is important we carry out this adjustment to all vehicles manufactured within this period, the risk only concerns unbelted passengers and there have been no reported incidents outside the formal crash testing conducted by Lotus.

Yours sincerely

Ryan Watson
General Manager – Head of Business
Lotus Cars USA Inc.

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IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL

This notice applies to your vehicle VIN «VIN17»

 

SAFETY RECALL NOTICE

[lotus owner]
[address line 1]
[address line 2]

[address line 3]

 

Lotus Recall 2019/01R (NHTSA recall # 19V-263)

 

Dear «GreetingLine»

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

 

REASON FOR THIS RECALL

Lotus has decided that 2017 and 2018 model year Evora USA specification vehicles manufactured between August 2016 and December 2018 fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 208, “Occupant Crash Protection”.

It has been determined that the toe board fitted to the front passenger footwell was incorrectly manufactured, resulting in a reduction in stiffness compared to a correctly manufactured toe board. Lotus has identified you as the registered owner of the above vehicle.

 

WHAT IS THE RISK?

In the event of a crash, the toe board may deform allowing increased front passenger movement which could result in an increased risk of injury to the upper leg area.

 

WHAT WE WILL DO

To ensure compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle requirements FMVSS 208 (Occupant Crash Protection) the toe board on your current vehicle will be replaced with a toe board manufactured from material of slightly higher tensile strength at no cost to you.

 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

The risk of this type of injury is removed or reduced by correct seatbelt usage. Lotus’ recommendation is always for all vehicle occupants to wear seat belts and wear them properly.

Please contact your Lotus dealer as soon as possible to arrange a service date for the replacement of the passenger toe board. Instructions for this procedure have been sent to your dealer. The labor time necessary to perform this replacement is approximately 0.5 hours. Please ask your dealer if you wish to know how much additional time will be needed to schedule and process your vehicle.

Your Lotus dealer is best equipped to obtain parts and provide service to ensure that your vehicle is corrected as promptly as possible. If, however, you take your vehicle to your dealer on the agreed service date, and they do not remedy this condition on that date or within three (3) days, we recommend you contact Lotus Customer Service by calling 1-800- 24-LOTUS (1-800-245-6887).

If, after contacting your dealer and Lotus customer service, you are still unable to have the non-compliance remedied without charge and within a reasonable time, you may wish to write to the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; or call the toll-free Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888- 327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); or go to https://www.safercar.gov.

This letter identifies you as an owner of a vehicle affected by this recall. Presentation of this letter to your dealer will assist in making the necessary replacement in the shortest possible time. If you have sold or traded your vehicle, please let us know by completing the cut-off slip below and returning it in the postage paid envelope enclosed.

If you are a vehicle lessor, Federal law requires that any vehicle lessor receiving this recall notice must forward a copy of this notice to the vehicle lessee within ten days.

Again, we are sorry to cause this inconvenience; however, we have taken this action in the interest of your safety and continued satisfaction with our products.

 

Mr. B Shepherd

Customer Services & Warranty Manager Lotus Cars USA, Inc.

 

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2 Affected Products

16 Associated Documents

Recall 573 Report – AMENDMENT 3

RCLRPT-19V263-5601.PDF 215.022KB

 

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Recall 573 Report – Amendment 2

RCLRPT-19V263-6516.PDF 215.019KB

 

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Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-19V263-7331.pdf 796.55KB

 

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Recall 573 Report-Amendment 1

RCLRPT-19V263-1104.PDF 214.942KB

 

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) – Dealer Communication – URGENT SERVICE ACTION – EVORA 2017 & 2018 MODEL YEAR

RCMN-19V263-6549.pdf 853.412KB

 

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Non-Compliance Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-19V263-5640.PDF 214.942KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-19V263-5612.pdf 246.096KB

 

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Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-19V263-5570.pdf 125.544KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2019-2

RCLQRT-19V263-6937.PDF 211.145KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2019-3

RCLQRT-19V263-9094.PDF 211.245KB

 

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Recall 573 Report – AMENDMENT 4

RCLRPT-19V263-5818.PDF 215.049KB

 

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Recall 573 Report – AMENDMENT 5

RCLRPT-19V263-1971.PDF 215.568KB

 

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Recall 573 Report – Amendment 7

RCLRPT-19V263-2125.PDF 215.569KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #3, 2019-4

RCLQRT-19V263-2977.PDF 211.331KB

 

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Recall 573 Report – Amendment 6

RCLRPT-19V263-7850.PDF 215.569KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #3, 2019-4

RCLQRT-19V263-0438.PDF 211.333KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=19V263&docType=RCL

 

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