Wheel arch liner

My front passenger side wheel arch liner keeps coming out of it’s housing. Wondered what all the noise was about when I was driving down the motorway the other day only to find the liner was bouncing off the front wheel. The tyre had rubbed away some of the liner so now there are holes in it. I tucked it back in but it does not seem to be very secure. Any one else had this problem.

Does it have an edging strip on it?

I have an S1, so not sure about S2s but without the edging strip to give it ridgidity the liners are very floppy.

I will check…When I put it back it seemed to just fit behind the lip on the wheel arch…just doesn’t seem very secure. I think it must move when I go over the speed bumos in our estate.

lost mine on the motorway (fast lane!) sh@t myself!!! as it went with a loud bang! spoke to local lotus dealer to see if i can have a replacement one on the warranty… awaiting outcome…

Yeah mines nearly fallen off last week. It should have a single screw into a U-nut at the top (fallen out) and two screws into rawlplug type fittings (1 completely disappeared). Managed to cobble it back together with Halfrauds finest bits.

No wonder people have problems with Elises/Exiges.

Don’t you guys know the status of your car?

The arch liner is held by to rawlplugs and bolts at the front and several (can’t remember how many) plastic screws at the back and sides.
Additionally here’s wire brackets, fuse boxes, etc and the rubber strip against the clam that make it really hard to move by hand, let alone by accident.

Guys, things don’t just fly off, check your cars out.

Sorry, I should have been more specific, the panel I was referring to was the small panel ahead of the wheel behind the oil coolers. The rest of the arch liner (i.e. most of it is rock solid.).

But whilst fixing it I was shocked to see how sh#gged all the little steel brackets are, not to mention the shonkingness of the hub/upright/steering arm. It will all be coming out during winter to be cleaned up and galvanised/phosphated. The wishbones need coating striping too, they look horrible, I’ll get the cleaned, coated and nylon dipped (powdercoat is so variable that I dont want to risk it.)

I’ve just got to resist the temptation to send a fortune on upgrading the brakes and suspension while I’m in there…

[quote]Sorry, I should have been more specific, the panel I was referring to was the small panel ahead of the wheel behind the oil coolers.



yep same as mine!!! and unless you are doing a front clam strip down i think its a part that you would not check in normal driving conditions!

I had this problem (both liners fell out) on the Stelvio trip last year. The dealer replaced them under warranty and modified the bolts to better secure them.

Rob

I had this problem (both liners fell out) on the Stelvio trip last year. The dealer replaced them under warranty and modified the bolts to better secure them.

Rob

Cheers Rob, will pay visit to my dealer.

lost mine on the motorway (fast lane!) sh@t myself!!! as it went with a loud bang! spoke to lotus dealer to see if i can have a replacement one on the warranty… awaiting outcome…

OK good news! garage phoned me to arrange to replace my front arch liner f.o.c. on warranty so now booked in

My inner small liner, nearside, fell out at the weekend, still retained by top screw, by the time I could pull over off the motorway a big chunk had been eaten away by the tyre. Just about to phone Westover in Poole so I will see how we get on ! First potential warranty issue so far …

My car has already ‘eaten’ one set of front liners
Have now used bolts instead of the standard plastic bits

At last the liner is being replaced next week under warrenty.

I’ve just had a similar issue with both my front mudflaps coming away at the top edge and rubbing against the wheels. Again, it’s those crappy rawlplugs which just don’t fit in the holes tightly.

When mine goes in I may get them to fit better plugs than the plastic ones.