EVORA

Lotus Evora Problems

What actually breaks on the Lotus Evora — 15 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across 2010–2018, sorted by model year and by system, with what owners wrote in their own words.

NHTSA owner complaints · 15 reports · 14 builds · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Quick answer

Owners have filed 15 complaints on the Lotus Evora, covering 2010–2018. The system named most often is Suspension (6 reports). Worst years by volume: 2017, 2014, 2013; cleanest: 2011, 2018, 2010. 1 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 5.4 years old when the problem happened.

What breaks on Lotus Evora

Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 15 Evora complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.

Suspension 40% 6 Read
2018 Lotus Evora

Rear upper control arm cracked. Very critical safety part. I have had a discussion with other owners and have discovered that several others have had the same issue. Very low milage. 10k miles. Could result in a fatal collision! Found issue during safety inspection. Bushing is now misaligned and control arm is not in…

2017 Lotus Evora

The contact owns a 2017 Lotus Evora. The contact stated that there was a clunking sound coming from the rear suspension. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who was certified to work on Lotus vehicles, but not associated with the dealer, and the rear suspension arm was inspected and diagnosed with a fracture…

2014 Lotus Evora

Unkown , driver rear upper control arm broken

Engine 20% 3 Read
2017 Lotus Evora

For the second time, a Throttle Actuator code forced an engine shutdown while on a busy freeway with only very narrow breakdown lane stranding the car. Attempts to reset the code(s) failed for about 30 minutes whereupon codes reset and have not recurred indicating the code was only transient but very dangerous

2014 Lotus Evora

Engine cuts out when driving at a slow speed and coming to a stop

2014 Lotus Evora

While driving at around 35mph, the car (lotus evora) began to misfire and shut off. This resulted in loss of control of the car in traffic

Steering 13% 2 Read
2012 Lotus Evora

I was coming to a stop, applying the brakes and shifted the car into neutral, the car just shut off. The brakes became rock hard I had to use both feet to slow the car steering locked and I rear ended the car I front of me at 2-3 mph. The car was damaged the car was checked by the dealership I was told that there was…

2013 Lotus Evora

Decelerating to a stop, shifting down in gears, shift into first and bring vehicle to a complete stop and notice RPM's drop to zero and engine stalls. Has happened twice in two weeks, car is brand new

Power Train 13% 2 Read
2013 Lotus Evora

Ips wiring harness issue - vehicle equipped with the automatic transmission would randomly lose complete power in the middle of driving. Vehicle stuck in this limp mode are unable to go back into gear and is locked out from driving, thus require the vehicle to be towed. This creates a hazardous condition that in an…

2010 Lotus Evora

The car is a manual transmission. Enginering/design defect causes engine heat to boil hydraulic clutch fluid, leading to hydraulic clutch fluid decay over time, leading to failure of master clutch cylinder and clutch pedal stock in down position while driving. This ultimately makes it impossible to get into neutral or…

Electrical System 7% 1 Read
2017 Lotus Evora

Driving on an interstate highway a MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light) illuminated and within less than 5 seconds, the engine went into shutdown mode. I was able to safely clear the highway but on a central lane and heavy traffic it would have been impossible to safely clear the highway and the car would be stranded in…

Air Bags 7% 1 Read
2010 Lotus Evora

Air bag comes on constantly. 4+ times in one year. Will have to take back to dealer to check again

Evora years to avoid — and the clean ones

Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.

FIG.02·Lotus Evora complaints by model year
Model yearComplaintsTop systemCrashesFires
20181Suspension
20173Electrical System,engine
20143Engine
20133Power Train,electrical System,engine
20122Steering,power Train,service Brakes,engine1
20111Suspension
20102Air Bags
ROWS 7·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints

The same model year, different builds

Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.

FIG.03·Lotus Evora complaints by production series
MeasureValue
Distinct production series14
Average complaints per series1.1
Worst single series2 complaints
Average age at failure5.4 years
ROWS 4·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints + ForCar

A model average of 1.1 hides a worst series at 2. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.

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How we count

Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.

A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.

Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.

Frequently asked questions

What are the worst years for the Evora?

By complaint volume, 2017, 2014, 2013 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.

Which Evora years are the cleanest?

2011, 2018, 2010 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.

How many complaints does the Lotus Evora have?

15 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2010–2018. Of those, 1 describe a crash and 0 a fire.

Are these complaints verified?

No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.

Can I check complaints for one specific car?

Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.

Owner complaints from NHTSA, published as filed and unverified. Age at failure computed by ForCar from incident date and model year; production series grouped by the first 11 VIN characters. Last updated Aug 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by , founder of ForCar.