Lotus has identified that there has been a small number of instances of oil cooler lines detaching from their fittings occurring as regards a group of vehicles built over a limited period of time, Lotus Cars USA stated in its Oct. 14 letter to the NHTSA. According to Lotus, most failures occurred in vehicles manufactured before October 2006, and a single former supplier manufactured the affected parts.

An oil cooler line could become detached from its fitting. Lotus opinion is that the cause of failure is the process by which the hose was crimped onto its fitting by the supplier. In October 2006 the supplier implemented an improved crimping process. Lotus noted it switched suppliers of the part in May 2010 for unrelated reasons.

A detached oil line could spray oil on a tire, increasing the risk of a crash, or it could spray oil throughout the engine compartment, increasing the risk of a fire, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned in its Oct. 26 safety recall report.

For the recall, Lotus dealers will repair the oil cooler line at no charge, and will remove any affected components from spare parts stock. The company said it will also reimburse any U.S. owner or purchaser of one of the affected vehicles if they had previously had to pay for a fix of the oil cooler line problem within a reasonable time in advance of the Lotus notification of owners, purchasers and dealers.