rear LOTUS ELISE 2005 Owners Manual

CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ..............................................................
6
2. SAFETY INFORMATION ..................................................7
3. REPORTING SAFETY DEFECTS
.................................. 10
4. CAR IDENTIFICATION
....................................................15
5. SEATING & SAFETY REST
RAINTS
Seats .................................................................
17
Seat Belts .................................................................
18
Seat Belt Precautions ................................................
19
Airbag Safety System .....................................................
21
Airbag Tell Tale ..........................................................
23
Airbag Deployment ....................................................
24
Child Restraints ..............................................................
26
6. KEYS & CAR SECURITY ALARM
Keys .................................................................
29
Car Security Alarm ..........................................................
30
Transmitter Fobs .......................................................
30
Engine Immobiliser ....................................................
31
Valet Mode ................................................................
31
Arming the Alarm .......................................................
32
Disarming the Alarm ..................................................
33
Emergency Disarming/Mobilising ..............................
33
Intrusion Sensing ......................................................
34
Manual Activation of Siren .........................................
34
Transmitter Fob Battery Replacement ......................
35
Programming Additional Transmitter Fobs ................
36
Disconnecting Car Battery ........................................
36
7. ENTRY & COMFORT
Central Door Locking ......................................................
37
To Unlock From Outside ............................................
37
To Lock From Inside ..................................................
37
To Unlock From Inside ..............................................
38
To Lock From Outside ...............................................
38
Lights On Buzzer ............................................................
40
Interior Rear View Mirror .................................................
40
Door Mirrors .................................................................
40
Interior Lamp .................................................................
41
Sun Visors .................................................................
41
Door Windows ................................................................
42
Manual Windows .......................................................
42
Electric Windows .......................................................
42
Contents
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Engine Compartment Fuses ...................................137
Footwell Sited Fuses ...............................................
138
Headlamp Alignment .....................................................
139
Bulb Replacement ........................................................
142
Headlamp Bulb ........................................................
142
Front Turn Indicator Lamp Bulb ...............................
143
Side Repeater Lamp Bulb .......................................
144
Rear Lamp Cluster Bulb ..........................................
144
High Mounted Stoplamp Bulb .................................
144
Licence Plate Lamp Bulb ........................................
144
Interior Lamp Bulb ...................................................
145
Side Marker Lamp Bulb ...........................................
145
16. LIFTING & TOWING
Towing Eye ...............................................................146
Towing a Trailer .............................................................147
Car Tie-Down ...............................................................
147
Lifting Your Car .............................................................148
Fuel Tank Undershi
eld ..................................................149
17. A
CCESSORIES
Accessories & Modifications .........................................150
Storing Your Elise .........................................................
152
18. RECOMMENDED LUBRICANTS
Engine ...............................................................
153
Transmission ...............................................................
154
Br
akes & Clutch ............................................................154
Engine Coolant Additive ................................................
154
19. TECHNICAL DATA .......................................................155
20. WARRANTY INDEX .....................................................161
21. ALPHABETICAL INDEX ..............................................188

Contents
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Safety InformationTo help you make informed decisions about safety, important
safety information is provided in forms including:
• Safety labels on the car
• Safety messages in this handbook are shown as follows:
WARNING: The hazard and instructions to avoid the hazard are
given. If you do not take these instructions you and /or
others can be KILLED OR SERIOUSLY INJURED.
Messages prefac ed by
‘NOTICE’ are intended to help
y o u a v o i d d a m a g e t o y o u r c a r, o t h e r p r o p e r t y o r t h e

environment.
Important Safety Precautions You’ll find many safety recommendations throughout this sec
-
tion, and throughout this manual. The recommendations on this page are the ones we consider to be the most important.
Always Wear Your Seat Belt A seat belt is your best protection in accidents (including colli
-
sions). Airbags supplement seat belts, but airbags are designed
to inflate only in a moderate to severe frontal collision. So even
though your car is equipped with airbags, make sure you and
your passenger always wear your seat belts, and wear them properly. (See page 18).
Your Car is Not Recommended for Child Passengers Since all children are safest in the back seat of a car, and
your car does not have a back seat, we strongly recommend that you do not carry a child passenger. Children should be
carried in the Elise only if they are large enough to be able to
use the standard seat belt (see page 26). You should never
carry an infant in a rear-facing child seat in this car because
the Elise has a passenger airbag which cannot be switched off or disabled (see page 26).
Be Aware of Airbag Hazards While airbags can save lives, they can cause serious or
fatal injuries to occupants who sit too close to them, or are not
Safety Information
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properly restrained. Children, and short adults are at the great-
est risk. Be sure to follow all instructions and warnings in the handbook (See page 21 to 27).
Don’t Drink and Drive Alcohol and driving don’t mix. Even one drink can reduce your
ability to respond to changing conditions, and your reaction time
gets worse with every additional drink. So don’t drink and drive,
and don’t let your friends drink and drive, either.
Control Your Speed Excessive speed is a major factor in crash injuries and deaths.
Generally, the higher the speed the greater the risk, but serious accidents can also occur at lower speeds. Never drive faster
than is safe for current conditions, regardless of the maximum speed posted.
Keep Your Car in Safe Condition Having a tire blowout or a mechanical failure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibility of such problems, check
your tire pressures and condition frequently, and perform all
regularly scheduled maintenance (see separate Maintenance
Record booklet).
Safety Features Your car is equipped with many features that work together
to protect you and your passenger during a crash. The Lotus Elise has been designed to comply with applicable safety regulations. The Elise has passive safety features which include:
• A cockpit tub surrounded by substantial chassis side
frames.
• Energy absorbing front
composite ‘crash structure’.
• Energy absorbing rear steel
‘crash structure’.
• Side sill foam pads.
• A seat belt mounting frame incorporating a roof hoop
• Extruded aluminium door beams.
• A collapsible steering column.
• Airbags for both driver and passenger. Active safety features include:
• Lap and diagonal inertia reel seat belts with impact sensing
pre-tensioners.
Safety Information
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Engine NumberThe engine number is stamped on the rear end of the cylinder
block, exhaust side, and is followed by ‘2ZZ’.
ohs133ohs104
Car Identification
16
ENGINE NUMBER
V.I.N ON
CHASSIS

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are located at the inboard rear of the seat. To increase lumbar
support, squeeze the bulb repeatedly until sufficient support is obtained. To decrease support, press the small black button at
the base of the inflator bulb.
Seat Belts Seat belts provide important safety and comfort for both
driver and passenger and have proven to be the single most
effective safety device in reducing the risk of death or injury in
a crash. The seat belts should be worn at all times, no matter how short the journey. This is required by law in most states
and in all Canadian provinces. As a reminder, the seat belt tell
tale in the instrument cluster will flash until the driver's seat
belt is fastened, accompanied for the first eight seconds by an
audible chime.
Inertia Reel Seat Belts The standard fitment inertia reel seat belts allow the wearer
freedom of movement under normal driving conditions. The belt reel will lock automatically whenever the car is subjected to brak
-
ing, acceleration, or cornering forces, or on impact in a collision. Reel locking will also occur on steep hills or slopes, or if the
car is tilted. In the event of a severe frontal impact sufficient to
trigger the airbag system, a pre-tensioning device incorporated into each seat belt assembly will operate to tighten the belt for
increased occupant protection.
ohs44
SEAT BELT POSITIONING
Seating & Safety Restraints
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WARNING:
• Lotus strongly recommends that you do not carry children
as passengers in your Elise.
• Because the Elise is fitted with a non-switchable pas
-
senger airbag, a rear facing child seat must never be
used.
• Never use one belt around two people, or allow a child to be carried on a driver’s or passenger’s lap.
• Refer to Child Restraints section of handbook.
WARNING:
• No modifications or additions should be made to the inertia reel assemblies or seat belts. Do not attempt to
adjust the seat belt tension by altering the mechanism.
• The seat belt should be replaced if webbing becomes frayed, contaminated, or damaged. Inspect regularly.
• It is essential to replace the entire seat belt assembly
if it has been used in a severe impact, even if damage
to the assembly is not obvious. In situations where the airbags have been deployed, the belt tensioner systems must also be replaced. Seat belt anchorage points must
also be rigorously checked.
• Not checking or maintaining seat belts can result in serious injury or death if the seat belts do not work

properly when needed. Check the belts regularly and have any problem corrected immediately.
• No one should sit in a seat with an in-operative seat belt.
Care should be taken to avoid contamination of the webbing
with polishes, oils or chemicals and particularly battery acid. Use
only a mild detergent to clean the webbing, never use bleach or
dye, and allow the belt to dry fully before using the car. Ensure
that the buckle mechanism is kept free of dirt contamination as disassembly for cleaning is not possible.Seating & Safety Restraints
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the primary crash protection to the occupants, especially in collisions below the actuation threshold of the airbag system, and during types of accident which do not cause airbag deploy
-
ment. Therefore, both driver and passenger must always wear
seat belts (in most states, and all Canadian provinces, the law
requires the use of seat belts). See the earlier pages on ‘Seat
Belts’.
WARNING:
• You can be killed or seriously injured in a crash if you aren’t wearing your seat belt - even with airbags. Wearing
your seat belt during a crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things inside the car or being ejected from it.
Airbags are designed to work with seat belts, but don’t replace them. Airbags are designed to deploy only in
moderate to severe frontal and near frontal crashes.
They aren’t designed to inflate at all in rollover, rear or low-speed frontal crashes, or in many types of side im
-
pacts. Both driver and passenger should wear a seat belt properly to minimise the risk of severe injury or death in
the event of a crash.
• Airbags inflate with great force, in a fraction of a second. If you’re too close to an inflating airbag, as you would
be if you were leaning forward, you could be killed or seriously injured. Seat belts help keep you in the correct
position before and during a crash. Always wear your seat
Seating & Safety Restraints
22
w53b
AIRBAG DEFLATED
AFTER DEPLOYMENT

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regulations, and should be handled only by your dealer.
• If you sell your Lotus, notify the purchaser that the car is equipped with airbags, and refer them to ‘Airbag Safety
System’ in this handbook (safety and disposal rules).
• Further information on the airbag system can be found
on stickers on the sun visors.
• For important recommendations on the use of child restraints, please refer to ‘Child Restraints’ in this hand
-
book. Never use a rear facing child seat in your Elise.
• A crash can damage the restraint systems in your car. A damaged restraint system may not properly protect the
person using it, resulting in serious injury or even death
in a crash. To help make sure your restraint systems are
working properly after a crash, have them inspected and
any necessary replacements made as soon as possible.
Seating & Safety Restraints
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Child Restraints
WARNING:
Lotus strongly recommends that children are not car
-
ried in the Elise due to the risk of death or serious injury if the child is too close to the dashboard when the airbag
inflates.

Accident statistics show that children are safer when properly
restrained in the back seats of cars, an option unavailable on
this model. In addition, your car is equipped with a passenger’s airbag which poses serious risks to children - particularly infants
and small children. If, nevertheless, a child is to be carried in the
car, the following notes are provided for guidance:
When a child is of a physical size whereby the standard
fitment lap and diagonal seat belt will fit satisfactorily, with the belt positioned over the collar bone and against the centre of
the chest, the standard seat and seat belt should be used. If the
belt touches or crosses the child’s neck, the child should NOT
be carried in the Elise.
WARNING:
• Children should not be carried in the Elise unless they are large enough to be able properly to use the standard
seat belt without any child seat or booster seat.
• Child restraint systems (other than belt positioning booster seats) are designed to be secured in the car seat
by the lap belt portion of the lap/shoulder belt. READ
ALL INSTRUCTIONS THAT ACCOMPANY THE CHILD RESTRAINT OR BOOSTER SEAT.
• I n f a n t s w h o a r e u n a b l e t o s i t u p b y t h e m s e l v e s ,

unsupported, should NOT be carried in the Elise.
• Never put a rear-facing child seat in the passenger seat
of the Elise. If the airbag inflates, it can hit the child or
the back of the child seat with enough force to kill or very seriously injure an infant.
• There is no provision on the Elise to switch off or disable
the passenger airbag.
WARNING: Children who are not properly restrained can be killed
or seriously injured in an accident.
Seating & Safety Restraints
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