My First Trip to the Shop how many more? | FerrariChat

My First Trip to the Shop how many more?

Discussion in 'California/Portofino/Roma' started by wrs, May 19, 2017.

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  1. wrs

    wrs F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Jul 11, 2015
    11,917
    Lakeway, Texas
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    William
    The top failed, only 1000 miles so far. The top has been operating intermittently for the last two weeks. It stops part way either up or down and about 15 minutes later the roof failure error will clear and it will finish the cycle. Yesterday I took it into the shop with a hard roof failure that wouldn't clear overnight, I tested it before I took it in. As soon as the tech sat in it and started it up, the roof failure had cleared and he could get it to go up and down. They kept it, will look for codes. In the meantime, I don't have my Ferrari and am stuck with the RR, sure wish I had been able to keep the 991tts.
     
  2. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
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    Michael
    Sorry to learn of your roof problem. I think you only had this new car for a month. If it's any consolation I had a bad battery along with various system errors 1 week after I picked up my new Cali30 - most of the problems were caused by the battery and the rest by a bad ignition module which did not affect driving, only the stop/start (HELE) feature.

    I suspect you have a bad battery. These cars normally come over on container ships taking about a month. Do you think they keep all the cars on that boat on battery tenders? Right. So the batteries take a beating during the long trip. The dealer is then expected to prep the car for delivery when a buyer is found. I don't think the batteries are always properly checked and fully charged during that process. This is why so many new fcars have bad batteries. My car had an Italian battery that is not sold in NA so it clearly came over with the car.

    Make sure you have a solid working properly spec'd battery because battery problems can create weird problems s and be very annoying to track down . IMO, new Fcar owners often go through an "initiation " to flush out incorrect assembly, dead batteries and bad component issues after taking delivery. If you then drive the car frequently enough you will flush out all the reliability issues and you will end up with a good car. After that it's just maintenance plus wear and tear. However if you bail out after you fix these issues the next owner benefits from your loss in depreciation and wasted efforts.

    FWIW, battery problems are so important to me that I have 2 extra (heavy duty) CTEK chargers and I also have a battery tester similar to the one used by the dealers. It potentially saves me making silly visits to the dealer for potential battery issues.

    Fcars have more character but they are also more complicated to own than Pcars. Good luck!
     
  3. Avia11

    Avia11 Formula Junior
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    Jan 21, 2017
    864
    San Diego, CA
    @wrs sorry to hear that man. hopefully they will get the error codes checked and maybe replace your battery.
     
  4. wrs

    wrs F1 World Champ
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    Jul 11, 2015
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    I will ask about the battery, thanks. I wouldn't bail out, my idea is that most of these cars don't get properly broken in because they are driven too infrequently. Notice I already have horrors, 1000 miles in one month.
     
  5. good2go

    good2go Formula Junior

    Feb 9, 2016
    939
    I agree drive the car. There are several of us that drive as much as possible I put 8.5K on mine the first summer (in MN short driving season).

    I did have a roof not open once (happened several time in a week), I think it was do to the lid in the trunk that goes up and down. If its up it does not let the roof go down. I think the manual was holding it up just a hair. Removed the manual from the trunk, no issues. I do keep my car on the battery tender every time I park it for the night.

    I always start the car before putting the roof up or down.

    good luck with your car.
     
  6. wrs

    wrs F1 World Champ
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    Jul 11, 2015
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    I don't use the battery tender but the tech said they checked the battery and it's not the issue. Apparently on new cars it's the first thing they check. I have rearranged stuff in the trunk repeatedly but I have convinced myself that isn't the problem. They reprogrammed it yesterday and were going to check the sensors if that didn't help. They didn't call me back, not sure if service is open today but I plan to call. Fortunately it's raining here this weekend so I am not missing a good driving opportunity and the RR loves the rain but I sure hate cleaning it after driving around on wet streets.
     
  7. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
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    Michael
    You should always use the battery tender.

    They represent a significant cost item to the factory when you consider how they pinch pennies so they only provide one because they know they have to. Your battery and the charging system have to be able to accurately deliver sparks to spin the engine at up to 8000 rpm. Regular cars at most 6000 rpm, and very rarely if ever prodded to do so. Hobbyists and racers actually spend a lot of money improving the electrical performance of their cars to maximize power delivery from their engines. You want your battery to always be fully charged.

    My bad battery also initially checked "OK" when I lodged my complaint 1 week after delivery even though it was always hooked up to the battery tender. It went totally dead 5 months later, after causing a slew of other problems during the 5 months it was left in the car. Of course, it didn't help that my car came with the wrong battery tender which didn't work properly on the AGM battery of my car.

    FWIW, my roof problem was caused by incorrect alignment from the factory assembly process. Sometimes, it is not one problem but a multitude, especially if you are doing an initial shake down a car of complicated design.
     
  8. vjd3

    vjd3 F1 Rookie
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    Jun 3, 2005
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    It's almost certainly an issue with a sensor in the top harness. It may or may not have left an error -- I went through this about a year ago with my top and even after seeing "roof failure" messages on the TFT screen sometimes they would find nothing with a scan. Eventually, when it was really acting up, they did get errors:

    B1325 Main roof position (sensor PE30)
    B1000 Implausible roof position

    There was a bad sensor that is saying something that does not make sense to the computer -- it's implausible -- so the roof will stop to avoid damaging anything. There was never anything wrong with the mechanics of my roof, it was operating correctly, it was a sensor out of whack. Mostly, mine would react to a bump in the road and beep and flash "roof failure" warnings when the top was either open all the way or closed all the way. Only on a couple of instances did it fail in the middle of opening or closing the top, and each time it did, shutting off the car and restarting would allow the cycle to complete itself.

    It's a frustrating thing because there are several sensors soldered into the wiring harness and they have to figure out which one is causing the problem. It took several visits to get mine sorted out, and it took communication with the factory tech support in Italy to get it fully sorted through diagnostic checks at the factory's request. Since then, it's been flawless (last June and 4000 miles later, and I hardly ever drive the car without operating the roof).

    The sensor they placed (I believe this was actually the second one they replaced, the first one did not fix it) was PE30 "sensor kit for tonneau cover" 70001835

    My car was under warranty at the time, so it was nothing out of pocket for me. The roof is built by Webasto, which also builds the roofs for BMW and Mercedes hardtop convertibles. I think it's a pretty reliable mechanical design, but modern Ferraris can exhibit computer quirks. The biggest problem is it can be an intermittent thing, and they can put it back together and it will behave for a while, so it may require some patience.

    Try to make sure the dealership in Austin has a tech who is trained and experienced on these roofs. Perhaps one of the larger dealers -- Boardwalk in Dallas -- might be willing to consult with them.
     
  9. wrs

    wrs F1 World Champ
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    Jul 11, 2015
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    Just heard back from the service manager. The problem is indeed a sensor and they are waiting to hear back from the factory if it's OK to just do the sensor or if they have to do the full harness. Apparently for warranty work doing just a sensor is OK but not otherwise. He says they can get the sensor easily.
     
  10. Need4Spd

    Need4Spd F1 Veteran

    Feb 24, 2007
    6,644
    Silicon Valley
    Sorry to hear that. I had an '11 California and routine fluid changes were about all I had to go to the dealer for. I did once have an issue with the top. Turned out to be sensor misalignment. It was fixed under warranty and trouble-free after that.
     
  11. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
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    Not sure why doing the full harness would (not) be OK for warranty if the defect requires a full harness to repair. The roof wire harness is expensive though, about $1,067 from Ricambi.
     
  12. wrs

    wrs F1 World Champ
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    Back in the garage and all fixed now. They gave me a book of accessories and you can add a lot of options to your car now from Ferrari. Wheels, CF, data recorder and video to name a few.
     
  13. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 13, 2014
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    Glad your Cali is back and behaving. Is there an online version of the accessories book?
    T
     
  14. wrs

    wrs F1 World Champ
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    Good question, maybe check the Ferrari site. That description of the HS option that someone posted is not in this book. This book also says accessories for 2016 so it's not up to date. It has a lot of options for Cali 30s.
     
  15. wrs

    wrs F1 World Champ
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    #15 wrs, May 27, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    They filled up the tank when they serviced it. I got it back on Tuesday and I have driven it about 60 miles now. Four or five roof cycles and the problem is back. So I wonder how long I need to be patient. Hmm, buy a $240,000 car new and it's in the shop twice in a week for the same thing. Not liking this much.

    So the answer to the OP is at least once more. So now I understand why people just look at them in the garage and never put miles on them. That way they don't break so much.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  16. pr0b

    pr0b Rookie

    Oct 18, 2015
    14
    ive had the same experience. got my california back in 2015, its been 15 or 16 weeks at the workshop in total since then. roof failure, gearbox issues, ecu issues, electrical issues in general, injectors clogged up, unbearable vibration at idle.
    strange lights coming up like every second drive.
    this italien "quality" is not to my liking. gonna go back to german cars asap. been trying to sell it since 3 weeks so far. lets see.

    sometimes i think owning a ferrari is very similar to this one girlfriend every guy had. shes completely nuts, drives you crazy, maybe even endangers you. but once shes naked in front of you you simply forget about all those faults. never the less, its been enough.

    good luck with yours.
     
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  17. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 13, 2014
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    Brutal! You've had way too much trouble for 1k miles. You'd think Ferrari/Webasto would have sorted out the crazy roof mechanism by now. I have to admit, I cringe every time I pop the top on my Cali...T
     
  18. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

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    #18 4th_gear, May 27, 2017
    Last edited: May 27, 2017
    I'm sorry to learn of this development, that is a pain.

    If it's any consolation my roof problem actually dented my roof TWICE and took 2 years to sort out. However, on the occasions before the roof received the dents, it at least operated. There were no error codes.

    Roof dents involve body shop repairs and the ensuing issues with paint... so you can imagine how much irritation and trouble I went through. Faith, perseverance and enthusiasm were what sustained me.

    Have a look at the battery and see if it is a FIAMME or INTERSTATE or some other brand. If it's a FIAMME, it's the original Italian supplier for Ferrari. If my earlier explanation of battery failure in new FCars made sense to you, it's very possible your battery was damaged from being discharged. Like I said, my dealer also thought my battery was fine and I continued to experience problems until the battery was totally dead 5 months afterwards.

    My car has been working perfectly after all the issues (roof, HELE, battery) were sorted out after 2 years of ownership. I can only drive 6 months out of 12 due to Winter conditions so that's like 1 year of driving.
     
  19. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

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    #19 4th_gear, May 27, 2017
    Last edited: May 27, 2017
    Most of your problems are completely consistent with at least a bad battery.
     
  20. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

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    The mechanism is complex and demanding, so everything has to be correctly set up and operating.

    Merc has had them on their very successful SLK/SL-Klasse cars since 1997. VW, SEAT and others also use them. The Cali is quite low volume and Ferrari has only had this roof since 2008. Problems are partly due to lack of experience in assembly and maintenance.
     
  21. Drldcohen

    Drldcohen Rookie

    Mar 20, 2016
    36
    Austin
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    Larry
    May sound crazy but are you on a flat surface when attempting to operate roof The only time i have had a roof failure message was in my office parking garage and the car was parked on a slight up angle. When I got out of the garage and attempted to put roof up all was good
     
  22. pr0b

    pr0b Rookie

    Oct 18, 2015
    14
    battery is completely new, i put a new one in 04/2016. i have a ferrari new power warranty on the car and they changed the main ecu and the gearbox ecu, aswell as the "ecu" for the roof mechanism with several sensors.
     
  23. wrs

    wrs F1 World Champ
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    Jul 11, 2015
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    Yes, it's completely flat in my garage and everywhere I have done this. Keep in mind, this thing has consistently been failing halfway through the cycle and then being able to complete 10 minutes to an hour later. This hard roof failure happens when the roof is either all the way up or down. Either way, nothing happens, I just get this sorry picture. I am going out to give it a try and will report back.

    ETA:
    No joy after sitting two hours.
     
  24. vjd3

    vjd3 F1 Rookie
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    They guessed wrong on which sensor to replace ... been there, done that. They need to get on the phone with Italy and do the diagnostics.
     
  25. vjd3

    vjd3 F1 Rookie
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    Just a thought but after you twist the key be sure to wait a few seconds to allow all 5 bars to light up and complete the check cycle before you hit the start button. The one or two times I did not allow the check to complete first I got all kinds of crazy errors.
     

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