just to report a tranny problem.....lost of reverse, 2nd, and 6th gears....

Starting to hear of more tranny problems on 458's. Suspect these trannies were not designed for the abuse the 458 motor throws at them. At least not for 100K plus miles, as most consumers would expect. Not good.

 

Ive had similar issues with a my previous Ferrari (scud). Anytime I would experience gearbox problems I would have to turn the car off completely pull the key out and 'reboot' the system.

Dealer could never properly fix the car.

Best of luck with yours.

 

Are you hearing this through official channels or just through the forum?

...and isn't it, "...the abuse the DRIVER throws at them." LOL

 

Were there specific conditions under which the problem would occur or would it just randomly happen?

 

Ferrari is not the first to use the DCT system. Have problems like this come up on other cars before? Anyone know?

 

I´ve heard of similar problems in Mercedes and BMWs.

Both Mercedes and BMW use Getrag gearboxes, like Ferrari. Coincidence? I really doubt it.

 

I've got 35,000 miles on my 2010 Audi S5 convertible daily driver with a very similar 7-speed DCT.
Transmission has been flawless throughout but the car gets driven pretty mildly every day.

I have done a number of high-rev (9000 rpm) acceleration runs in my 458 and the amount of force generated during those runs is exponentially more than my Audi's trans has ever felt.

So, I assume it is possible to put a strain on the 458's DCT but mine has been fine so far.

 

Even Porsche have their probs with teir automatic transmissions (at least that what I've been reading in local forums over here).

There seem to be quite a lot of PDK (Porsches version of a DCT) overheating. That maybe because of too much strain put onto them.

What really bothers me is the fact that _I_ as a customer will have to cope with the problems that -in the past- engineers had dealt with BEFORE the newly developed car was brought to market. Nowadays computer simulations/calculations seem to be trusted more than actual testing in the wild...

Shame, especially for cars in that price region.

Today I was even thinking of cancelling my order even though that would mean to pay a penalty. I hope that this problem (which I consider a MAJOR one) will be solved once my car arrives.

All the best of luck to everyone experiencing transmission problems in their 458 !

Cheers,
Ulli

 

I'm still scratching my head as to why the thing wouldn't shift and then shifts after sitting for an hour. It has a clutch and gearbox cooling system. If it were a clutch overheating problem, why wouldn't it throw up a warning on the dash (page 202 in the owners manual - "Clutch overheat alarm devices")? Is it not pre-selecting the gear - or is the clutch not engaging (not overheated?) - or is it something else?

Below is a link to the "How Stuff Works" explanation of how a dual-clutch transmission works (2005), including an animation showing how the gear shift change takes place - hit the play button. Is that complicated or what?

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/dual-clutch-transmission.htm


BTW, see this post about a Cali transmission:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=304545

 

Cancel your order? Nah! Not everyone has problems with their car and even if you do have a problem, you take it in, they fix it, problem solved! Sure, it's a hassle, but how is having to deal with a car problem going to have a major impact on your life? I'm sure you're going to have way more "up time" than "down time".

 

Thanks for the encouragement - just what I needed. As I am REALLY looking forward to see that beauty in my garage, I of course won't cancel.

But the underlying problem I have with this is already mentioned in my previous post: No thorough testing anymore before delivery. Seems the term quality is defined different by anyone for himself. Anyone notices I'm german ?

Ah well, I'll be off to the finals of Ferrari private drivers on nov 4th to Mugello.
Hope that helps to keep up my (slightly fading) spirit...

Cheers,
Ulli

 

The DCT in the F458/FF/California is made by Getrag. The same design is used by Getrag in the transmissions supplied to BMW since 2008.

I had a BMW M3 V8 with the DCT, I went through multiple problems with the DCT, got rid off the car. The car would go from 2nd to 5th and won't let me get to 3rd, other times it would die at a stop (dangerous in L.A.), it would not downshift sometimes when taking turns at high Gs, and it always had this minor gap on upshifts. Next time I buy the 08-11 M3, I will get a manual.

I know 2 owners of F458 Challenge with transmission failures, replaced by FNA, despite of these cars not having a warranty.

I also spoke to my former mechanic in L.A., and he has replaced one under warranty. I have yet to meet my mechanic in Florida.

I'm sure Getrag will fix these problems. These are not Ferrari problems, it is Getrag.

Ferrari is taking the lead on using this DCT transmission for Racing, and everybody is watching.

Be patient, it will be a while until this DCT becomes reliable.

For most F458 owners, the transmission is perfect, as they only drive their cars at public road speeds in U.S., and even a Kia is reliable under such driving conditions.

As long as the car has a warranty, and Ferrari responds, I don't see a problem, the usage of this DCT is an innovation.

Porsche PDK, and Audi DSG have been out much longer, Porsche and Audi work together. Their version has been proven and improved for a longer time, yet they don't venture to use it for Racing (GT3 Cup, Audi R8 GT3, and all the FIA-GT2/ALMS field).

 

So you are saying that the 570HP 458 puts 5.00365 times as much force on the DCT than the 354HP Audi? exp(570/354) = 5.00365...

Otherwise you are indicating that you don't know what the word 'exponential' means in this context.

 

Had the same problem with a SL500 back in the day, It was brand new. Took it back to the dealer and the dealer said 2 other ones off the same boat had the exact same issue described above.

I can't remember the exact terminology, but they said that there ended up being a air bubble in a vacum or something or another...

makes sense right...

 

exactly the same issues with my VW Golf GTi.....

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX01X0GiByQ[/ame]

the comments explain the problem

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrrdyXedKeM[/ame]

2nd time to happen to this guy

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5F0H8JWu38[/ame]

another VW/Audi failure

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXUt3mB9IUA[/ame]

At least it was a prototype

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emv6bDp210M&feature=related[/ame]

Mitsubishi as well

 

Okay, so that explains a lot. LOL

Questions for you, if you don't mind...

- What type of terrain are you driving on? Hills? Twisiting roads?

- Can you give us the start and endpoints of your spirited drive on Google maps?

- Is the car shifting a lot since you are in race/auto mode?

- Are you accelerating more than you are braking - or braking more than accelerating - or about the same? How fast are you going??

 

Wonder if people will begin experiencing suspension failure as well since that magneride tech is now Chinese.

 

I thought some of the Ferrari racers went to hewland for 6speed f1 boxes?

 

Are you being serious with some of those questions? Whats the difference what route he did on google maps, the trans blew up. Its not an isolated case anymore.

 

I think he is referring to one of Issac Newton's laws of motion in which case, with a little derivation, he is correct if he arrives at the F=mv^2 equation.

 

Okay. Thanks.