2015 California T - 28K miles - Transmission DEAD

Looks like my "reliable" Ferrari is broken again and this one is serious. All the trans fluid is dumping from the weep hole and the dealer says it's a $30K+ repair. Meanwhile my 80K mile F1 360 Spider still does donuts and makes birds fly out of the trees at least once a day.

Any advice would be appreciated on what steps to take on getting a second opinion on this or even a "local" rebuild/repair. I am located in east central Florida.

 

I just went through this on my 2015 with 31k miles. Also received a $25-30k estimate from the dealer.

Parts kit from Hollywood Mechanic is $7,500, plus 40 hours of labor at a qualified independent. Should run $16k or so. (Assuming no other damage to gears, clutches, etc.) The kit has improved seals and bearings which should make it good to go for a long time.

Someone should be able to recommend a good independent near you. If not, you can send it to the Hollywood Mechanic himself in California. Look him up on Instagram, he is very responsive to messages on there, not so much to phone calls or regular emails.

In the meantime do not drive the car or you risk further damage.

 

this is the same tranny issue the mercedes GTs are having?

 

Yes, except Mercedes extended their warranty for eight years, and Ferrari, naturally, did not. Chances are any Ferrari with this DCT is going to face this issue sooner or later.

 

If you ever sell your car, having this done definitely increases the value/desirability of your car. Many people know the DCT is a ticking timebomb, unless it's been dealt with.

 

I hope you are right as my freshly fixed 2015 Cali T is for sale on here right now

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/2015-california-t-nero-daytona-over-tan.699388/

 

so the F8 and whatever else has this same tranny? same tranny in the GTR mercedes?

 

All the 7 speed DCT boxes, so 458 up to whenever the 8 speed rolled out. Ferrari did do some incremental updates along the way.

 

Does anyone know if this transmission issue is covered under the PW15 warranty? Thanks!

 

@SAFE4NOW

 

An extremely small percentage ( single digit %, maybe ) of DCT have required repair in the past 12+ years that I have been with Ferrari.
Does it happen, yes some have different versions of internal failures, but far from " ticking timebomb " level. But that's why there are repair kits and various options to address those failures both via dealership and independent shop routes.

I would not let the perceived threat of DCT failure scare anyone away from Ferrari ownership. I would recommend Power Warranty for piece of mind...

Internal DCT failures are listed as covered under PW15(16) agreements.
( abuse is not )

Steve

 

is there a thread on this i can brush up on topic?

 

According to the Hollywood Mechanic and the techs in Palm Beach, it's an increasingly common problem (he is working on 4 of them right now). It's age related, not mileage. These cars are getting near and passing the 10-year mark and the seals get eaten up by the fluids acidic characteristics. Time is the enemy. This is why all of the cars of that era of Getrag DCT are said (not by me) to experience future problems.

What always scared be about the DCT is the lack of long term testing. Torque converter autos have been around for a century, manual transmissions have as well. Many years have gone into the development of the modern-day derivatives of those basic designs. The F1 is a little more complicated but all the components are modular and external and can be swapped in hours if needed. The DCT's design has everything internal and, like it or not, is new and it's development was rushed to accommodate the needs of the consumer. This isn't my opinion, this is simple math.

And yes, the 488s are now starting to trickle in with the issue.

Anyway, I would certainly consider this a deterrent from the car. Not Ferrari (I love the brand and drive my 360 every day), but any DCT equipped car that is outside of its warranty period. By the time the R&D at Getrag gets the reliability to a normal level, direct drive electric vehicles will be dominating the roads anyway.

 

Glad to have the power15 warranty... one least thing to worry about and some peace of mind.

 

Btw, you can find several sets of hundreds of pages supplied by Ferrari of the disassembly and service procedures at the NHTSA website.

 

Yes, this is correct. There's a main seal/gasket around the drive shaft that's the typical failure point. Basically all of them face the same risk but California, 458 and F12 were known for it per what I've been told.

My F12 went at 28k miles or so, was almost 7 years Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login old. They showed me the parts because the techs disassembled the old unit. Was covered by extended CPO warranty. Out of warranty my tech could handle for about $14-16k.

 

That’s the seal that failed on my 2015 at 31k miles.

 

Amazing a handful of seals is $20k?

 

Well, both statements are true at the same time.
Yes, it is a ticking timebomb. Many of them will fail eventually. The seals aren't fit for purpose.

But that shouldn't scare anyway away from Ferrari ownership. It's about 15-17 Ferrari Units to repair. That's about the same cost as replacing front brake discs.

 

Not really. The repair kits are a few thousand (they have stuff other than just seals); it's the labor that sucks the life out of a person's Ferrari enthusiasm...

 

I scanned those docs. Looks pretty easy to repair. Can anyone buy those parts kits? The part about keeping replaced parts for 3 months sounds like an internal FNA thing for their dealers or a way to control the parts supply chain and screen the little guy out?

 

The kits are generally available.

 

Good pic of the numbers on that seal. All the bearings and seals will have ref numbers on them. Just a question on how hard they are to source outside of a kit.