Calling all Maserati Coupe/Spyder owners w/Cambiocorsa

My experience with the Cambiocorsa software is horrendous. (Ps, I owned a 456GTA and have taken my son to the facility in Modena so I am definately a fan and wanted this experience to work) I bought the car for my wife last Christmas and she likes the way it drives and the styling - except for all the transmission problems.

From the first drive on Christmas day she noticed the car hesitating/stalling on launch. We contacted our dealer in Dallas immediately after purchase and they kept assuring us the problems would be fixed. So, we waited patiently. Big mistake - now, 8 months later and at least 5 visits to the shop seems to have only traded some F1 problems for new ones while the launch issue is still unaddressed.

Problems:

Launch (normal): car hesitates/stalls until 2000 rpms are reached. At least 4 friends have driven the car and without prompting, each one asked what was wrong with it when leaving from a stop sign or light.

Launch (full throttle): car jerked drastically (finally fixed after 3 or 4 visits to dealer and a part sent to Maserati NA for replacement)

Shifting: Maserati technician tweaked this summer and now the clutch slips when accelerating hard and shifting at 4000-5000 rpms. It also is worse when down shifting. I took it back and they said it is in spec!!!

Check engine light: came on several times. Dealer even returned the car once with this light lit in their parking lot

ODBCII (sp?) light: on once or twice and car idled very roughly

Convertible top: frayed and tearing at the fold point

Convertible deck piece rubbing and leather worn off - been on order for over 4 months

2 recalls

AC unit fix

Several other misc. issues (a lot in total for a brand new car)

I drove the car with a Maserati North America employee and he literally counted 2 seconds each time we launched from a stop sign or light before the car reached 2000 rpms and then took off strongly. When he could not adjust this long lag away he took the position that this is not a design defect but rather a "feature." I asked why the 575M F1 didn't have this "feature", or any other sports car I have ever driven. He said this car can't be compared to others. . . etc. because of the transmission. My BMW and Cayene Turbo have the shift/automatic option and they take off perfectly normal from a stop when driving in manual shift mode.

My dealer has been sold but before the sale their service person told me that many of their customers have complained about this and brought their cars back. He said Maserati told him they are working on a "fix" but they won't give him a date. I asked Maserati about this and they told me there is not a problem to fix. Based on our experience and these postings from a lot of other owners they shouldn't deny there is a problem.

I wonder if Maserati NA's internal technical documents and engineering documents will show there is a problem? Telling their service reps they will fix it later, but denying this to the customers who dropped $100,000 is unacceptable.

Any advice on how to fix the F1 issues will be GREATLY appreciated!

Rich

 

My 2002 coupe has just returned from the dealer after the cambiocorsa hydraulic pump failed. They tell me they replaced the pump (and control relay) and "updated" the software.
The paddle-shift is now working signficantly better than prior to the pump-failure.

It appears to me (although I couldn't speak to the actual technician who did the work) that there are a number of "latest versions" of software. It is important that a 2002 car receives the latest version of the 2002 software, rather than simply installing the latest 2004 version.

It is also, I understand, possible to alter configuration settings in the software after it is installed, to "tune" the timings of gear shifts.

All in all - pretty damn complicated stuff!

Thsi makes for some variance in the performance of the system - you need to ensure the technician "tunes" the system well.

Just for information:

- The pull-down (creep mode) is still present
- The slow take-off in first is MUCH improved (the throttle appears to react faster and you actually get off the line as you would expect)

It appears some of the improvements listed for "2004" software are now present (as above) but some of the other features are not altered.

I am not sure how much of this is attributable to the pump working properly and what is due to software "tuning".

 

For what it is worth. I have the same issue with "hard launching" our 2003 CC Spyder. Hope they can fix it. Bought the car instead of a used modena for the warrentee/service. now I think I need to trade it in for the Modena
///MK

 

yall should of bought a manual, so many less problems thats for sure!!

 

I have had at least three versions of the "new" software. The latest version is really good and works well both in sport and normal mode. It was a trial getting here though. Jim Summers at Maserati of Scottsdale has been great in ensuring I am happy. The car was bought for my wife but she could never really get the hang of the transmission and she wanted another SL, so she now has an SL55 and I hammer the Mas around town. I kinda don't feel that it is "special" like an F car so I drive it a little more "roughly" and it is fun! It likes to be driven hard and is best at higher revs. The transmission really responds well to high throttle inputs and is definitely better than when driving carefully.

I don't have any of the hesitation spoken of in this thread by others. The car responds immediately to throttle input and is a great performer off the line. I think the key is not to baby it. There are so few of them around that I still have people ask what it is, but I am really enjoying it. Anyone with issues should contact Jim at Scottsdale Maserati (480-990-9000) and ask him what version of the software is in my car.

 

Unless these problems are solved soon, I think Maserati will have a tough time selling the QuattroPorte to potential S-Class/7-series customers.

I hope they fix it, but I think they should offer a torque-converter equipped automatic.

 

I just picked up my 2002 coupe (w/ CC) from the dealership after having the clutch replaced with less than 17,000. I would be interested to know if others have had similar experiences. The dealer has told me this is normal for Cambriocorsa that are used as daily drivers.

 

From my dealer, the best : replacement after 62'000 km (my car). The worst, after 12'000 km. 17'000 miles is cleary in between.

 

My dealer replaced ours at 11,000 miles, but said it was part of the Maserati update program. The older single-plate clutch was replaced with one of the new style double-disc units.

I'll bet the torque limiting engine management software is aimed at increasing clutch life.

Brad