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

If you could open the box you could diagnose the problem.

If it is a wiring or electrical issue then changing the wiring loom could solve the problem.

 

Hi Everyone,

I learned something interesting on the weekend and thought I would share it. I got this from chatting with a Mclaren mechanic for an hour. The problem they have sound alot like the same issue.

So apparently Mclaren is having the same type of issues with their transmission.
Problem occurs on the 12C and the new 650S (they did not fix the problem). Problem occurs to about 7% (13 cars out of 200 ish they have sold) of the cars so far and like the Ferrari, you cannot open the transmission (full replacement).

The problem occurs in the cooling of transmission oil. There are 2 cooling exchange chambers (with cooling fins) on each side of the transmission. The transmission oil is separated by a seal from the coolant. I believe he said the coolant is the same as the engine coolant (a secondary pipe to the transmission). The seal cracks and coolant begin mixing with the transmission oil.

Each cooling exchange chamber controls one set of the transmission (even and odd gears). When one seal brakes, it sets off the temperature sensor. The car disengages that set of gears, so it could be you lose all even gears or all odd gears. Now if you turned the car off, the temperature goes down and because the leak is small you can technically get the set back for a bit. As you keep turning it off and back on. The time between failings will become shorter. The mixing fluid isn’t a very good lubricant causing the transmission to heat up way faster. After that the transmission self destructs.

 

Interesting theory and sounds pulasable.

The big question is why is it happening to around 10% of the group of cars and not a larger group and why can't the cracked seal be replaced in lieu of a complete replace of the transmission.

 

I asked the same question.

It has to do with warrenty. The transmission company porvides the warrenty for the tranmission. If you open it, it voids it. It is also not easy to open as the part is not designed to be maintained. As for the 7% fail. The mechanic said, from what his heard, it is not a design issue but a manufacturing. Maybe the tolarance is really high or bad quality control.

 

2 weeks ago I had this issue: lost Reverse, 2nd, 4th and 6th gears on my 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia.
CPO warranty ended last December.

Brought it to the Ferrari dealer:

"We have completed the diagnostics on your car. The problem is caused by a defective pressure sensor that lives internal in the gear box.
The good news is this sensor comes in a replaceable clutch pack within the gear box.
The not so good news is this part would have to come from Italy and the repair would run $16,319.00"

Despite the well known problem (basically Ferrari screwed up their engineering on this part), the factory won't cover any of the costs, even partially.

It's my first Ferrari! Help! Is there something else I can do to try to reduce the cost?

Thank you all.

 

Holy hell that's one expensive repair bill. I can understand brakes or some sort of fluids needing to be changed but 16k repair bill right after getting your 458.....

I can't imagine keeping this car past warranty.

 

Sam,

Was there anyway that you could tell this was happening to the car?

Did it used to slip some of the time??

 

I expect us to get a lot of posts like this in the next few years.

Actually, the gearbox company screwed up. Ferrari had to replace quite a few under warranty so they lost money -- the CA and the 458 have essentially the same box.

The short answer is no, the gearboxes are sent back as cores to be repaired so no one fixes them on the outside or can get the parts . I suppose getting one from a wreck is possible but their's always the chance of anything from hardware to software problems.

Did they offer a warranty on the new box at least?

The moral is... Fcars are expensive when they break. You have to expect that when you get into them. And, to be honest, a Mercedes or BWM or Audi DCT would probably be about the same.

BTW: That 16 grand will be over 20 when they are done. They'll find all sorts of stuff when the engine and box comes out.

 

Friend of mine got his 2012 458 clutch replaced under warantee. I remember he mentioned something about gearing issues. I have an early 2013 model and so far have 9000km pure track milage on it. I used to push it very hard when I was chasing Porsche, Mclaren and some open wheels.

Dealer resealed my gear box and did a tranny oil change due to oil leak found at 2000km. At 8000KM, my tuning shop did a tranny oil change on it. Other than that, the car has performed pretty well.

 

12-13's were much better. The real problems were 09 -11.

 

There is ONE source that I know about (the Mayor knows this person as well...he resides in Vegas) who can fix the boxes. PM me for his info. Don't want to post publicly.

 

another thought...this trans is also used in MB SLSs. Its a common DCT part.

I think its made by an Italian company.

Ferrari uses a different software tune vs MB. MB tunes for a slower shift but, longer life span for the part.

 

Mine is out of warranty. I suspect there will be a repair bill one of these days. Oh well.

 

THe boxes can be repaired and it's no secret now. Mine from my challenge car is being done by mike pechonis in south Florida who is doing most all of the challenge cars in the U.S. now. But it won't save you much if any. Repair for the electronics and sensors, no gears etc is right at $16k but it's cheaper than a completely new box. And it really doesnt matter new or old. Brand new challenge cars are coming with old gearboxes and "new" so it'***** or miss. All they change is the routing of the wire loom and add some zip ties to avoid chaffing! There is no real fix and they're all doing the same thing. The street cars that aren't seeing it are either just lucky or not being driven hard enough to continually heat the gearbox fluid that wiring loom is sitting in to cause it or the sensor to fail.

 

ouch.

 

That's why I keep telling to get a warranty.

 

Is it also a matter of time for the Speciale to begin to suffer from the same defect or is the transmission/software different enough in this 458 variant that the problem may not show up?