Leather on top of dashboard vents damaged

I'm baffled by the lack of robust response from your dealer. Also don't understand how the LEDs would have detached from their housing. If you have to replace the headlight you might want to look for a salvaged one that comes with some sort of warranty. Maybe you can trade yours in for a discount as it may be repairable.

As for the dash, hopefully your color-glo experience will be better, otherwise you may want to look up a custom leather upholsterer that knows how to recondition classic car interiors.

 

New car dealer service shops tend to be parts-replacers, rather than parts-fixers. Is there an independent shop around you that might be able to fix the side markers? I agree with 4th_gear about checking with a top quality car upholstry shop.

 

I just posted a reply to your other thread re the CF parts for vents. I suspect they can be made if you cannot find ones already available. Of course it wouldn't be simple to do but if done well they could even be commercially viable.

As for the detached LEDs I'm still baffled that they would have dislodged on their own. It's either faulty assembly or they were jarred loose by an impact. Anyway, you should really consider buying a used one from a wrecker - they cost a lot less and can be as good as new.

 

Wow... that vent is not wrinkled. The leather has shrunk and come completely unglued. You can see in that line where it was originally. Wow.

 

Well, if the leather shrank and pulled away like that on its own I imagine it will come right off without much resistance. I find it curious that the rest of the leather on the dash seems unaffected. I would have expected the leather around the barrel to also shrink.

Removing the leather on the barrel will allow the replacement cover to seat properly. If you skip that procedure, the replacement cover will likely look too big and will move and make noises because it will be anchored to leather.

As for the LEDs, you should check but the headlight is probably a single sealed unit so in that case you best recourse is a used one from a wrecker who will provide some sort of warranty on the item. If the replacement unit works properly the only caveats would be cracks or loss of seal that you should be able to verify from close inspection. Otherwise, you will need a new OEM one.

 

Did the car interior smell musty when you collected it from storage?

 

Scifrog- tried to pm you but your box was full. Did you ver get the leather fixed? I think that I might have the same problem.

 

My 2010 has the same problem on the air vents. I hate it. Dealer quoted me about $4000.00 to repair. The dash must be removed to do the work right.

I noticed later models have a plastic or carbon fiber housing , no leather. I asked if we could just replace them with carbon fiber covers and was told the dash would still have to be replaced

 

Have you considered removing the windshield to get at the vent and dash area?

 

My car is always kept in climate controlled garage. My 2001 Porsche with full leather dash set next to it with no issues after15 years.

My 2011 Mercedes SLS also perfect dash.

Ferrari needs to do something .

 

Here's a composite photo showing the OP's vent problem next to the normal leather on the vents in my 4-year-old car. It looks like the leather covering the vent "tunnels" has "slipped" and become undone.

If the dash upper is removed, the vents can probably be popped out and the leather covering be properly fastened back. I doubt such a repair would require $4000 in labour.

Assuming labour rate is $160/hr (previously confirmed at one US dealer), $4,000 would pay for 19.5 hours. That's like a solid 3 days with one mechanic! I don't think you need 3 days to remove and replace a dash upper. Fixing the leather is likely trivial once the vents are accessed.

The people who upgrade infotainment systems have a lot of experience pulling and replacing dashboard coverings. I don't think they add $4,000 to the cost of head units.
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Have a friend that had a dash problem on his cali t. Dealer quoted 16 hours labor to remove and reinstall dash.

 

I would ask them how many Ferrari California or other late model Ferrari dashboards they have done before. It's always good to ask direct questions and get solid quotes. At least you'll know.

 

Yes, that's not surprising. I think there's likely a lot of "training hours" sandbagged within those 16 hours as it's unlikely they will have much experience doing it.

Dashboard work always gives me the creeps. Aside from the costs and hassles you worry if it might inadvertently introduce noise from broken/damaged, loosened or displaced wiring, fitting, connectors ...etc. It's one of the reasons why I put up with the substandard QNX system in my car. I imagine the dealers feel the same way and would prefer not to have to pull dashboards for their customers. You can imagine the possible litany of noise complaints from the owners, real and imagined, after the work is finished.

I wonder how much high end infotainment system installers would charge to just remove and replace the dashboard. They should be experts at it. Here's a thread posted by DoubleLow7 on his Clarion head unit upgrade back in May 2016. His La Jolla Audio installer took 1.5 days, labour would have included wiring and upgraded overhead microphone. His overall cost for labour was apparently "only" $1.5k.

Another FChatter, Masontech in the UK, posted in Jan 2016 that he was quoted "...£2,722.14 (USD 3,877.80) including VAT and fitting." for the same Clarion unit.