2007 599 Drivers Power Seat working intermittently

Dear Woody,

I have been meaning to reply to your post for some time. I have a story for you about a seat power control module. I own a Dec 2006 F599 GTB which I purchased from its previous owner in 2009. The car had an extended warranty (Power cube I believe) at the time. Just after the extended warranty expired the driver side power seat control module began to fail intermittently and gradually got worse. It would for example move forward but not back which lead to an incredibly embarrassing episode with a tiny valet parking attendant returning my car to me outside a nightclub in London and the seat decided NOT to move back to accommodate my 6ft 3" frame. I ended up driving home with me perched on the steering wheel the entire route home. Needless to say I called my servicing dealer immediately with whom I have had a longterm relationship. I am not sure I should mention the dealership but as I have only praise for them I am sure it won't be a problem. HR Owen London and the General manager Tony took personal care of it. The day the car was to be dropped off I arranged for a shorter friend to drive it and I follow but strangely that day the seat worked perfectly. I drove it to the dealer where after a couple of tries the seat fault occurred again. The dealer put a in a claim with FNE and they as a gesture of goodwill said they would cover 50% of the part cost and the entire labour cost.

Then the story begins.... The part was on back order with the factory and I waited and waited.... The dealership returned the vehicle and disabled the seat in my position for my comfort and to avoid any further embarrassment. The wait continued..... After nearly a year and inconvenience I chased up the dealer at the next annual inspection. The factory replied that they were waiting for a sufficient number of orders for that part to commission a bespoke run(I remember a figure of minimum 20 being mentioned). As a drivers seat module for a RHD vehicle this limited my prospects. I was getting irritated with the situation and one night after a few drinks and reading FChat (what my girlfriend calls my group therapy!) I randomly searched ebay and found an Australian Ferrari dealer clearing stock and there it was, The Holy Grail, a RHD Drivers side seating control module boxed and unused. I purchased it and it was my first ebay purchase and ended up overpaying somehow and the Aussie dealer was nice enough to throw in a couple of enamel badges for my nephews and a couple of memorabilia bits. They were excellent and dispatched the parts and they arrived within a week.

In the meantime I requested my London Ferrari dealer to carry out the installation for me for the part I was supplying. Not only did they do this with the blessing of the Factory they also gave me a credit for 50% of the list cost of the part they had agreed to which I utilised by way of other parts etc. I had in the meantime misplaced one of my keys and so Ferrari covered the cost a new spare key as part of the credit however neither of the two keys Italy sent could get coded and the following year at inspection by the grace of god my cleaner found my spare in a winter jacket I hadn't worn all year! I still have that credit and my relationship with HR Owen remains excellent although I still have the Ferrari it is outside of London at my parents now and I have bought a Maserati QP VI petrol twin turbo as a daily driver, stunning, a true four door Ferrari.

As I write this, this weekend I had to have the battery changed and guess what the only part that didn't immediately work was the seat. Working fine after a drive and an alarm cycle but always pray each time I start her after a long stagnant stretch.

My Advice is keep an eye out everywhere, if the part is meant to be yours it will appear....


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