2010 Ferrari California Roof Malfunctioning - Caused Dent!

Sorry to learn of your mishap. How long have you owned the car? When was it last serviced by the dealer? The location of the dent on the roof panel would provide a clue.

From your photos I believe you mean the dent is on the passenger side of the roof. You do not show a photo of the roof damage but here's a photo of that portion of the roof on my car. The red circle I inserted shows the lowest point of the rear window panel which is positioned over the roof panel, where your dent probably is. I think it may be part of a latch that secures the rear window panel to the roof panel.

There could be several reasons why the "latch" struck the roof panel. The roof panel may have failed to lower fully to get out of the way of the window panel or the roof mechanism has moved out of alignment, jammed and then suddenly released. When the jam released the momentum of the suddenly moving window panel could have caused it to overshoot and strike the roof panel below. The mechanism then stopped moving because it is still misaligned. It could also be a problem with the hydraulic circuit not applying even action to left and right sides of the roof mechanism.

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IMO, these roofs are delicate complex proprietary mechanisms that make them unsuitable for a DIY repair as you can easily cause worse damage.

To avoid further damage I would not operate the roof and bring the car in to your regular service garage.

 

Might be worth a trip to your closest Ferrari dealer, if that's a viable option.
T

 

Happened to me w my 2010. Theres a post about here maybe 5 yrs ago. Car was under warranty , I bought it from f dealer maybe 6 months earlier,,, after a couple back and forths they covered the dent repair the hydraulic issue was obviously covered.

 

Since you've only had it for 4 months the problem may have been there already when you bought the car. If so, this would mean the seller or the factory is responsible (if the problem was found and mentioned before the warranty expired).

In any case, you should examine the complete service record to see if there was any problem or unusual complaint that may have been caused by the same defect. It's then up to you to convince the seller that he is responsible for repairs.

With any exotic car, your relationship with a competent and honest service garage is the MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR in the quality of your ownership experience. IMO, if you don't have one and are not competent to fix the car yourself, you shouldn't own the car.

 

I think this may be a useful thread...

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/cali-trunk-problem-fixed.489771/

Google

site:ferrarichat.com Cali roof problems

for some other threads that may be useful

T

 

Tom, the OP says his roof is dented. Just closing the trunk lid won't resolve this dent or prevent another one. The dent is a bigger problem than the lid not sitting even or closing fully. He has to find out why the dent occurred and fix that and then the car has to go to a "proper" body shop.

 

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I had hoped there might be something in those threads of use to the OP.
T

 

Looks like you have a dent at the same location as I had on my car back in 2013. FWIW, I have posted many times on the issue of roof dents and failures. My car was also dented - TWICE. Here's one thread that's actually titled "california roof dents".

Here's a photo I uploaded years ago of the (first) dent on my car.

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Finally, here's a close-up of my dented car roof - this was the 2ND TIME IT GOT DENTED (same spot). My dealer thought they had fixed the problem and repaired the dent, only to have it happen again to me as soon as I got the car back. This photo shows the 2nd time the same spot got dented.

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This is one of the reasons why I suggested you check the service records of the car. Your car may have been dented before and the roof was then repaired, but the cause of the dent may not have been resolved. The fact your roof is wrapped makes it difficult (impossible) to detect it was repainted.

Anyway, in my case, my dealer figured out the problem which turned out to be a slight misalignment in the roof mechanism when the car was originally assembled at the factory. It took a long time to figure out but it's now 5 years later and the problem has not returned.

 

Do you know how old your battery is? The OEM batteries are a known weak spot in many recent F-cars, Cali included. And, weak batteries seem to be responsible for a host of odd gremlins. I keep mine on the conditioner religiously.
T

 

The cause of my roof dents was #2 of the 3 possible causes I described earlier.

The battery powers the hydraulic pump and probably some small motors in the roof panel kinematic mechanism but any deficiency in the battery capacity cannot by itself result in the dent on your roof panel or else there would be an endless flood of dents on these cars. The dent on your car was likely caused by a misalignment or fault in your roof kinematic mechanism as it was with my car.

There should be a date code inscribed on the battery case, usually on the top. You have to refer to the manufacturer to decode it. However, if your battery is made in Italy, as with a FIAMM battery, then it's almost certainly the original one. They weren't defective or weak, they just weren't kept on tenders during their long trip over from Italy on a container ship and some sustained damage as a result and the dealers did not check for that or replace them with new ones. The new owners of the cars became their "battery testers".

The battery tender is meant to be used all the time. Even if you drive your car every day, if you take short trips or if you make a lot of stops, it's not enough and you're actually draining the battery.

 

If you have HELE (Start/Stop), then charge in snowflake mode...T

 

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