Portofino Roof Malfunction | FerrariChat

Portofino Roof Malfunction

Discussion in 'California/Portofino/Roma' started by stretchgeneral, May 15, 2020.

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  1. stretchgeneral

    stretchgeneral Formula 3
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    #1 stretchgeneral, May 15, 2020
    The other day I went to take my wife's 2019 Portofino to get gas and she had left the top down in the garage. As I was returning the roof to the closed position, it stopped closing at about 90% done. The dash signaled roof malfunction. I tried to go the other way and open it again and same thing happened. No movement and the message of malfunction. But it was not fully closed, so the warning dinging continued with the message reminding me to close the roof. Of course I tried it again to no avail. After multiple tries either opening or closing, the message changed to roof system overheated. The trunk would not open either. I called the dealer and they suggested I use the actual key to open the trunk and see if anything had caught in the mechanism. If that didn't work, use the actual key to lock and unlock the door and it might trigger or reset the roof. Neither of those suggestions worked. I dropped the car off for them to fix it. After a couple of days in the shop and them doing research back to Italy, they could still not get the roof to move and close. Late today, they called me to tell me that they got it operational again. They are not sure why it did it in the first place and want to hang on to the car a couple of days to continue checking, not wanting to return the car to me to have it repeat the fault the next day. Has anyone else experienced this issue?
     
  2. alex

    alex Formula Junior
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    #2 alex, May 15, 2020
    How old is the battery? Old/weak batteries can result in a variety of problems.
     
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  3. rgb125

    rgb125 Rookie

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    #3 rgb125, May 15, 2020
    Agreed - I have a California that had several roof malfunctions, but after replacing the battery, all roof problems disappeared


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  4. Alcav5

    Alcav5 F1 Rookie
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    #4 Alcav5, May 15, 2020
    Agreed the battery , loose wiring , poor electrical connections are the major culprits for most of the gremlins that pop up.

    My '10 California had hydraulic fluid loss in the pump sys for my roof problems, but I'm sure that's not what's going on here.
     
  5. vjd3

    vjd3 F1 Rookie
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    #5 vjd3, May 16, 2020
    Assuming the roof is the same as the one in the California, there are Hall sensors soldered into the wiring harness that react to the progress as the roof goes up or down, to prevent the process from continuing if something is out of alignment or in the way. I had a bad sensor in my 2013 that would intermittently stop the operation from happening, or just cause errors even when the top was all the way up or down, I would go over a bump and get the dings and the message. The errors in the computer would read "implausible sensor position." It took a while for them working with Italy to figure out which sensor it was but when they finally got it right, the roof was fine again.

    I guess the bottom line is the process is stopping itself so nothing gets damaged, but if they didn't actually fix or replace anything and it just started working on its own, it may recur. Frustrating. It was a few visits before I got mine ironed out -- it would behave at FoNE and then with me for a while but then it would recur -- but mostly it would either not open or close at all, so at least the car was drivable. Have not had any issues with my Cali T.

    When it would act up, usually I could shut the car off, wait a while, restart and it would work again but it sounds like yours is more of a serious issue. Hopefully they got it right for you!
     
  6. bruno787

    bruno787 Karting

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    #6 bruno787, May 17, 2020
    i went to a Portofino test drive event and the demo car's roof got stuck halfway when it was my turn to test drive. i dunno how they fixed it but it took a while and i just went home :(
     
  7. wrs

    wrs F1 World Champ
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    #7 wrs, May 17, 2020
    My new Cali T had a similar problem and it was intermittent but they figured it out, bad sensor had to be replaced.
     
  8. Nospinzone

    Nospinzone F1 Veteran

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    #8 Nospinzone, May 17, 2020
    I saw Michael (stretchgeneral) Saturday morning for a drive with some friends. He told us about the problem with his wife's Portofino. I said haven't they fixed that yet, they've had problems with the top since the first Cali. He said they redesigned the mechanism and it is not the same.

    My response was, so Ferrari engineered a new defect! :D
     
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  9. jumpinjohn

    jumpinjohn F1 Veteran
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    #9 jumpinjohn, May 19, 2020
    Yes I have. Several times, just going through the cycle again worked. This weekend it failed for good. Looks closed but windows won’t roll up. Calling them today. It will be the second time in service. Battery disconnect and reconnect didn’t help either...


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  10. stretchgeneral

    stretchgeneral Formula 3
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    #10 stretchgeneral, May 19, 2020
    The car is new, purchased in December 2019. So the battery is 6 months old and always on the tender when in the garage.
     
  11. Andrew Pour

    Andrew Pour Karting

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    #11 Andrew Pour, May 19, 2020
    Even if it is a new car, unless they changed the battery at the dealership, then I suggest you change it, or the least get it tested. When they are brought over from Italy, many of the batteries die. Plus the OEM batteries as other have stated, are horrible.
     
  12. alex

    alex Formula Junior
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    #12 alex, May 19, 2020
    Is the car taken for long drives, or only short trips?
     
  13. stretchgeneral

    stretchgeneral Formula 3
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    #13 stretchgeneral, May 19, 2020
    only short trips. Update. the dealer said they think there is an issue with one side of the trunk latch that is affecting the operation of the roof.........
     
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  14. alex

    alex Formula Junior
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    #14 alex, May 19, 2020
    Hope they find the solution soon! When you get it back, take it for a nice long drive! It's good for the car, and better for the driver!:D
     
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  15. jumpinjohn

    jumpinjohn F1 Veteran
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    #15 jumpinjohn, May 31, 2020
    Any updates?

    We are awaiting transport to dealership for a fix - hopefully soon...


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  16. stretchgeneral

    stretchgeneral Formula 3
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    #16 stretchgeneral, May 31, 2020
    We got the car back a few days ago. All functioning properly. According to the dealer, they went back and forth with Ferrari and tweaked the control sequencing of the roof operation controls. Not sure they really know why it got hung up. But so far so good.
     
  17. jumpinjohn

    jumpinjohn F1 Veteran
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    #17 jumpinjohn, May 31, 2020
    Good deal.

    Hopefully ours will be mended as well...


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