Ferrari 458 engine bogged down in 1 & R randomly | FerrariChat

Ferrari 458 engine bogged down in 1 & R randomly

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by muellersautos, Jan 19, 2024.

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  1. muellersautos

    muellersautos Rookie
    BANNED

    Jan 18, 2024
    1
    Atlanta
    Full Name:
    Will
    Hi. I'm having an issue, and Ferrari of Atlanta has not head of this, a second hand ferrari shop Merlin has not heard of it, any of my european shops have not heard of it. I've spent $600 on diagnosis so far with ferrari. I'm hoping maybe someone hear has came across this before.

    About a month ago, went to start my 2012 458 in 20 degree weather, and it didn't turn over at all, turned key off and back on, it turned on normally but had the battery alert for a day then that went away. One week later i'm at a red light, i go to hit the gas and the RPMs were creeping up so slowly, the car was moving maybe 1mph at a time, with the pedal to the floor. When it originally happened i couldn't figure out what to do and it was not working still.. i eventually got the car home. I thought it was electrical becasue of the battery issue a week prior. I got a brand new battery, i changed the oil as well, cleaned the throttle bodies, and mass air sensors, and replaced the power steering fluid. The issue started happening less, and the car would eventually catch after 3- seconds of the engine feeling bogged down. It only happens 5-10% of the time, it's not every time i start / stop. But the issue ONLY happens if i come to a complete stop for more than 20 seconds at time, like at a red light. Ferrari's diagnosis was there is a power response delay going on between the pedal and the butterfly flaps opening, they are not sure why or what would cause this as they've never encountered it, and all my pedals checked out fine, every sensor checked out fine, they're saying worst case scenario one of my ECU's could be going bad. The best way to describe it is imaging the car being in 7th gear at a red light and you're flooring it trying to get it to go, it goes 1mph up at a time, until 3-4 seconds later everything engages and the car takes off as normal

    I had a very high end tuner diagnose it and he says its possibly bad clutch and gear oil as it happened after it got very very cold so the oil could have thickened up and its not working properly, or worst case he says its my clutch pack going out. Ferrari ruled out any trans issue, and from my understanding if i'm having an issue in R and 1, i'd be habing issues in 3 and 5 as well, which every single gear is working pefectly even if i'm getting on it, downshifting at high rpms etc.. so i'm not sure?

    Has anyone ever heard of something like this?
     
  2. mikey64

    mikey64 Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 26, 2013
    557
    TN
    Full Name:
    mikey
    Ferrari’s diagnosis makes way more sense than someone else saying gear oil thickened up at 20 degrees. That’s not really a thing. Unfortunately chasing electrical issues when signals, sensors and computers are involved is not very do-able without special diagnostic tools.
    Probably going to have to let Ferrari handle it.
     
  3. Drew Altemara

    Drew Altemara Formula 3

    Feb 11, 2002
    1,529
    Tuscaloosa, AL
    Full Name:
    Drew Altemara
    This is a long shot, but what you describe happened on my son's older Infinity. The issue was the "rheostat", and that's probably a bad word for it. that is connected to the accelerator pedal was faulty and was not sending the correct signal to the throttle plate/ECU.

    Like a said a long shot but sounds very similar.
     
  4. mikey64

    mikey64 Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 26, 2013
    557
    TN
    Full Name:
    mikey
    I agree a DBW pedal issue could exhibit similar symptoms. However drive by wire pedals have two potentiometer sensors that work opposite of each other. As the pedal moves one increases voltage and the other decreases voltage. If the computer doesn’t see what is expected then it throws a code and goes into limp mode. Unless the tech is trying to make extra money they would have easily seen a pedal error code if that was the issue.


    “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games” - Ernest Hemingway
     
  5. Ferrari Tech

    Ferrari Tech Formula 3

    Mar 5, 2010
    1,214
    Georgia
    Full Name:
    Wade Williams
    I have looked at the parameters for the pedal and throttle blades. The pedal is sending the correct signal but the throttle blade does not follow the pedal input when the delay occurs. It only happens after a complete stop and a few seconds of sitting still. There are no indications that the pedal signals are in any way not correct. The voltage changes are what they should be. I didn't spend a lot of time looking at data, but at this point I am fairly confident it is not the pedal signals. If the pedal were malfunctioning, it would not be this specific in nature.
     
  6. Challenge

    Challenge Formula 3

    Sep 27, 2002
    2,011
    PA
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    Why was the OP banned??
     
  7. mikey64

    mikey64 Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 26, 2013
    557
    TN
    Full Name:
    mikey
    Any update on this one? My car has similar symptoms after an episode on track that seems to have a root cause of bad battery. I got DCT light and limped home on 2-4-6-R.
    After new battery I still have light but 9 DCT errors reduced to 3 and they aren’t making any sense since now it shifts through all 7 gears and once in 2-7 it feels completely normal.
    But 1 and R can be jittery like teenager learning clutch first time.
    Occasionally, when completely stopped, upon throttle application I get “operation not admissible” and it won’t go for a few seconds but then it clears and goes.
    No engine light just DCT light.

    Does OP’s car have any error codes?
     
  8. Ferrari Tech

    Ferrari Tech Formula 3

    Mar 5, 2010
    1,214
    Georgia
    Full Name:
    Wade Williams
    We have run some diagnosis and it looks like the ABS ECU is not seeing brake pedal release quickly. If you come to a stop and release the brake, it will release in the ABS after a few seconds. If you try and release the brake and try to accelerate right away, the ABS inhibits throttle because it thinks the brake pedal is still pushed. I believe it is an ABS ECU issue. OP hasn't decided on what he wants to do yet. It is an expensive gamble at this point.

    P.S. I don't know why the OP was banned.
     
  9. mikey64

    mikey64 Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 26, 2013
    557
    TN
    Full Name:
    mikey
    Thanks for the update. I’m not one to just “throw parts at a problem” hoping for a fix, but what about replacing the brake pedal switch? Seems that’s a somewhat common issue and it’s certainly easy to replace.

    What DTC codes were set in which modules?
     
  10. windsock

    windsock Formula 3
    Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 29, 2006
    1,147
    I would focus on the Speed sensors and pressure sensors in the gearbox. First I always look at the pressure sensors key on engine off they should all be within .5 bar of each other and zero. Common for them to get biased. incorrect pressure readings in the clutch's can cause this as the car will not allow throttle application if the clutch pressures and speeds don't operate correctly. Very common for this to be a heat related issue as well.
     
  11. Ferrari Tech

    Ferrari Tech Formula 3

    Mar 5, 2010
    1,214
    Georgia
    Full Name:
    Wade Williams
    Changed the brake switch already, not it. Pressure sensors and speed sensors are good. No codes thrown as the system has no idea there is a problem.
     
  12. mikey64

    mikey64 Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 26, 2013
    557
    TN
    Full Name:
    mikey
    Oh boy. That sounds daunting to diagnose!
     
  13. Dalesoden

    Dalesoden Rookie

    Jan 7, 2019
    10
    Full Name:
    Daleq
    You need to have the car rigged to a diagnostic with live data tracking. When it kicks up it will be easier to trace if a throttle potentiometer or pedal position sensor is falling off a cliff with its signal.

    I would however do a gearbox relearn and see how you get on as can be dct related.
     
  14. Ferrari Tech

    Ferrari Tech Formula 3

    Mar 5, 2010
    1,214
    Georgia
    Full Name:
    Wade Williams
    Live data shows throttle and pedal position are correct and without issue. The data stream shows the ABS ECU does not recognize the brake pedal release right away. I believe this is the root cause of his acceleration issue. I have also compared the readings to a known good car and the brake release is instant on the known good car. it is just difficult to pull the trigger on an ABS ECU. There is never a guarantee on a solution. I do know any other action that doesn't address the brake staying on in the ABS ECU is likely to be of no help. While I am sure of what it is doing, the why is speculation. I have no further test available to determine any further malfunction. I have replaced 3 ABS ECUs recently, all with different issues. I believe it needs an ABS ECU at this point.

    PS, yes we have replaced the brake switch.
     

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