FF PTU Design Flaw.

My quote recently from Ferrari FtLauderdale for PTU $43.000

 

They improved the cooling but increased the maximum front axle torque by 20% and engineered it so that the unit could shift as much as 90% of that torque to one wheel so the Lusso PTU is much more heavily loaded than the FF one as a result.

Anecdotal evidence on FChat suggests that Lusso PTU failures are fewer than that of the FF (a ratio of 1:3) but then again, the V12 Lusso fleet is smaller (by 20-25%) and younger (by 45%) than the FF fleet. Having said that, the average age at the point of failure for the Lusso PTUs is much younger than for the FFs (3 years for Lusso vs 6.7 for FF).

 

For a new unit or repair of the existing one?
At that price, you should be getting a new one.

 

Has anybody on here done the ptu removal themselves?

Maybe I am the biggest idiot, but it just does not bother me because I would plan to take it apart myself and either order a repair kit or send it off.

The downtime would suck but it just doesn’t seem that bad to me. I’ve had so much go wrong on my other fcar that if all I have to do is a ptu removal, then I feel like I am ahead.

 

They don’t offer repair, Ferrari don’t want to repair worried about lawsuits.

 

Except that the ones they swap out under warranty are actually reconditioned units…

 

Im pissed i didnt know about the weak part that Hollywood mentions as i wld have had it replaced when the dealer did my ptu

 

It’s interesting to note on the forum the amount of folks defending Ferrari with this issue, "except this with 15 year old cars",
This is not what you come to expect in the 21 century of car manufacturers design, The PTU/DCT have been a design flaw since
day one the DCT has been a flaw since the introduction of the 458.
My Pal had his Lusso PTU fail just after his warranty period expired his coast $43.000 plus labor.
We all know the saying "If it walks like a duck"

 

His mileage at the time of the issue was 12.000

 

Wrong thread

 

Thanks for sharing the video. Seems like the FF design has so much room for improvement. I can’t believe Ferrari used the PTU in the Lusso and PS. We have suffered FAR more problems with FF reliability than with any of our other 7 Ferraris. And imho, Ferrari should not be using any Chinese-made junk in these cars, including heater blower motors with cheap plastic gears. And WTH did they place the battery in such a hot location? The battery in our 993TT typically lasts 6-8 years and it’s up front in the frunk. The FF battery needs replacing every year or two.

 

for anyone in the northeast, Hollywood recommends The Little Speed Shop in Rochester NY for any FF work. I have no prior experience with them but nice to know they arent too far away.

 

Anyone experience problems (premature wear/failure)with their brake rotors, front or rear?

Micah states there is an inherent flaw in the design of the front brakes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

No problems with rotors on our first 2012 FF sold at 24,000 miles or our 2014 FF currently at 30,000 miles.

 

Never heard of this on any Ferrari of this CCM generation (Cali, 458, FF or F12 - and I’ve owned three of the four over 12 combined ownership years and 60,000 km). The only design ‘flaw’ is that the nuts and bolts holding the disc to the rotor bell can rust if you don’t take care of them on salty roads and of course, this is more likely to affect FFs than the others as it’s the only car likely to be driven in winter.

 

Exactly. Exact same brakes on many models. Never heard of such issue.

 

“I’m gonna tell you everything that WILL fail before it hits 12 years old.”

My FF is 13 years old. Let’s see if he’s right.

PTU clutch pressure sensors - No
Wavy front bumper - No
Leaking radiator - No
AC compressor leak/failure - No
Loose steering (tie rod ends) - No
Valve cover gaskets - No
Timing solenoid failure - No
Heater control valve failure - No
Battery - haha, it’s a consumable but I agree that LiFePo isn’t the answer.
Weeping water pump - Yes
DCT - No
Front disc overlap issue - No
Rear disc chewed up - No
Leaking shocks - No
Sticky buttons - Yes
Leather - No shrinkage
Seat switches - temperamental but haven’t failed

I guess I’ve just been lucky.

 

yes i had all 4 rotors replaced by the dealer for free - i was in the run for a laferrari allocation so they did me a "favor"

i just had to have my rear pads replaced, not sure about the front.

 

I think that Hollywood mechanic is doing the community a great service in identifying the common problems and fixes but unfortunately, he is also having the effect of putting people off FF ownership. A lot of the things he identifies are simply age related ‘old car’ problems and only a few are Ferrari related and even the PTU is the only FF specific one.
The uniformed comments below his YT video about buying a 911, NSX or C8 instead demonstrate the fear that he’s instilled in people - never mind Ferrari, can you pronounce ‘sill rot, bore score, IMS bearing and RMS’?

Looking at the identified issues;


PTU clutch pressure sensors - FF specific
Wavy front bumper - old cars in hot climates
Leaking radiator - old cars
AC compressor leak/failure - old cars
Loose steering (tie rod ends) - old cars
Valve cover gaskets - old cars
Timing solenoid failure - old cars (he even gives BMW owners a shout out for being familiar with this one!)
Heater control valve failure - old cars
Battery - cars with batteries in the engine bay
Weeping water pump - Enzo engined Ferraris
DCT - Merc and Ferrari
Front disc overlap issue - never heard of this problem
Rear disc chewed up - never heard of this problem
Leaking shocks - old cars
Sticky buttons - old cars from Ferrari/Maserati/Porsche
Leather problems - old cars
Seat switches - old cars

So of the 17 issues, one is FF specific, 11 are generic to old cars, two are non problems (the brakes) and the remaining three are design flaws which also happen to be age exacerbated.

 

i have to go back and look at the rotors in my folder - unless im confusing cars id swear they were placed but i didnt list it here which is odd
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/ff-ownership-after-6-years.583771/page-2

 

ANOpax, here's my report on my 2015 FF with 26,000 miles (I noted the differences in bold).

“I’m gonna tell you everything that WILL fail before it hits 12 years old.”

My FF is 9 years old. Let’s see if he’s right.

PTU clutch pressure sensors - No
Wavy front bumper - No
Leaking radiator - No
AC compressor leak/failure - No
Loose steering (tie rod ends) - No
Valve cover gaskets - No
Timing solenoid failure - No
Heater control valve failure - No
Battery - haha, it’s a consumable but I agree that LiFePo isn’t the answer.
Weeping water pump - NO
DCT - No
Front disc overlap issue - No
Rear disc chewed up - No
Leaking shocks - No
Sticky buttons - Yes
Leather - Headliner at the top of the windshield drooped, had to have it re-glued
Seat switches - NO
PTU oil line burst - yes
Parking brake lines frozen - yes (due to winter salt)

I guess I’ve just been lucky also.

 

Consider yourself lucky 2013, 30k miles

PTU Rebuild - Yes - $10k
Wavy front bumper - Yes haven't fixed
Leaking radiator - No
AC compressor leak/failure - Fixed when doing PTU
Loose steering (tie rod ends) - No
Valve cover gaskets - Yes - $8k for entire top end rebuild
Timing solenoid failure - Part of Rebuild
Heater control valve failure - No
Battery - Yes - Relocating to trunk now
Weeping water pump - No
DCT - Yes - $18k for rebuild
Front disc overlap issue - No
Rear disc chewed up - No, Just rear pads replaced - $1600
Leaking shocks - No
Sticky buttons - Yes haven't fixed
Leather - No shrinkage, but probably someday soon
Seat switches - Were not working when I got the car, somehow working now

Add on the 15k exhaust and I'm out $50k+ in about a year and a half of ownership, if you can even call it that... car is in the shop more than on the road I've only been able to drive it 2k miles

 

I think we need to start a new thread…


… which I’ve now done in order to keep this one from being derailed!

 

novitec exhaust?

 

full stainless Kline installed