2010 Ferrari 458 Transmission Issue

I have a 2010 Ferrari 458 Certified Pre-Owned Car. It has 7,000 miles on it. Prior own said car was great, wonderful, ect. It really is an exceptional car. I have one "complaint" and one problem.

First the complaint . I drove a 2013 911 PDK, and I liked the transmission there better. I liked the fact that when coasting into a light the 911 takes the car out of gear while slowing down, engaging only when you accelerate. This is more like I would drive a stick shift -- if I'm driving around town obeying all relevant traffic laws and traffic, why go 7,6,5,4,3,2,1 when I probably am rolling to a stop, and then going back into 1st gear to bring the car back up to 45 miles an hour. I understand that in race mode, it should keep the car in gear all of the time for performance, but I'm not racing anywhere -- I prefer to coast when my foot comes off of the gas, and then go into gear when I want to move forward. That's the complaint --

The problem though seems to be specific to my car (or is it, I've only driven on 458 -- my 599 was a stick, and I don't have a lot of experience with dual clutch automatics). When the car is other than fully warmed up (so, perhaps for the first 5 miles of operation), it jerks back and forth on it's way through 2,3,4 when you give it moderate gas. On very light gas, it's pretty smooth. I haven't tried full gas, but I suspect it would work better. What I have is a car that jerks badly almost like a harmonic vibration -- but much slower. So going from 20mhp to 50mph the car would probably go RRR -- RRR -- RRR 5 of 6 times. Similar to say what would happen if you were on a slippery surface and the traction control were kicking in and out trying to keep the tires from spinning.

I'm feeling like it should be smooth like the 911, or smooth like the car runs when it's warmed up, or smooth like it runs say going onto a freeway under full power from 40mph to 100mph. Click, Click, Click as it goes through the gears. But instead I get this RRR - RRR - RRR while the car jerks back and forth almost like I'm too dumb to keep constant pressure on the gas pedal. I don't think I'd be able to make it make the funny noises and jerk like this all by myself.

I have that CPO warranty, but the dealer's service guy looked at me a bit confused. Like, either it works or it doesn't work -- and if it's shifting and the motor idles nicely then it works. But, yeah, to me it doesn't work. Most of what I see is people who have transmissions that completely don't work, where the dealer fixes them. I feel like I've got the somewhat working transmission? Has anyone else seen this, or is it perhaps "normal" or? I can see me asking the dealer for a ride in one of their 458's to test it out.

 

I got the car into the dealer and thankfully they agreed -- you do have a problem.

Seems that the engine was surging more when cold than when hot. They aren't clear what the problems are, but perhaps fluid levels? Hard to say, but glad it's under warranty. They do seem to be going through everything step by step.

I was running the car in automatic mode, but after I put it into manual mode the problems were much more visible. I still think that the Porsche transmission might be a touch tighter, but the Ferrari really does get noticed.

 

Dealer gave the car back. Seems like surging is better, but the transmission does not appear right. We drove another 2010 458 and it was much better than my car (though still not a PDK). Mine exhibited roughly double the number of problem shifts, and on two occasions we were at a stop, I clicked it into 1st, and hit the gas for a quick start -- the engine just zoomed up and the car went nowhere.

Again, dealer still admits it's broken. They have had the car for a few days.

Dealer says, "Ferrari tells us what to do". Ferrari says "could be anything, don't rush to conclusions.". Owner says, "Ferrari is missed. I want my car back."

 

I'm back on this topic because I still find the car annoying. I have an annoying $200K+ car in my garage. The problems are very minimal if you run the car all the way out. It's wildly fast and the shifts are 90% there though they are a bit jerky at times. Oddly though, shifts are smoother when you're really going fast which I'm told is because the shifts are driven by oil pressure and oil pressure is higher at higher RPM's.

There is no question about it -- this car wants to go forwards. When it shifts, you accelerate into the shift or the shift gets bad. So, who knows -- I suspect that a larger part of the issue is normal for the car. Some part relates to my inability to hold down the gas at a steady rate or just years of driving a stick shift car, though of course I'm very good at holding it all of the way to the floor for a while and it jerks less when I do.

There are trade offs in everything. The 599 was so much slower, but much smoother as it was a stick.

 

I am back on this topic because the car is making a Buzzing Noise as it slows. To the best of my knowledge this buzzing noise occurs between 3rd and 1st gear, but I've just started watching the gears. It always occurs as the car slows down.

Buzzes are as long as 1 second, but are often shorter. It's more like a cellunoid getting stuck if you ask me. When I get a buzzing noise the car often downshifts and skips gears going from 4 to 2 in some cases, but generally going from 3 to 1. I am seeing the car skipping gears on the way down (I'm in automatic mode in Sport mode) on about 50% of buzzes, but I am seeing the car not buzzing and skipping gears when downshifting so, I point at the transmission. But, we probably only get a buzz 5% of the time and typically when the car is going from cool or cold to warm. I've never had a buzz when it's fully warmed up.

Listen to the buzzes here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/weakj7c3y45z1gg/AACOraFeMyHEkwv2QCLoY0tAa?dl=0

Have you seen your 458 downshift like this in auto mode (skipping gears)?
Any thoughts on what the buzz might be?

 

Back again about those buzzing noises. I took the car into an independent shop for an old change, some air sensor issue, and a "loose belt" that the dealer said I needed. The $1,500 service with belts was an oil change for a $125 in labor plus $160 in parts and some checks on stuff that he included in the $125. The belt was fine according to the aftermarket guy. Other items with the air sensor were corrected by cleaning parts that were dirty.

Mechanic said when he heard the buzzing noise while the car was up in the air and running he jumped out from under it. So, yeah, after 18 months of complaining to the dealer who never hears the noise, the independent hears it first visit and right away. Not just one buzz, but one long one and then a number of short ones. Calls his buddy at another dealership, and gets back -- yeah, some of them do that -- especially on the earlier cars. So, if you have a buzz, it's normal, known, and perhaps something to care about later.

Over the 18 months of ownership, the shifting has improved on the car (or perhaps I've learned to keep pressure on the pedal?). On the car's last visit the independent put 15/50 weight racing oil into the car because "in Arizona 10/40 isn't thick enough". The change in oil resulted in the engine running quieter. The car shifts acceptably when pulling out of an air conditioned garage, and then shifts pretty darn good once it warms up. So, I like the thicker oil -- and the transmission is better in terms of shifting, but it still makes noises every so often. The story from the local dealer is that the transmission is letting off pressure. The store from the out of state dealer is some cars just make those noises.

 

Back for one more update. Had the transmission fluid changed -- shifts seem better now. Buzzing noise is still there. Today's suggestion from Karl the mechanic (someone new to me) is that in 2010 Ferrari had an update on their transmission relay from 30 Amps to 50 Amps. 2011 and newer cars use the 50 Amp one.

So, for about $350 or $400, another part is being installed. Karl suggests that since I have an old one, maybe it's broken, but not broken enough to be causing the issues. This could also be related to the transmission's sloppy shifts -- or not.

I swear that Porsche would have fixed this, but then again ... maybe not.

 

One more update. Went in today for the 50 amp transmission relay upgrade. The shift issues are totally gone. Shifts are now predictable and fast.

The buzzing noise is still there. By some argument it's worse. An annoying problem given that it's been here so long.