Need some advice?? Purchased a 99' 360 Modena 6spd with 2200 miles in 3/05 from a Ferrari dealer. The car had the major service and all TSB's completed (tensioners...) prior to buying. Problem is when I got the car to Georgia it will not pass emissions (OBD readiness failure). It is now 10/05 and still not fixed despite FNA working on it for 7 months including new ECU's, O2 sensors, vacuum pump, and multiple drive cycles. What to do next? Who is responsible? Help Clark
It seems to me that one of the reasons for buying a used car from a F dealer is to at the very least be assurred the car is "emission worthy".I am surprised that FNA has pitched in since the car is years beyond the warranty period. The very fact they have taken this on seems to point to some liability. I would consult with a lawyer and try to arrange for a refund.
99 360's will not pass emmision tests that require ECU interface. Here in California 99 360's must be taken to a SMOG referee to overide this test function. The Ferrari ECU and SMOG test equipment are unable to communicate and the system automatically fails the car. Here in California it is well known that the above procedure must be taken to a referee for a 99 360 to pass. Mario
How hard is it to get a 99 360 to pass using a referee? Does this take a long time to set up and what is the cost of this procedure?
I thought all cars sold in the US had a mandated Federal emissions warranty that was 8 yrs/80K miles?
check out item 4584230048 on EBay, it can be had for 130,000. Nice looking car with two sets of wheels and lots of service. I am looking for a spider, otherwise i would have strongly considered this one.
As posted above, this is a common occurrence on the 1999 360. Certain of the required OBD2 tests will never show has "ready/complete", despite all attempts to follow the various mandated "driving cycles". Referee test is the way to go. Check out this thread...http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34142
Jack and Mario thanks for the info. I have had FNA involved and they have replaced all this, even had a Bosch tech work on the car for a day on the phone with Italy. How would FNA not know about this refree? Also the EPA did not mention anything about this? Warranty is for 8yr/80k on major emissions Clark
I have 2 experiences with the most recent being 3 weeks ago. The car is connected thru the OBD II and the smog machine. The Smog machine detects (not ready status) typically there are 2 systems remaining open. The Ferrari system is unable to coomunicate with the SMOG system (even with the machine at the referee station) Most smog stations will tell you to go drive the car 100 miles + to make the system ready. This is B. S. as the system will still show not ready. or You get smog guys telling you that the battery was disconected. B. S. again At the referee station the referee is able to authorize a run test (car is run on a dyno here in Ca) an the car passes with flying colors on the sniffer test. HOWEVER, the cars OBD II is still unable to communicate with the computer showing open status (this means the State Smog Machine thinks the check engine light is on when it is not). The Referee overides this and the car passes. Most Smog stations want to fail the car (look at a car fax on a 99 360 and most all of them have a failed smog test in their history). You can avoid this by calling the referee ahead of time and set up the appointment so that there will be no Failed tests in the Car Fax history. here in California I made the appointment the same day and the cost was $79. Car passes ................. A lot of B.S. but not when you know what to do I guess.
Yep - I just went through this with a 99 360 I bought from Ferrari of Silicon Valley. Dealer was very helpful and tried the resetting by driving. They made the appointment with the referee, took the car, and got it passed. Basically - there are three tests required in CA, all supposeduly through OBD II. But our cars don't register well - and searching online, it seems this isn't just a Ferrari issue. Lots of Hondas and other mass-market cars having the "not ready" issue. In fact, the referee in San Jose has a 2 week wait for appointments, though my dealer worked some magic and got it done in 2 days. The three tests: - functional (this is the one that fails as the OBD II system thinks the check engine light may be lit or that the sensors are "not ready" for testing) - visual (inspector makes sure you didn't tamper with the smog control) - my car passed this fine - tail-pipe (sniffer test) - my car passed this fine also. In fact, my 360 might be my cleanest car (Audi AllRoad and S2000 are others) Unfortunately, even though the car was passed by the referee, and two of the three test types were fine, the DMV website still shows an "F" in the history. So - I just have the referee's receipt in the pile of other maintenance records should I need to show it if I ever sell it. Good luck! Jim
