550 misc problems

2 days into the ownership of my '2001 550, I have noticed a couple of things which worry me a bit, would be great to know if it is "normal" or what other owners experienced - thanks ...

Driver window makes a 'clack' noise when inserting itself in the seal. Whenever I close the door and the window raises back to the fully closed position, there is obviously some kind a noise coming from the rear of the upper edge of the window.

Still on the driver window, driving under mild rain resulted into the inner suede fabric (area near the windshield) to become moist and a couple of drops formed.

When manoeuvering around in 1st and turning the wheels to the max, there is a kind of klonk noise, as if the car was being pulled or pushed sideways by one of the two wheels not "going" where the other does. Noticeable on wet tarmac. I understand that the geometry may make that normal, considering the width of the car & tires, but it's still a bit alarming.

All of the above, of course, not noticed during PPI and test drive ...

Advice and comments appreciated. Already notified the dealer and I have a 1y official warranty, but knowing what i am hunting for would help.

 

never had any window problems. i'd guess the window is a tad misaligned on the track or something (?).

i don't recollect any klunk noises either on l ock-to-lock turning.

sorry.

great news though that you've go the warranty! i guess its' time to make 'em earn thier money

g/l

doody.

 

Sorry, but I have not had either of those problems. Better take it back and have those fixed.

 

ze_shark,

Sorry - haven't experienced anything like that yet but I haven't had the car for long (couple of months). Let us know what they tell you - good to know for future reference!

Thanks.

 

It might be worth your while to search the archive for various past threads on 550 issues; not that any i recall address the particular problems you've raised, but if you are going to put the dealer thru the paces, make sure all the recalls have been done at the same time.

 

towards whart's comments, you might also attempt to extract from your dealer the full list of TSBs for the 550. for example, if your motor mounts haven't been replaced with the newer design, you might try to finagle that into the warranty coverage (it's not an engine-out - they just jack it up a bit).

and then share the list of all 550 TSBs with the rest of us, please.

doody.

 

When I bought mine, I called the dealer FOA and they told me there was a recall of the transmission cooler lines. I took it back for a replacement. They did a great job. They also found that the rear carpet behind the two seats was poorly cut and too short...they are going to replace that when FNA sends them the right carpet.
I also heard a squeal from the rear rotors, turns out dirt accum,ulates there and hence needs to be cleaned out...no squeal any more.

 

Have had my '01 550 since new and haven't experienced anything like you describe. Good thing you got the warranty, though nothing sounds to critical. Good luck and let us know the outcome of your intereactions with the dealer.

 

"Driver window makes a 'clack' noise when inserting itself in the seal. Whenever I close the door and the window raises back to the fully closed position, there is obviously some kind a noise coming from the rear of the upper edge of the window."

I noticed mine did that when I parked my car outside one time and the temperature was 27F. Never had this problem before. What I did I drop WB 40 around the window seal and try to loosen up the rubber seal (Where the glass coming from) then it solved the problem, never did it again.

"Still on the driver window, driving under mild rain resulted into the inner suede fabric (area near the windshield) to become moist and a couple of drops formed."

Never had this problem before

"When manoeuvering around in 1st and turning the wheels to the max, there is a kind of klonk noise, as if the car was being pulled or pushed sideways by one of the two wheels not "going" where the other does. Noticeable on wet tarmac. I understand that the geometry may make that normal, considering the width of the car & tires, but it's still a bit alarming."

I don't think this ever felt noticable on my car. But sometime during wet road, (when I am parking the car and I have to steer the wheel) to max, sometime front tires might make some noise. As I think it is normal due to the width of the tires. But I will bring my car is to have it check when it is due for service, just to be sure.

Shelbee

 

I have the same 'clonking' that you are experiencing. I actually noticed it as a 'flexing' noise when going over sharp speedbumps.

At first, they told me it was the actuators + front top shock ball joints. Then they told me that the clonking is the steering rack. They said it won't affect drivability, but it should be checked out in the long run. Also, my car didn't get up on a lift, this was a casual observation (last week before t-day).

Next week I will take to an indep. who i know will give me the real DL, and I'll report back.

Let me ask you this: does your steering feel extremely power assisted at times, and at other times feel less power assisted?

--Dan

 

Thanks, guys, for all your comments, helps to put things in perspective.

Shelbee, the window "clack" is systematic, but it is arguably cold around here (around 5-8degC) so this may make the seal more rigid. I'll try the WD40 trick. Dealer commented that it happens sometimes on Maranellos, my other dealer that it might be a defective seal.
Will wash the car today to see if the waterproofness issue remains, if there is a hint of a drop of water, I'll have the seal changed.

Regarding the "klonk" (clacks and klonks, funny way to summarize a Maranello ownership experience ), it is definitively there when parking and steering to the max (frequent with the pathetic steering radius of the 550). Both dealers I spoke to, the one who sold me the 550 and the one who maintains my car, say that it's normal due to the tire width, geometry and weight on the front.
I can actually feel that there is some kind of resistance to free roll when steering to the max, at walking speed, the car will almost stop if I steer to park and the surface is grippy.

Bobafett - I have not noticed variations in power assistance, steering feeling is pretty consistant. Let us know what you find out. Did not notice anything in speed bumps though, the klonk is only a parking thing on mine.

Btw, I did 18.3 liters/100km (sorry that's the way we compute here) on my first gas of tank, with rather mellow driving (wet weather), this thing is as thirsty as I remembered ...
Gas is easily twice more expensive than in California here, about 1$/Liter at current exchange rate.

 

While i am at these small things that make us love & hate these cars, with the current cold weather (high 30's F), everytime I get in my car in the evening, the first seconds the AC is on cover the windows with myst, takes 5 minutes to go away.
Seems as if there is moist air accumulating in the AC system, and as soon as the engine starts, it blows this humidity against the windshield and side windows, immediate condensation, and then it takes the engine to warm up to clear that up.

I noticed two area (a square inch each) in the lower middle of the windshield , near the center nozzles, where condensation forms while the car is stopped in the cold.

Anyone had humidity accumulation problems in the AC system (OK, the guys living in Arizona and New Mexico can pass that one ) ?

 

re: the ac, you might try this.

after you drive the car, before you shut her off, turn the heat on full blast at highest temp for a minute or two. if any vapor has condensed in the ductwork, this will help dry it out, so there'll be less moisture in the car the next time you turn on the hvac system and start blowing moisture at cold windows for it to condense on.

doody.

 

I'll put the "numb" in "numbers"

3.79 litres = 1 Gallon
100 km = 62.14 miles

18.3 litres = 4.83 Gallons

18.3 litres : 100 km = 5.645 kpl
4.83 Gallons : 62.14 miles = 12.865 mpg

$1.00 Litre = $3.79 Gal.

You're quite right about @2x relationship to current CA pricing - bear in mind, CA is 50 cents higher per gallon than other US states.

 

Ze_shark: got word on the clunking. It is the front-top ball shock joints.

These were replaced in '99 (I have the older ones, as mine's a 97), and so I don't understand why yours are clunking. This is not a safety problem, but one easy way to tell is open your hood, have someone BOUNCE on your car up and down, and see if there is any play.

Also, if you can spin the bit right below the actuator freely, then it could be as simple as tightening it.

As for the steering heaviness, mine could very well be the power steering pump dying...haven't heard any squeeking though.

--Dan

PS: that's shock ball-joints. Lysdexia strikes again

 

Thanks, strange to encounter that in a 03/2001 car ...
Are you sure that this would get the car klonking when maneuvering ? It's just fine on smooth surfaces, but when it gets grippy, it feels awfully awkward. Could it be that geometry is wrong ? The tires are wearing evenly and the pressure is spot on.

Doody, thanks for the suggestion. I also tried today to keep the fan off for a few miles when leaving, then full-on, helps to prevent the car looking like a turkish bath, but not perfect. I'll try your trick.

Just experienced something else today, combination of hard acceleration & bumpy road (compressions) made the rear bottoming out, sounds as if one of the rear tires was touching something inside the wings. Really weird, never heard this before on a 550. Was not in sports mode, not sure if it helps. Have not inspected the tires yet to determine if there is any evidence of the origin.

Still stunned I managed to miss that much during PPI/test drive.

 

Window frosting has got to do with the difference in temp. If the garage is heated is no problem but if the car is parked outside and the temp is cold then when you get in the car and start the HVAC then the windshield will fog up.

Same thing with my spider. I just turn the heater for whidshield and wait 2 minutes until the fog went away, besides you also warm up the engine.

How cold will it get in Swiss your location??

Shelbee

 

Was literally freezing today, 0 to 1degC today. Temperature can easily get down to -10degC around here, and I am at low altitude & by Lake Geneva.
I never take the F-cars out when it's too cold, tires are too slipery even if roads are dry, not sure the italians are as rigorous as the germans to design for high temperature gradients. Have seen lots of pics of Porsche's testing in Scandinavia, but Ferrari, never ...

 

i took my 550 to work this past week and it was in the 20s (deg F). the tires were NOT happy about it initially. i had to be quite careful.

doody.

 

I am getting to wonder if the answer to my klonks does not reside in the low outside temp. The PZeros feel hard as wood when cold, I can even tell the difference in straight line for the first kms, after that the ride gets more supple. My klonks don't seem to occur when I park the car when arriving, but manoeuvering when leaving is pathetic. Could be a stick-slip phenomenon, the thread being so stiff that sticks to the tarmac then brutally looses to the friction, etc ...
Just don't like those PZeros, wonder if Bridge's would do the same.

My new pet (so-to-say) topic is the rear wheel(s) interfering with something when encountering a big compression under acceleration. Heard twice a noise which clearly indicates interference between tire and something. Not seen obvious signs from the outside, but it could be on the inner walls or portion of the thread. Sounds familiar to anyone ?

 

i'm pulling this out of my behind, but maybe the low temp is messing with your shocks, and that's the bottoming out noise you're hearing? the gasses are compressing very quickly, being cold and a bit more compressed than normal already. once everything warms up, they shocks compress normally.

maybe your shocks need attention? anybody know what the spec'd operating conditions are on the stock shocks? maybe 0 celsius is beyond the range? i assume you've looked for odd tire damage/wear and have found none? this guessed-at explanation wouldn't necessarily leave any indications on the tire itself.

good luck.

doody.

 

Good guess, if the damping is gas-based, then the shocks should be softer in cold temp. If the damping is oil-based, then it should be the opposite (higher viscosity under cold temp). Still, my perception is that the tire is touching something internal while it should not through the full suspension travel curve. A thorough inspection should help, but the temp does not make me keen on crawling under the car with a light torch to figure out, even in the garage (i know, i am a wimp).

 

Ze: my clonking is only at full lock at very low speeds (I don't drive like an action hero). I agree it's strange to hear it's on an 01 car.

But if your rears are bottoming out too (there's a LOT of clearance, at least on the US-spec cars), then perhaps you've got other issues.

Let me ask you something: does sport mode make a difference?

--Dan

 

Same here, low speed, full lock, cold tires, klonk.

Have not had a chance to investigate the tire/suspension interference thing yet, the rather slippery/cold conditions don't make me too keen to start squeezing all the torque out of that V12 in sports mode

I admit I have to do some more homework on the matter (and maybe take a drive down south to see how the car behaves at higher temps).

 

I notice it when the car is cold OR warm, but i am never at full lock unless I'm parking at the office or at home, etc. - been avoiding full lock until I get a solid answer and have it fixed.

--Dan