360 Bubbling dash leather

The F1 shifting is onpar with the F1 team Shyt, then again the 360 20 + yr old technolgy. You can upgrade the TCU to CS specs will improve shifting.

 

There have been improvements, but it's not a "paddle shift auto", it's a manual transmission with an automated shifting system. As far as the dash bubbling..common? Yes. Not what I would call an "easy" fix, as it usually involves pulling the dash and recovering it. Always be wary of a seller calling something an easy fix when they have neglected to fix it.

 

Dash bubbling is so common you might as well call it a feature.

Paddle shift is pretty slow under most circumstances and jerky in slow traffic. It's a lot of fun in the higher RPMs though. I don't care how much faster and smoother dual clutch is, single clutch is a lot more mechanical feeling and engaging IMO.

In general, the earlier the car, the less smooth the shifts will be assuming everything is set up right, which it rather often isn't.

 

you don't like the F1 shifting, you don't like the bubbling dash. This is not the car for you. Move on.

 

If it was an easy fix why hadn't the actual owner already repaired it? Because it is a complicated AND expensive work. Buy a manual 360 or.....a 430, or newer model like a 458.

 

But it's-a a Fe daad eee.....

 

My upper dash was pulling a bit. I pulled it out and had a shop restretch the leather for $250. It wasn’t that bad. A little time consuming but not difficult.

 

The foam glue substrate underneath the leather is doomed.

 

Down here in Florida where 458s and Californias grow on trees, they are dropping like flies with the DCT weap hole issue. $20K-$30K fix on the cheap. No exceptions and they all will do it, the question is when. I'll stick with my self-serviced F1!

 

Also Cali and 458, Getrag gearboxes, are flawed. And big bills are waiting for unawise future customers.

 

I was just hearing about this from my mechanic in NJ. He has a waiting list for this repair, 488's included, where people are sending the cars in from all over the country. I guess time has just exposed the DSG weakness. I'd rather have to change a clutch every 10 years in my 430.

 

Well there go my hopes of getting a 488 one day.

 

He has my perfect spec, White 488, in for the repair. I think he said he is the 3rd shop to attempt the repair. He said it sucks because someone else has been in there already and it still has an issue and now he has to check all their work before he can even start the repair.

 

I want a white one too haha. From the little I've heard it sounds like a pretty intimidating repair to attempt.

 

Over time the fluid eats through the bearings separating the chambers causing the leakage and mix of the fluid. It's the incompatibility of the fluid with the metals, so don't think that changing the fluid will slow down the process. Some people just change the offending bearing/seals but it's just a matter of time before others go.

It's time, not mileage. I recommended (last year) a perfect Cali T with 26K dealer serviced miles to a friend because he wanted reliability. Big mistake. 2 weeks of ownership and the DCT went out. The infamous puddle of fluid greeted him in the morning. Dealer quoted him $50K.

From what I understand, Scuderia in NJ is skilled at the repair and the Hollywood Mechanic is the most popular option due to his videos. With the production numbers being so high on these 12+ year old DCTs, expect to have a long waiting list to get the work done properly.

 

Wonder if that's going to do anything to 458 values. You certainly don't hear about that as much as headers on an F430. Also, any permanent fix on the horizon like the Porsche IMF bearing?

 

And beware of turbos too....

 

Ive known about this issue for quite awhile. I believe it will hurt those models, no question about it. The issue is keeping me away from one as I wont go near one

 

Replacing the plastic defroster vents (which had pulled out as the leather shrank) with the bolted-in metal ones from Australia (sold by a user on this forum) fixed the bubble for me, at least for now.

 

Don’t you still have to remove the dash for this?

 

I have a spare 360 dash in black available for a core. You can use this to get refinished before you pull your dash. LMK.
It has the usual shrinkage but would still be OK with the Aluminum Vent repair method.

 

To the OP, you can drive the F1 360 nearly as smoothly as a manual if you apply throttle like a manual. People that drive these like autos will find the experience jerky. In normal mode, shifts are very smooth. I have a CS TCU and WOT shifts are violent which I love...way more exciting than a DCT. Everything else is pretty smooth.

I have two 360s and have experience them in 3 different variations. My yellow Modena was fully stock and was a let down compared to the Spider with a modified TCU. My Modena now has a CS TCU and I am really fond of the shifts. So, I would just suggest driving a few examples.

 

No...not if you remove the windshield