Engine stall at a traffic light

For the first time yesterday with over 50,000 California miles between the two, my '12 Cali stalled at a light. I was sitting there idling and suddenly it was not running. I turned the key off, turned it back on and started it and all was well. I suspect a one time thing but was very surprised.

Anyone else have this happen?

 

Thankfully it was when you were stopped at a light, and not when you were crossing an intersection! I'd run it by the dealership ASAP.

 

+1

 

I was kinda expecting this. U got lucky to NOT have had this CLASSIC problem for 50k miles. That's a LOT.

 

I had this issue in my 2012 Cali 30 twice when I first picked up the car. Since then I've been religious on ensuring that if I'm not driving the car for more than a few days (I commute for work during the week) that I hook up the battery conditioner, my dealer recommended. Since doing this, I've had zero issues.

Do you drive the car regularly, or like me, do you leave it undriven for a few days here and there ?

Matt

 

I had this happen twice... No explanation and has not happened since. Been probably 6 months or more...

John

 

This is actually what I expect. The idle is around 750 rpm, somewhat slow compared to my 2010 Cali. I think it was simply a one time miss that caused it to stop.

Battery is fine. Actually you can park it for at least three weeks without charging! I've not heard of this from anyone else yet that actually owns a Cali. So my plan for now is to ignore it. If it happens again I will report it here.

 

When I took it for its annual checkup, they did not find anything out of whack-just some minor tweaks I can't remember now, but it did backfire less while shifting after that...

John

 

Rick, how old was your gas? I had a hesitation and rough-running at idle and off idle, and excessive hunting at low speeds, although it never stalled. Finished off that 4-month-old gas (shouldn't go bad that soon), filled up with fresh Chevron premium (as always), and car was back to normal after a few miles. If you don't have any codes, I wouldn't worry about it until it happens again. Another possible solution is to run the car a little hard, or on the highway for a while... neither done in a while, in my case. Ran up the rpm a little bit after the fill-up; maybe that helped. Am a little paranoid running it hard now that's about to be traded, and it's out of warranty . And no dealer anywhere close. Car has never been abused, but it might have a marginal tranny since it's a relatively early 2010. Anyway, good luck with your issue. I'd wait to see if it stalls or idles rough before taking it in, and possibly wasting your time, due to not being able to duplicate the issue. Take care.

 

Actually this Cali has almost 24,000 miles in 2.5 years. A tank never lasts much longer than two weeks since I drive my FF even more. And I drive it like it is a rental car so it never needs cleaning out. I was simply looking to see if it has happened to anyone else and there was one yes so there is nothing wrong, just a momentary stumble, but thanks for all the ideas.

 

Why not take it in to the dealer to see if there are any error codes?

 

I own a 2011 Cali and have had a similar problem multiple times and the dealer and factory conclusion was that there was dirt in the injection system that caused the engine to shut down. They had to deeply clean the Sparks they claimed. Problems came up when I slowed the car off the gas pedal and the rpm dropped suddenly to below 1000 and then zero, without staying at 750. Again it had happened at least 4-5 times to me and I'm actually quite worried as each time the car was in motion.

 

I own late 2011 Cali with 3400 miles on it and also experience idling issues. When the car is at the light, the RPM drops to 600 and I actually feel the buzzing vibration. Once I touch the gas pedal, the RPM revs up to 2,000, then drops to 800 before actually moving. It feels as it is choking. Only happens when the car gets warm. However, rough idling usually starts from the start. Luckily it's still under factory warranty so I intend to take it in.

 

I had this problem with my Cali, did it a couple times, took it to the dealer and they changed something, knock sensor, also did a firmware upgrade, not sure as it was about 2years ago now. But it happens if the engine dropped below 650 revs.

 

Yep, next time it is at the dealer for something else I will have them check software, etc. There were no codes and it has not happened again so I am not worried at all.

 

Make sure you do, my wife was driving, tight right hand turn in the back streets, a little down hill, foot on brake, car stalled as it was turning corner, very low speed (crawl), no brakes, no power, just mounted curb, nearly hit power poll. very dangerous in that situation.

 

You still have brakes and steering, even though unassisted.

 

Yes but its a bit of a fright for a woman, and carbon brakes are terrible when cold and with power assist.

 

Did the dealer tell you what the problem was? I had a similar problem when car was slowing down esp when in 2 nd gear . Dealer said they had to clean the Sparks as the d Ty may have blocked the oil injection causing the shut down of engine.

 

I have had the same problem with BOTH my ferrari californias, its both dangerous and completely wrong of ferrari to not acknowledge and fix the car. please contact me with your contact info, i have a panel of lawyers working on suing ferrari regarding this DANGEROUS issue, i lose brake pressure, my steering locked up and all electronic systems shut off. ferrari won't even take the car back or fix it, every time they say its fixed it isn't.
e-mail [email protected]

 

Matt, I am very interested in the outcome!
Keep us updated please!