New Guy First Post 360 Questions on Suspension Malfunction Light

Purchased a 360 Cpe a couple weeks ago. Have already established a love-hate relationship with the car. Disappointing problem with the "suspension malfunction" light, happened the first time I drove the car after it was delivered. Have searched threads and have a general understanding of the possible reasons for the "suspension malfunction" light. Warning light comes on after driving a few minutes, goes out if you stop and restart the car, then comes back on after a few minutes of driving again. Suspension seems really stiff no noticible difference in "sport" or normal mode. Car had been sitting for several months at a time before buying it. Could that be a possible factor? But I have put over 200 miles on it and the problem continues. Also had a problem when parking the car last night in the garage turned off engine and could hear a humming noise in the rear area, seemed like an electrical load of some kind, and occasionally a pump would run for a few seconds. Got back in the car, turned the key on and made sure the trans was in N, shut off key and humming and pump stopped. Is that a pump relay issue? Also, any sound advice on the "suspension malfunction" light would be appreciated, I'm 100% DIY and capable, and would like to avoid dealer help if possible.

 

First , it could be one of three accelometers which I will be changing on mine this month . Second, it could be one of the shock actuators. There's a company that rebuilds them for about $150 each which I will also be changing .

 

+1

Have it scanned and you will have your answer. They are easily replaced if you are a DIY'er.

Chris

 

there is absolutely no way to tell which component has failed without an sd2 scanner. could be a shock, more likely an accelerometer. you could buy all 3 used and then install them. should be about $150.. then again could be a bad shock actuator. perhaps check connections in the wheel wells.

 

And as I recall, the suspension goes hard when the suspension failure light goes on so that is normal, not a diagnostic indicator.

 

If you read through various threads on new ownership, you will learn that everyone who buys one of these cars gets hits with an error light either on the maiden drive (but never on the test drive!) or within the first 24hours of ownership. Welcome to the club!

In case it didn't register with the other replies, take it in for service. This isn't a catastrophic failure and is probably easily fixed. What it costs is another thing.

 

I have the same error with my F430. It didn't happen until after 600+ miles of ownership. It was intermittent at first but now it is steady. Working on an appointment with a local Ferrari tech to get a download and go from there.

 

As a matter of interest, it's accepted procedure to leave the car in first gear and handbrake off. I always do this and avoid the annoying warning sound that the car is in neutral and having the parking brake caliper stick to the rotor after say a week without driving. First time this happened I thought I had a major issue with the transmission as the car would not move in reverse when all of a sudden the caliper let go with a bang.
Just my observation.
Alan

 

LOL

 

Not funny - but it seems par for the course.

Hope you get it fixed and is not too expensive!!

 

Update - I bought a used rear vertical acceleration sensor on e-bay for $35, after reading info from other guys this is the most likely one to fail due to the high heat area. Replaced the sensor last night, it's fairly easy to remove the passenger side engine bay panel, and replacing the sensor takes about two minutes. Drove the car about 50 miles, no warning light, looks like problem solved.

 

Awesome news!!
I get very happy when I get to fix problems that easily. I know how you feel, I recently had a transmission error light come on randomly. An error code traced it to a bad brake light switch. It was also about $35 for the part and it took about 3 minutes to replace, No more problem. I was also a happy camper!