Sigh.....Gearbox light on, lost reverse and even # gears

From what I understand the DCT in all years are identical, the additional heat exchangers are plumbed outside the DCT. I have asked whatbit would take to mount an additional heat exchanger in the rear of a 12 down vehicle that didn't have one but no one has answered. Might be something you could ask what ever mechanic you get to work on your car.

 

I asked my service center if this was possible when I owned my Cali and was having DCT issues. They couldn’t give me an answer.

 

I'd wager they really are communicating with FNA Ferrari dealerships usually do fairly well though some are better then others. The important thing to know is in this situation your stuck having to have the DCT serviced at Ferrari because Getrag only sells parts to the dealer. And on the newer stuff especially the DCT you have to go to the dealer because the independents don't have the software nor the training. But unfortunately you do kinda eat stuck paying the Ferrari tax and that's why a lot of folks do a lot of the service items at home themselves. I'd like to think that especially if you have them complete the work they won't bend you over any more then they have to. I've been known to be wrong before though.

 

Well that answers at least that part of the question, next question would be wandering if you could get a real good look at how the rear heat exchanger was added to the system and adding one in. Only problem is I wonder if you'd have to have the system serviced since you had it open.

 

Josh, I'm going to suggest that you write a very nice and calm email to customer care at Ferrari, explain that you're new to the marque and briefly what your experience has been so far with the car and the local dealer, then ask if it's possible to enlist the help of another dealer who might be more experienced with the transmission to get your problem solved more expediently (Boardwalk, perhaps). In my experience, when the factory gets involved from that end, things happen quickly and problems get resolved. It's easy for a new customer to get lost in the shuffle with all the cars coming in and out, and sometimes a word from the factory can be a little reminder. You don't want to start ranting and telling Ferrari you're afraid you might be getting taken advantage of, be subtle -- the car has been there for XX days, I haven't gotten any updates, they tell me they're talking to factory but nothing has happened, etc. The woman I dealt with was named Althea and she was very quick to respond -- bonus points if anyone gets the musical reference there. This is the email, it's a little difficult to find on Ferrari's website. [email protected]

 

Not all dealers are out to screw you. Some care about their reputation and repeat customers. My father recently purchased a Honda Civic that had a brand new engine (not refurbished) put in by the local Honda Dealer for free. The Civic had 153,000 miles on it when the block cracked and Honda covered it with a 100% brand new engine gratis because they still considered it a manufacturing defect (after 153,000 working miles). Simply Amazing!!!

Surely, Ferrari can step up and take responsibility for their $200,000+ cars and make sure they all make it to at least 8 years or 50,000 miles (as long as the car was never abused).

 

I want to live in this land where Ferrari does this!

 

Yes, but she'd have the satisfaction of laying the ultimate "I told you so!" on you!
T

 

I think the responsible party is the dealer who sold him the car since it broke down within 50 miles after purchase. Or something close to that since it was the new owners first drive .

 

Just came across this thread and wanted to offer some insight to the OP. First this site is incredibly helpful. Leverage it. I had a series of warning lights last year on a 2013 cali 30 with 9K miles on it. Car had a good history and was purchased from an authorized dealer and I had all service records. I was proactive on motor mounts and tires and always keeping up with the scheduled services. First i got the transmission warning light then clutch pressure errors. The car at the time did not have a warranty and the dealer went through the process of testing the DCT which also offers some sort of cleaning to the internals. This seems to have abated the issue and after this i was fully transparent with Ferrari and asked to warranty the vehicle which they agreed to. For me and my own personal feelings i am a proponent of the warranty. I know others feel self insuring is best and that definitely has its merits. Steve at boardwalk can detail alot of what the failures are with the DCT. He has provided great pics of the internals on this DCT which if you can believe it has a failure many times due to the zip ties used to wrap the wires. This can cause a short which impacts the gearbox. I relied on 4th GEAR and Steve from Boardwalk and read literally every post i could on this item. There are some strong personalities on here no doubt however, they are knowledgeable and can provide you some direction. What I learned is keeping a cool head and not thinking everyone is out to screw you is paramount; remembering this is not the end of the world is also key. You will be smarter for all of this for the next endeavor and realize Ferrari ownership is different. I came from Porsche and the entire process is different. I wish you luck and keep us posted.

 

Yes, of course, in a perfect world, but they seem to have abandoned him if he is trying to get this attended to on his own. I don't now what state he is in, but in Massachusetts, you can rescind the sale if there is a problem with a used car within a certain time period (based on miles on the car) that the selling dealer refuses to fix. The problem has to affect the safety of the car, obviously a gearbox would fall under those parameters.

 

He is in Texas, and im not sure how the laws work there. Seems it was an as is sale, and quite frankly seeming that the dealer and the OP had a previous relationship of purchasing vehicles its kinda sad that it appears he was left in the wind. Ive been reading a lot more posts across the web about people making dream car purchases and inherent dangers is purchasing with blinders on, such as as is where is sales. Apparently a lot of independent dealers do this and usually have less the well maintained stock. I have seen several Texas and Florida dealerships mentioned in various forums, though mostly the heavy violators were different Florida dealers.

Its good to hear that a 2013 after having an issue had it abated from a tech trouble shooting the DCT and running the mechanical tests. Seems something certainly is improved in the 13 up cars. Had another spirited debate over the weekend with some friends about the DCT issues Ferrari has. While I dont think the 12 and down cars are rolling time bombs anymore I still have my heart set on a 13-14 Cali 30 for the obvious weight reduction and Hp increase. Depending on where they are in a year may even contemplate a 15 Cali T.

Still hoping to soon see Josh post that he has a fully operational Cali again and his face hurts from the smiles he had while driving it.

 

Had a Cali 2010 here in Australia for 5 years. Did not suffer a DCT failure but noticed when the temp was over 40C I noticed the tranny temp would be higher than normal. Got a friend of mine to build a custom heat exchanger to fit in with the old original one but it had more coils and fins and it seemed to do the trick. Never had a issue with high tranny temp. It cost about $600 to make. Anyone else looked at upgrading the exchanger. Have a cali T now and have had no issues so far

 

Excellent thinking on your part!
Do you recall the temps your car had pre and post conversion?

 

Cant remember the exact but it was a minimum of at least 10C (50F) difference I might have a dash pic of pre and post temp. The only issue was in the winter it took longer for the tranny to get to temp when driving. I know my friend got it done after mine in his 2011 cali and was impressed with the result. Tried to convince my friend to make and sell them as a conversion kit but wasn't to keen just in case there was issues and didn't want to be responsible for any damage to the gearbox.

 

Did you have you car serviced at Ferrari? Did anyone in the service dept. say anything about the modification? Do you recall how many Km were on the clock when you had your issue?

Would be nice information to add to the long list we are accruing on the early DCT.

 

How did you know what the temperature of the transmission was?

 

It had one service with Ferrari and all thee rest were done through an independent. It started at about 30k km

 

Using ODB II

 

Interesting coincidence. My 2010 had its first problem at almost exactly the same mileage! (16K miles)

 

Bah Ha Ha Ha! Ferrari is so cheap that they don't even pay for new copper crush rings on oil drain bolts during regular maintenance. Just because a car is expensive, it doesn't mean that the manufacturer is going to stand behind their product. If Ferrari can get around paying for anything, even on a car that is under warranty, they will. If a battery goes bad on your Ferrari that is under warranty, they have a formula to rule out replacement if you drive the car too little or too much.

They have a form for repair or replacement of the DCT transmission while a car is under warranty. There is a box on the form to let them know if the car has been tracked. It shouldn't matter if a car has been tracked or not, but I would never check that box for fear of them denying the repair.

Ferrari is not Honda.

 

That's so true. My wife used to drive a Evolution X as a daily. The timing chain had streched and caused a CEL. The car was still under warranty and they were trying every which way to say that it was not covered because there was a chance the car could of been tracked. I told them it doesn't matter if it was tracked (it never was) as this it what the car was built for and sold and promoted as. Reluctantly they did fix it under warranty but had to take it back 3 times to get it right as they re-used the same sealks and it leaked oil everywhere.

They all try all excuses to weasel their way out of warranty.

 

I would guess Ferrari is like anyone else in this world, and try to maximize profits and minimize expenses. However I also wager that Ferrari while not entirely innocent has a better reputation for not screwing people over to often either and further that some dealerships far outshine others.

Some of what Ferrari has to do is probably in direct response to someone (likely multiple someone's) ruined it for everyone and it's not just an exotic car issue. Unfortunately we live in a world where people constantly try to rip off everyone else making it a world full of defensive reflexes and skepticism.