Strange 599 Engine Startup

Hello gents,

I've had this strange occurrence with my 599HGTE engine's start up after it sat for two weeks and I'm wondering if anyone else has had this type of event and if anyone knows the root cause.' I'd appreciate any feedback if anyone in our forum has experienced something similar and/or know why it happened.

So after i turned the key to prime the system, I pressed the start button and the engine barely lit up and shut down. I pressed the start button again without turning the key to its off position and the engine finally started but it ran and sounded very different, like a few of the cylinders were not firing or fuel was to being delivered properly to feed the engine yet the dashboard returned a "Check OK" message shortly thereafter.

With the "Check OK" displayed but the engine running strangely, I backed the car out of the garage and proceeded out of my driveway into the street with the engine still running in an unusual manner. However when I reached the corner street intersection intending to slowly turn and accelerate forward, the engine bucked and immediately shut off.

Since it was early morning and there wasn't any traffic, I switched the key to its off position, waited a couple of seconds before switching back to the on position then pressed the starter button. This time, the engine ran normally sounding like the brute V12 it is and I drove on wondering what the heck caused that strange event. That's the only time it's occurred so far.

Thanks for your commentary.

 

Dominick - The car's battery is essentially new having been recently replaced late December 2018 when it was due for an annual service. I haven't driven the car too often due to recent inclement weather here in SoCal (where it isn't supposed to rain, but I'm not complaining because we need the rain!) but I make sure it's at least started / driven every week 98% of the times. That was an oddball situation when I didn't use it for two weeks and after it conked out during my first try to start, I only restarted it when the "Check OK" message appeared yet it ran rough.

Nevertheless, that strange event hasn't occurred since. Thanks for your comments.

BTW, I used to live in Highland Park and Edison NJ back in the mid 70's to very early 80's.

Terry - I appreciate your good recommendation for having the injectors reinspected, tested and cleaned. Actually, RC Engineering is near the Ferrari South Bay facility I go to.

Do you have a ball park idea of what a full injector service costs at RC Engineering? Thanks.

BTW, there are relatively newer fluoroelastomer rubber seals that improve on Viton's capabilities and which are better suited to recent premium unleaded fuels laced with ethyl alcohol (hint: I worked for a division of Parker Hannifin Aerospace). We specified the newer elastomer seals on all products Ferrari F1 uses on fuel applications.

 

Hi Dominick,

Off topic - before we left NJ in early 1980, I topped off my rare black '79 TransAm (TA/6.6, T-Top and even rarer 4-speed on the floor) with a tankful of Amoco 93 octane unleaded gas. After I used that up and filled it with the highest premium unleaded 89.5 octane gas available in CA then, my car started to ping at full load so my wife told me to sell it. Anyway, wished I would've kept that rare Pontiac (less than 200 made with that 6.6 liter real Pontiac engine in '79; even lesser with 4-spd) because they're going for about 5x what I originally paid for it ($8k+ list / only paid $200 over invoice = <$7k).

When we left NJ in early '80, Ray Catena only had a Chevrolet dealership in Fairlawn NJ back in the mid to late 70's, then he opened an M-B dealership in Edison but that was in 1981 after we left and now he's going big time with the only Ferrari dealership in Central NJ on Route 1, plus a few others that can't be counted with the fingers of three hands!

For my 2nd Ferrari, it was a choice between a 599 HGTE or a 430 Scuderia but I figured I wouldn't track the car anyway since I live too far from a decent track; I'm 110 miles one way to Fontana race track or about 195 to Thermal Club near Palm Desert. Besides, I like the detuned V12 Enzo engine and its smooth and silky power delivery. Still love the Scuderia's design though, which arguably is one of the best modern Pininfarina sports car designs for Ferrari.

 

Hello Dominick,

Sorry for the delayed reply. The other Ferrari I mentioned was an '07 599GTB with a very early 150k VIN, reported to be the very first 599 imported directly from the factory by Ferrari Atlanta for a special VIP client's birthday celebration. Its window sticker indicated a shipping destination charge of $10,000 back in late '06! A later owner was celebrity/actor/entrepreneur Tyler Perry.

Unfortunately on an FCA-SW tour trip to SF in early October last year, I misjudged a 35 mph turn on an unfamiliar two lane Highway 58. It wasn't just a simple flat dog leg turn, but one that mimicked the layout of the famous Corkscrew at Laguna Seca - from a 35 mph left turn it descended down and immediately turned to the right at the bottom! I believe my car flew off after I negotiated the first left turn and landed with the steering wheel still turned a bit to the left, which caused a skid to the left. I tried to correct the skid by turning opposite lock in the direction of the skid and back to the road, but the car's traction control automatically forced a reverse direction which I again tried to correct. The car ended up parallel to the road but about 20 feet off, buried in loose soft dirt up to mid wheels.

The landing impact and the excursion in the loose dirt ripped the front bumper off and damaged three wheels/tires. Apart from that external damage, the car seemed essentially intact (airbags did not inflate) and I thought it'd cost about $35-40k to repair. However when the insurance adjuster inspected the damage at a repair facility, they wanted to fix the car to its 'as-new' condition, which meant Ferrari replacement parts alone would've cost $135-150k sans labor! So the insurance company decided to buy the car or offered a salvage title, which I accepted because I already had an immediate offer from the manager of the repair facility to buy it for himself. I took him up on his offer and started to look for a newer 599.

I'm so glad the '07 GTB "turned" into my newer '11 HGTE which feels like a totally different handling beast altogether; so much better given major improvements Ferrari engineers made to correct earlier owner complaints. Interior is also sportier with CF fitted throughout, including the entire back of the Recaro sport buckets. So I strongly recommend to you that if you'll be in the market for a 599, look for an '10-'11 factory HGTE and you won't be disappointed. Apparently, they're relatively rare as well; only about 200 599's with the full factory-installed HGTE option (not certain if worldwide).