12C issues

[JiggyJaggy]

Having issues with a MP4-12c we have which doesn't seem to pick up radio signals. Anyone else had this issue ever?

[M838T]

Castle123 said:

How much lower can these really drop
150,000 USD gets you a low mile spider 2013.
I wonder where the bottom is over the next few years.

If you are talking in USD, then we must assume you to be referring to US values, I can state that UK values have remained reasonably steady over the last 12 months, I've continued to monitor prices since I bought last year and see little drop apart for higher mileage examples. Higher spec, sensible mileage versions are holding firm and are in short supply.

In the U.K. Owners group I am not aware of any 12C owners requiring new gearboxes but obviously there have been some instances listed here in the past. A little dramatic to suggest this and a lack of indies hurts the image. Factoring in warranty on these cars makes sense with all the tech, and no more expensive than other premium brands. A great all round car that can't be bettered for the money.

Regards radio pickup issues, mainly an issue with early Iris units. Not a common problem. Probably a call to your dealer required though.

[RamboLambo]

The power of the internet these days means 1 isolated case can suddenly seem epidemic.

The actual factory industry stats on warranty I have privy to suggest otherwise.

You will always find scaremongering posts but I can assure you Mclarens are sound cars that if anything are OVERengineered

[isaldiri]

JiggyJaggy said:

Having issues with a MP4-12c we have which doesn't seem to pick up radio signals. Anyone else had this issue ever?

Iris1 or Iris2? 1 has always had a few issues afaik. I'd suggest a forced reset either way, hold down the centre button for a few seconds, should reset the whole thing after a while and more often than not the thing works again.

If the supposedly all knowing UK facebook owners group isn't aware of gearbox replacements then I suggest they look harder. I know of at least 4 gearboxes replaced. That graziano box is the major stress point of the car.

Edited by isaldiri on Wednesday 25th January 22:36

[JiggyJaggy]

Thank you. I will try this tomorrow and report back.

[M838T]

isaldiri said:

If the supposedly all knowing UK facebook owners group isn't aware of gearbox replacements then I suggest they look harder. I know of at least 4 gearboxes replaced. That graziano box is the major stress point of the car.

Edited by isaldiri on Wednesday 25th January 22:36

Never for one second suggested the organisation hadn't heard of gearbox failures, merely that within the numerous 12C owners present in the group, I was not aware of anyone who had reported that issue. The group is well aware of the small number that have required replacement rather than being repaired due to restrictions in parts availability. Not aware of the group claiming to be all knowing either, but thank you for your comment.

[Castle123]

isaldiri said:

JiggyJaggy said:

Having issues with a MP4-12c we have which doesn't seem to pick up radio signals. Anyone else had this issue ever?

Iris1 or Iris2? 1 has always had a few issues afaik. I'd suggest a forced reset either way, hold down the centre button for a few seconds, should reset the whole thing after a while and more often than not the thing works again.

If the supposedly all knowing UK facebook owners group isn't aware of gearbox replacements then I suggest they look harder. I know of at least 4 gearboxes replaced. That graziano box is the major stress point of the car.

Edited by isaldiri on Wednesday 25th January 22:36

i know of more than a few in the U.S. with those and tranny issues.

Edited by Castle123 on Thursday 26th January 00:35

[RamboLambo]

Castle123 said:

i know of more than a few in the U.S. with those and tranny issues.

Edited by Castle123 on Thursday 26th January 00:35

Maybe it's A US thing then but even so 4 worldwide is not a lot

I think these things easily get blown out of proportion just like how this thread started with sensational headlines that were not the true facts to begin with

[GT Two]

Major stress point of the car is a bit of an exaggeration?

Not sure why you would run these cars without a warranty anyway?

Compare to a F430 with suspension issues, gearbox/F1 issues, manifold and exhaust issues all not covered by warranty.

All of these cars are mechanical items and can have problems. 996/997 GT3/2 rad issues, leaky rear shocks, suspension and clutch items not covered by warranty and a £5k+ bill for maintenance is not unheard of.

My 12c has just had a service and had lots of items replaced under warranty including 'wear and tear' suspension and also brake items replaced no quibble.

You can drop 1200-2k + on a clutch with the models listed above, the McLaren clutch should last the life of the car.

The cost to run at £3500 Warranty and £1500 for an annual service does not look so bad.

[GT Two]

The gearbox issue was documented and McLaren produced an updated part which was replaced in a campaign run.

[isaldiri]

GT Two said:

The gearbox issue was documented and McLaren produced an updated part which was replaced in a campaign run.

Citation for that please. Mclaren are refusing to open the gearboxes period as far as I am aware. How are Mclaren 'replacing updated parts in a campaign run' when they are refusing to fix leaking gearboxes but choosing to replace the whole thing?

For me at least it is not an exaggeration to call it a stresspoint as it is the main (and possibly only) reason I have the warranty given the potential costs involved. I personally know 4 owners and have heard of another one through one of them who has had it replaced. While it is covered by the warranty, i think given the costs involved it's not a surprise that's one of the highlighted issues and one that comes up more commonly than one would like or expect and needs to be considered by anyone wanting to run the car without said warranty.

[GT Two]

isaldiri said:

GT Two said:

The gearbox issue was documented and McLaren produced an updated part which was replaced in a campaign run.

Citation for that please. Mclaren are refusing to open the gearboxes period as far as I am aware. How are Mclaren 'replacing updated parts in a campaign run' when they are refusing to fix leaking gearboxes but choosing to replace the whole thing?

For me at least it is not an exaggeration to call it a stresspoint as it is the main (and possibly only) reason I have the warranty given the potential costs involved. I personally know 4 owners and have heard of another one through one of them who has had it replaced. While it is covered by the warranty, i think given the costs involved it's not a surprise that's one of the highlighted issues and one that comes up more commonly than one would like or expect and needs to be considered by anyone wanting to run the car without said warranty.

If you have suffered the problem then I understand that it is a stress point for you. Thankfully its a low percentage of owners that have had the issue.

I'm sure if you approach McLaren they will give you the details. From a month in 2012 all gearboxes on new cars were the update part.

Thorney advised me of the details, ha also has a repair method for anyone out of warranty.

[Yipper]

Looked into buying a 12C about a year ago. Researched with a storage company and a supercar indy mechanic, as well as trawling all the usual forums (McLarenlife, etc.).

What I found at the time:

Good:
Dealer customer service
Warranty

Bad:
Few official dealers and few indys
Gearbox, suspension and windscreen issues

Passed on the 12C in the end, due to the lack of dealers / indys and (rightly or wrongly) the perceived gearbox problem. Couldn't be a**ed with (potentially) frequent trips back and forth to a faraway garage.

[DubaiJohn]

I bought a 2014 12c from the local McLaren dealer back in October (with 8k km on the clock) I've had a few issues since then all during the first month or so.

1) Turbo hose popped off - warning light and back to the dealer to fix
2) GPS module failed - replaced the whole Iris 2 system
3) AC working intermittently - compressor and controller replaced
4) I've got the strange vibration through the steering wheel that seems to be quite a common problem. On McLaren life it's referred to as the rumble strip issue. Will get it looked at when it's in for service.

I use mine as a daily driver and have put about 6k km on it since October and apart from those hassles it's been a pleasure to drive. However, there is no way I would consider one without full McLaren warranty.

[Bispal]

Yipper said:

Looked into buying a 12C about a year ago. Researched with a storage company and a supercar indy mechanic, as well as trawling all the usual forums (McLarenlife, etc.).

What I found at the time:

Good:
Dealer customer service
Warranty

Bad:
Few official dealers and few indys
Gearbox, suspension and windscreen issues

Passed on the 12C in the end, due to the lack of dealers / indys and (rightly or wrongly) the perceived gearbox problem. Couldn't be a**ed with (potentially) frequent trips back and forth to a faraway garage.

Under warranty the garage picks it up and trailers the car there and back. Never a problem and my dealer is 120 miles away.

[Targarama]

Yipper said:

Looked into buying a 12C about a year ago. Researched with a storage company and a supercar indy mechanic, as well as trawling all the usual forums (McLarenlife, etc.).

What I found at the time:

Good:
Dealer customer service
Warranty

Bad:
Few official dealers and few indys
Gearbox, suspension and windscreen issues

Passed on the 12C in the end, due to the lack of dealers / indys and (rightly or wrongly) the perceived gearbox problem. Couldn't be a**ed with (potentially) frequent trips back and forth to a faraway garage.

What did you buy instead? and how has that fared reliability/niggles wise?

[Castle123]

RamboLambo said:

Maybe it's A US thing then but even so 4 worldwide is not a lot

I think these things easily get blown out of proportion just like how this thread started with sensational headlines that were not the true facts to begin with

Whoever said it was 4 cars? ..... and you're saying it's a US thing only? come on now.
I absolutely love the car but they overall seem to have some major flaws and the fact no 3rd party shops can really do much repair work is a problem long term if it's not corrected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znSziiek0j8&t=...

Edited by Castle123 on Thursday 26th January 16:50

[GT Two]

Castle123 said:

RamboLambo said:

Maybe it's A US thing then but even so 4 worldwide is not a lot

I think these things easily get blown out of proportion just like how this thread started with sensational headlines that were not the true facts to begin with

Whoever said it was 4 cars? ..... and you're saying it's a US thing only? come on now.
I absolutely love the car but they overall seem to have some major flaws and the fact no 3rd party shops can really do much repair work is a problem long term if it's not corrected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znSziiek0j8&t=...

Edited by Castle123 on Thursday 26th January 16:50

Man hes bitter.

Warranty simple.

There was a new steering rack on eBay for £3k recently.

[sone]

GT Two said:

Castle123 said:

RamboLambo said:

Maybe it's A US thing then but even so 4 worldwide is not a lot

I think these things easily get blown out of proportion just like how this thread started with sensational headlines that were not the true facts to begin with

Whoever said it was 4 cars? ..... and you're saying it's a US thing only? come on now.
I absolutely love the car but they overall seem to have some major flaws and the fact no 3rd party shops can really do much repair work is a problem long term if it's not corrected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znSziiek0j8&t=...

Edited by Castle123 on Thursday 26th January 16:50

Man hes bitter.

Warranty simple.

There was a new steering rack on eBay for £3k recently.

I'm sure that similar stories could be told of all supercars and ridiculous costs associated, that said I did view a 12c in an independent dealership a few months ago that they couldn't start or even open because the battery had gone flat.

[Sarnie]

sone said:

I'm sure that similar stories could be told of all supercars and ridiculous costs associated, that said I did view a 12c in an independent dealership a few months ago that they couldn't start or even open because the battery had gone flat.

Yep it's a bit of a pain in the arse in these if you let the battery go flat........