New 599 owner, have I been unlucky?
Discussion
3 months into 599 ownership, 58 plate car ~ 17000 miles when bought, full service history and bought from a main dealer with 2 years Ferrari approved warranty.
Firstly slow oil leak noted under car in garage, back to dealer (280 miles away). Cant fault service and fixed without issue under warranty with a new oil cooler radiator being required, however had to give up 2 Saturdays to drive car down and pick up again, over 2 full tanks of fuel, return train ticket and 560 miles onto car in the process.
Secondly a few weeks later an engine fault warning on dashboard which didn't go away with a quick turn off and restart. This time thought I'd try dealer closer to home, took car to my nearest main dealer, sorted without any problem and again cant fault customer service, just needed a "computer reset" no new part needed under warranty but had to pay 1 hrs labour at £180; ouch!
And don't get me started on the becker head unit/sat nav and what's manual all about saying you cant charge phone/run a decent sat nav unit from cig lighter power socket??
I was telling friends and family that modern Ferrari's don't have a reliability issue but on evidence so far all I keep hearing is "told you so" and "why on earth did you buy it"
Please tell me I've been unlucky. Im not looking for sympathy, still feel very fortunate to own such a car, being positive and cant believe I've got a V12 Ferrari sitting in my garage but I'd cope easier with being skint now if these problems hadn't have happened, slightly nervous every time I start car up and take her out thinking what's going to crop up next.
On a more positive note Ive only had W##K#R mouthed at me once so far, generally response to car seems really good
Firstly slow oil leak noted under car in garage, back to dealer (280 miles away). Cant fault service and fixed without issue under warranty with a new oil cooler radiator being required, however had to give up 2 Saturdays to drive car down and pick up again, over 2 full tanks of fuel, return train ticket and 560 miles onto car in the process.
Secondly a few weeks later an engine fault warning on dashboard which didn't go away with a quick turn off and restart. This time thought I'd try dealer closer to home, took car to my nearest main dealer, sorted without any problem and again cant fault customer service, just needed a "computer reset" no new part needed under warranty but had to pay 1 hrs labour at £180; ouch!
And don't get me started on the becker head unit/sat nav and what's manual all about saying you cant charge phone/run a decent sat nav unit from cig lighter power socket??
I was telling friends and family that modern Ferrari's don't have a reliability issue but on evidence so far all I keep hearing is "told you so" and "why on earth did you buy it"
Please tell me I've been unlucky. Im not looking for sympathy, still feel very fortunate to own such a car, being positive and cant believe I've got a V12 Ferrari sitting in my garage but I'd cope easier with being skint now if these problems hadn't have happened, slightly nervous every time I start car up and take her out thinking what's going to crop up next.
On a more positive note Ive only had W##K#R mouthed at me once so far, generally response to car seems really good
You have been unlucky with the oil leak and you could have had it recovered to the nearest dealer for free. As for the error and reset you'll get used to the error, that and electrical system failure plus others, just switch off and on again after a couple of seconds.
Wait for the check OK then start. If the dealer charged you to correct that i'd be on the phone to them now reminding them of something called goodwill let alone the sale of goods act
Wait for the check OK then start. If the dealer charged you to correct that i'd be on the phone to them now reminding them of something called goodwill let alone the sale of goods act
F355GTS said:
You have been unlucky with the oil leak and you could have had it recovered to the nearest dealer for free. As for the error and reset you'll get used to the error, that and electrical system failure plus others, just switch off and on again after a couple of seconds.
Wait for the check OK then start. If the dealer charged you to correct that i'd be on the phone to them now reminding them of something called goodwill let alone the sale of goods act
Ive had several error messages which cleared on a switch off and restart but this one would not go away, it was coming up every time just after the picture of the engine appears but rather than then showing the "check OK" it would go to this engine control system error icon. Checked some other international forums for this error message, most seemed to advise just disconnecting the battery would clear it but I bottled out of doing this. Wait for the check OK then start. If the dealer charged you to correct that i'd be on the phone to them now reminding them of something called goodwill let alone the sale of goods act
On a completely separate issue what's the general feeling on putting a pistonhead smiley sticker on a Ferrari, presume its a no no but have always had one on my previous cars, somehow don't think a red 599 is suited to one and if so what colour and where would I put it. Any thoughts?
msdes123 said:
F355GTS said:
You have been unlucky with the oil leak and you could have had it recovered to the nearest dealer for free. As for the error and reset you'll get used to the error, that and electrical system failure plus others, just switch off and on again after a couple of seconds.
Wait for the check OK then start. If the dealer charged you to correct that i'd be on the phone to them now reminding them of something called goodwill let alone the sale of goods act
Ive had several error messages which cleared on a switch off and restart but this one would not go away, it was coming up every time just after the picture of the engine appears but rather than then showing the "check OK" it would go to this engine control system error icon. Checked some other international forums for this error message, most seemed to advise just disconnecting the battery would clear it but I bottled out of doing this. Wait for the check OK then start. If the dealer charged you to correct that i'd be on the phone to them now reminding them of something called goodwill let alone the sale of goods act
On a completely separate issue what's the general feeling on putting a pistonhead smiley sticker on a Ferrari, presume its a no no but have always had one on my previous cars, somehow don't think a red 599 is suited to one and if so what colour and where would I put it. Any thoughts?
go for itmsdes123 said:
On a completely separate issue what's the general feeling on putting a pistonhead smiley sticker on a Ferrari, presume its a no no but have always had one on my previous cars, somehow don't think a red 599 is suited to one and if so what colour and where would I put it. Any thoughts?
Mine will be going in the rear side window - don't worry about what anyone else thinks! 
purpleperil said:
msdes123 said:
On a completely separate issue what's the general feeling on putting a pistonhead smiley sticker on a Ferrari, presume its a no no but have always had one on my previous cars, somehow don't think a red 599 is suited to one and if so what colour and where would I put it. Any thoughts?
Mine will be going in the rear side window - don't worry about what anyone else thinks! Re your initial post; I think you have been unlucky and wonder whether the car had been sitting around for a while before you bought it. Re manual stating that you can't power a sat nav etc from the cig lighter - yes you can. I run a tom tom from mine. A lot of electrical gremlins can be solved, if not just by turning car off and restarting, by turning off the battery isolation switch in the boot and leaving the car completely powered down for a few minutes, then powering it up again (you will then have to reset various things - from memory, the clock etc). My 599 has been very reliable (13000 miles) but having so said has just started telling me that the CST has failed and none of the tricks described above has solved it so a trip to Joe Macs is on the cards.
willy wombat said:
Re your initial post; I think you have been unlucky and wonder whether the car had been sitting around for a while before you bought it.
I did have some contact with the previous owner and he did indicate that it was over 6 months since he had seen the car at the point I bought it so sounds like it was sitting around in dealers compound for some time. Anyway as I said in OP i'm still trying to look on the positive side, feel very privileged to own such a car, pictures below tend to cheer me up
I've seen the same engine control error on my previous 612. Dealer said it was to do with the air flow in the manifolds. The parameters are set very tight and it just takes a speck of dirt on the sensor to throw up the message.
I bought an 10 quid OBD unit to clear the error whenever it comes up.
I bought an 10 quid OBD unit to clear the error whenever it comes up.
any private practice referrals greatly received. my monthly petrol expenses seem to have increased lately!F355GTS said:
You have been unlucky with the oil leak and you could have had it recovered to the nearest dealer for free. As for the error and reset you'll get used to the error, that and electrical system failure plus others, just switch off and on again after a couple of seconds.
Wait for the check OK then start. If the dealer charged you to correct that i'd be on the phone to them now reminding them of something called goodwill let alone the sale of goods act
The first dealer should have told you to go to your nearest dealer to get oil leak fixed. They didn't as they wanted the Warranty £££.Wait for the check OK then start. If the dealer charged you to correct that i'd be on the phone to them now reminding them of something called goodwill let alone the sale of goods act
The second dealer should not have charged for the computer reset.
You've got to watch 'em!
Oil radiator - unlucky
£180 in cold blood just to clear down an error message is outrageous. Speak to Roger at The Ferrari centre (kent) he will put you straight. Engine is chock full of engine sensors monitoring in/out metrics galore. Not unusual to get confused every now and then. If you get a red warning light stop asafp otherwise just bat on.......
£180 in cold blood just to clear down an error message is outrageous. Speak to Roger at The Ferrari centre (kent) he will put you straight. Engine is chock full of engine sensors monitoring in/out metrics galore. Not unusual to get confused every now and then. If you get a red warning light stop asafp otherwise just bat on.......
StickBreitling said:
I've seen the same engine control error on my previous 612. Dealer said it was to do with the air flow in the manifolds. The parameters are set very tight and it just takes a speck of dirt on the sensor to throw up the message.
I bought an 10 quid OBD unit to clear the error whenever it comes up.
Have sorted several faults with an OBD. Top piece of kit for little cash I bought an 10 quid OBD unit to clear the error whenever it comes up.
Be wary of oil related issues on a 599. The oil change process is complex insofar as the engine must be very, very hot when oil is changed to ensure the fill level is correct. I've had a main dealer do this wrong, only for the car to go a different (better) main dealer who knew what they were up to. Until recently, the official Ferrari service guide was wrong (re temp and fill levels). It's now been corrected (around 12 months ago).
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