My 720s has gone boom

[Cheib]

Very sorry to read this OP you must be gutted. The fact theses clips are known as a weak spot and more importantly they’ve told you they’re going to be replaced by upgraded clips is pretty poor, it’s great that they have responded so well but it should never have happened.

If they know it’s a problem at the minimum they should instigate a replacement programme so that when a car is in for service they get replaced....I think it would do wonders for their reputation.

[Megaflow]

MAC 720S said:

speedick said:

That's a real shame, actually not a particularly major failure, but still scary, disruptive and confidence sapping

I only have a 12c, but having read about the problems with hose clips I thought I'd investigate myself, Got the car on a lift, removed under trays and had a good look. Sure enough, several of the clips are the 6mm wide, single use, stainless jobbies that you need a special tool to fit & tension.

I'd say that would probably be OK when brand new, but they have to come off at every service and be replaced perfectly or trouble looms.

I bought a set of the Thorney ones (I think there's about 16 in total - £55) and have started a DIY replacement program. It seems that the 60mm ones on the radiator hoses around the water pump are the most troublesome. Luckily these are also the easiest to replace - but you do have to be careful to release the pressure in the rads before taking the old clips off or the hose can blow off (ask me how I know !).

The Thorney ones are vastly superior - a 2 part motor sport spec stainless clip about 15mm wide with a contoured inner surface. Re usable and you can adjust the tightness if needed.

Another thing worth noting is that (on the 12c at least) you cannot just re fill the cooling system from the header tank. To refill it properly you need to use a vacuum fill tool - this takes all the air out of the system then introduces coolant to take it's place, thus ensuring no air locks in the cylinder heads (which are higher than the fill point).

Once again, a real shame. £200k car let down by a 20p hose clip. Still, easily fixed and unlikley to happen again if done properly.

McLaren on the left, Thorney on the right. Huge difference.

Edited by MAC 720S on Saturday 30th November 00:28

The McLaren clamp on the left is used on almost all mass production cars on the road without issue, I would suspect the fault lies with how McLaren are using it, or the local environment they are using it in, rather than the clamp.

[Jon666]

If Mclaren read these boards as you claim why has the same - super simple to solve - issue been going on for years now?

When 3 years old you also have the issue of the coolant hoses cracking as the hoses are as cheap as the clips. And when your hose cracks, same of the clips, Mclaren will only change the single offending hose under warranty - leaving you wondering when the next one is going to go.

Happy to say I’m done with Mclaren ownership!

[TheRainMaker]

I clicked on the tread because of the title :-)

Good to know the first thing you do with a new 720s is change the cheap ass clips though.

[ChrisW.]

It does make an Mclaren ex-owner (me) wonder whether the Thorney motorsport warranty might be a more interesting way to go that a main dealer warranty ?

It would make so much sense to get Thorney to go through a car one wanted to purchase, advising on prior to sale and if bought rectifying the weaknesses and then sticking their warranty onto it ?

I am thinking nicely cared for 650S at £90 + k ??

[Ferruccio]

hyphen said:

ian-0vc7e said:

It did go boom.

No it didn't

Like others, I clicked this thread expecting serious engine issues to the extent that a full rebuild or replacement was required. If not a full on car fire.

A hose clip issue on a car of this value, and a recent purchase is clearly a very unfortunate event, and shocking of McLaren they should have better clips, but your title was poorly chosen regardless

Edited by hyphen on Saturday 30th November 15:53

Exactly this happened to me in a Corrado VR6 with both kids in the back. It does go boom. One of the kids in particular was very distressed by it. To other road users it looks like the car’s gone boom. Having had an engine let go, I knew what had happened because it smells different.

[Superleg48]

ian-0vc7e said:

It did go boom....for 30 mins I stood watching what I thought my £157k go up in smoke.

Edited by ian-0vc7e on Saturday 30th November 09:28

It did not explode. When something “goes boom” typically that implies it exploded.

Presumably you are insured. Therefore you would not, in fact, lose your £157k at all would you?

Sorry, but I too am calling over dramatic click bait here. It is excellent to see that it is all being sorted though.

[davek_964]

Blimey. Tough crowd.

Sympathies to the OP - I'd be pretty upset if that happened to me

[Taffy66]

davek_964 said:

Blimey. Tough crowd.

Sympathies to the OP - I'd be pretty upset if that happened to me

I agree 100%..Never saw anything wrong with his post personally..Don't think any malice was intended.

[Kid A]

Taffy66 said:

davek_964 said:

Blimey. Tough crowd.

Sympathies to the OP - I'd be pretty upset if that happened to me

I agree 100%..Never saw anything wrong with his post personally..Don't think any malice was intended.

I think if you are paying that much money for a car you have the right to expect fuss-free motoring for, at least, a week. Possibly even two weeks.

The fact that so many owners feel compelled to take out a very expensive extended warranty on these cars speaks volumes. Other car marques warrant their cars for 5 or 7 years! Yes, McLarens are more complicated but then you also pay much more for that complication. The least they can do is quality control a bit better.

Also, the OP has experienced distress, inconvenience, loss of time and loss of use of a brand new car - it's not like he's lost "nothing".

[r o n n i e]

You have my sympathies Ian and as others have said does Mclaren brand no good if it really is such a cheap fix to avoid.

Main point I want to clarify is how did you manage to get a brand new 720s for £157k?

I’ve heard about discounts on new cars but that’s like £100k off list.

[PompeyReece]

Kid A said:

I think if you are paying that much money for a car you have the right to expect fuss-free motoring for, at least, a week. Possibly even two weeks.

Wow, we have definitely moved on in super car expectations. Years ago we were lucky to get anything slightly reliable, things were always going wrong and part of the expectation of super car ownership was problems!

My R8 just passed it’s 3rd MOT with me, no issues, brakes and tyres all good, cost me £600 in 3 years plus normal servicing. Ok, is/is not a super car but are these cars (not just R8’s but all super cars OVERALL) getting more reliable?

[BobM]

r o n n i e said:

Main point I want to clarify is how did you manage to get a brand new 720s for £157k?

I’ve heard about discounts on new cars but that’s like £100k off list.

He didn't, it's a 17 plate (from Facebook post - assuming there aren't 2 Ian's who had a coolant leak in a 720S!)

[mcex]

My sympathies for what occured . Those clips have no place in such a car, or any decent car for that matter. Your description is spot on and it does appear quite severe when it happens. Hopefully you will enjoy your car more after all this has been taken care of.

[BlackR8]

I would not be happy at all if this happened to me after just one week of ownership. Seems like it is a no brainer for McLaren just to replace these clips as part of a service or worst case as part of prep on selling any used car. Not sure why they wouldn't do this? There have been examples on this forum of people buying used Mclarens and some even on the journey home experience their first problems which isnt doing McLarens rep any favours.

[journeymanpro]

So just to confirm it hasn't gone boom?

[ian-0vc7e]

Thanks every one for your support. No it hasn’t gone boom. But I was pretty distressed and freaked out and I hope other owners don’t have to go through that.

I used the fire extinguisher as there was smoke coming out of my car. Even the fire brigade thought it was on fire when they arrived. So I’m not sure what that comment is trying to imply. Would you stand by waiting to see if there’s a flame, potentially gaining more internal damage, when you have a Extinguisher to hand?

I’m not sure why some members aren’t happy with the title. But I’ll edit it to be less click bait if I can find out how.

[MDL111]

Taffy66 said:

davek_964 said:

Blimey. Tough crowd.

Sympathies to the OP - I'd be pretty upset if that happened to me

I agree 100%..Never saw anything wrong with his post personally..Don't think any malice was intended.

Agreed - if smoke came out of my engine I’d be rather distressed and expect the worst as a not mechanically competent (you can read that as completely useless) person

[Taffy66]

ian-0vc7e said:

Thanks every one for your support. No it hasn’t gone boom. But I was pretty distressed and freaked out and I hope other owners don’t have to go through that.

I used the fire extinguisher as there was smoke coming out of my car. Even the fire brigade thought it was on fire when they arrived. So I’m not sure what that comment is trying to imply. Would you stand by waiting to see if there’s a flame, potentially gaining more internal damage, when you have a Extinguisher to hand?

I’m not sure why some members aren’t happy with the title. But I’ll edit it to be less click bait if I can find out how.

Just leave the title be would be my advice..It'll do McLaren no harm whatsoever if they choose to take it as a friendly bit of advice and act on it..God forbid they need help in sorting out their continuing gremlins if they want to gain a reputation as a maker of well built reliable cars..They already build the best sports cars and super cars on the planet IMO and a cut above what Porsche have become.
I have owned a dozen Porsches and currently have three which sit alongside a Ferrari..Next in line for me is a Lotus Exige and a McLaren 600LT as i love both these cars more than the new Porsches.

[hyphen]

ian-0vc7e said:

I’m not sure why some members aren’t happy with the title. But I’ll edit it to be less click bait if I can find out how.

You haven't been here long, we just like to moan best to ignore us

I think we all fully appreciate how distressing it was, having to use a fire extinguisher on your car must have been a hugely traumatic experience, can only imagine what that's like.