maserati QP clutch problems

Best advice is to check the various webboards. I have done this BTW and neither of these issues seem to crop up.

Sound like the dealer is on the ball!!!!

Oh thats right Adelaide.

 

I'm at 42,000 miles on my 2005 QP. Replaced the rear brakes at 38,000, still on originals on the front. Replaced the clutch at a bit over 32,000 miles. Haven't heard anything like your brake problems from anyone on this board or the others.

Ken

 

Hardly cofidence instilling!

I trolled the webboards quite a lot in this regard and found most people on them seemed to love their QP and be having relatively few problems.

Im sorry this is rearing it's head. Keep us posted!

 

The clutch and brake pad complaints are very common on the qp. For the brake pad noise the rears should be covered under warranty. Also the clutch should be a good will item. The dealer I work for covers them both usually but that is here in the US so maybe australia dealers are diffrent.

 

2005 Qp 20.000miles. Clutch fine. Brakes fine. No problems (besides a broken active suspension sensor under warranty).

 

I wonder why there is so much difference in clutch wear on an auto-clutch type system? On antiquated foot operated clutches that can usually be traced to user error, but with a cabio-corsa/F1/SMG type system?

 

well beating on the car helps the clutch wear but it usually is due to improper pis adjustments(coupe) and kiss point adjustments (qp). these adjustments are automatically calibrated by the cambio system but can be adjusted manually. this is the travel distance of the clutch to the flywheel. if it is to far u can get clutch slippage if it is to close u can burn a clutch up fast. in my opinion it is all related to software issues with the cambio but since a clutch is a wearable item maserati will just say user error. we hardly see issues with ferrari's having clutch problems but i see maserati clutch problems all day long.

 

My servicemanager advised that he was seeing worn out clutches at 10,000 miles, but the owner was driving in auto mode all the time.

All I can tell you is make sure you really test drive your car after the clutch replacement. Im still getting a slight vibration sometimes, now at about 4500 rpms, after my clutch was replaced.

 

Not typical problem with the cars.

 

A good friend of mine blew his out in 10K too.

 

Thought some QP owners may find this useful, posted it in another thread a few weeks ago.

- Never use auto mode

- Always use sport (except rain or ice which should be common sense)

- Try to use reverse as little as possible

- Avoid going uphill from a stop.

- Put it in neutural while sitting at the stop light

- Instead of downshifting every gear during normal driving (not spirited) just throw it in neutural.

- Do not take the foot off the accelerator while shifting, wait until the car finishes shifting

- Shift above 3krpm's all of the time, not saying run it to the rev limiter but 3.5-5k is nice for daily driving.

I've seen clutches last from 5k miles to 50k miles after selling them on almost a weelky basis. Take my advice and you will be fine.

 

I was talking about this with my local Maserati dealer. He personally drives an F355 F1 with 20,000 miles, still on the original clutch, and also owns a Coupe Gransport with 10,000 miles, clutch still perfectly healthy.

I have heard of many people destroying F.1 clutches in a few thousand miles (I don't want to be sexist - but it seems to be mostly women!!). My dealer says it's down to "feeling". Although it is automated, the F.1 clutch still requires a lot of indirect feeling - i.e. knowing when and how to lift off the throttle during changes, minimizing slip by not being too "tentative" on the throttle in traffic or during manouvres, minimizing manouvres on steep inclines, especially in reverse.... etc. These are all things of which we are aware on a normal manual, but we must not forget that the F.1 is still a manual, and cannot be treated like a torque converter gearbox.

Bottom line: I think that knackered F.1 clutches are down 90% to bad (or "insensitive") drivers.

 

Have heard of the noisy clutch, my friends Gransport also had a noisy as in sweaky clutch but the dealers claim that this does occur but most of the clutches tend to bed in after time and after a week or two his clutch is fine, considering he has to sit stationary on some rather large inclines on a daily basis.