Roof failure ... again | Page 4 | FerrariChat

Roof failure ... again

Discussion in 'California/Portofino/Roma' started by vjd3, Apr 24, 2016.

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  1. vjd3

    vjd3 F1 Rookie
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2005
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    Vic
    David, sorry to hear about your issues with the roof ... I may be incorrect on this but I thought repairs done at the dealer are warranted for 2 years? Perhaps Algar or another authorized dealer might look into it as a result?

    I thought I would give an update on my own car ... my local dealer picked it up last week and then worked with the factory and did some more extensive troubleshooting on the car, swapping the ECU with a known good one (the errors remained), taking resistance measurements at various points along the harness (all were good) and then isolating the errors to another sensor on the top -- I believe it was for the tonneau cover. This makes sense to me as the failures mostly seem to involve the car believing the roof motion was not completed when it was and the tonneau is involved at the start and finish of the process.

    They ordered a replacement sensor, and got no further errors when they put it in. Interestingly, they had a difficult time removing the original sensor -- they said it was "frozen" in the frame -- and wonder if that might be why it failed.

    I have the car back now and all seems to be working at the moment ... driven it over bumpy roads with the top up, top down, operated the top a bunch of times with no failure warnings. Hoping it's finally sorted.
     
  2. JPA

    JPA Karting

    Feb 3, 2016
    97
    Southern California
    that's great.. Keep us posted
     
  3. MDEL

    MDEL F1 Rookie
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    Feb 24, 2016
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    Vic, I've been driving my Cali today with the roof down and now every time I open and close it or passe through a bump, my subconscious asks me if something bad is going to happen. Fortunately nothing has happened but after knowing your story and others I lost my peace of mind on this issue.
    Glad to know you've attacked the problem with the factory and it seems it has been solved. I'm sure your long journey drives now won't be going to the dealer and coming back.

    Congratulations
     
  4. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
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    Michael
    In case this tip comes in handy for some other pool soul (very likely). :rolleyes: I was informed by another Fchatter that his car had experienced roof failures and the fix turned out to have an MB connection. As you may know, Mercedes has been using the Webasto roof mechanisms on their SL-Klasse cars since 2001. They've probably gone through all the teething problems with these roofs long ago and they still use the same roof mechanisms on their SL and SLK models.

    Apparently the Ferrari mechanic sourced some roof mechanism lubricant (for SL/SLK models) from a Mercedes dealer and applied it to the Cali's roof mechanism... and it fixed his roof failure problems! His roof problem had to do with inadequate lubrication. My dealer also lubricated my Cali30's roof to prevent noise from a closed roof when the car goes over bad roads.

    I would suggest we ask our mechanics to lubricate the roof mechanism on a regular basis to avoid problems!
     
  5. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 13, 2014
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    ^ Do you know if this is Gummi Pflege? Lithium grease? I read up on this a while back since my wife has an SLK 250, which creaked. We took it to the dealer, since it is under warranty, and (knock on wood) it has not come back yet...T
     
  6. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

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    #81 4th_gear, Jun 20, 2016
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2016
    Tom I'm afraid he didn't say. IMO, it would probably be of thicker consistency than Gummi Pflege which is designed to be used on rubber seals and not on opposing sliding (metal) parts. OTOH, Lithium grease is possible but I would also not like to guess and give people the wrong advice - it's better to simply ask the parts department at MB. I've had good experiences with them.

    ...actually Tom, you alluded to 2 separate lubrication issues. The rubber seals between the roof and the rear deck can make a noise when the 2 interfaces rub against each other (when the car goes over bumps) and opposing metal parts sliding against each other can bind if not sufficiently lubricated when the roof mechanism is operating. I imagine they use different lubricants to address those issues.
     
  7. vjd3

    vjd3 F1 Rookie
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    #82 vjd3, Jun 20, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Happy to say that it's been almost a month, 500 miles, probably 80 roof cycles and every bumpy back road I could find and not a peep out of my roof. Color me relieved -- and tanned.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
    TroyNVie, omdehoek and DJV like this.
  8. MalibuGuy

    MalibuGuy F1 Veteran

    Sep 18, 2007
    5,280
    Great color! Which metallic gray?
     
  9. MDEL

    MDEL F1 Rookie
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    Vic, congratulations a great picture on this angle she shows this really nice color as well as the exotic beauty of her body…………...
     
  10. vjd3

    vjd3 F1 Rookie
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    Thanks! Grigio titanio over cuoio.
     
  11. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
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    Good stuff... and a great-looking Cali30! ;)
     
  12. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 13, 2014
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    I didn't think the Cali looked good in silver/grey. That picture has made me rethink that. Great looking car. Hope you get problem free miles from now on...T
     
  13. Dtreenjr

    Dtreenjr Rookie

    May 29, 2015
    30
    New Orleans, LA
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    David C. Treen, Jr, MD
    So happy for your success in exorcising the demons. So far, I've not solved my roof problem. The car is back at the dealership. and they have been in touch with FNA trying to figure it out. Hope I can share in your relief eventually.
     
  14. Dtreenjr

    Dtreenjr Rookie

    May 29, 2015
    30
    New Orleans, LA
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    David C. Treen, Jr, MD
    Hello everyone.
    Regarding my continuing saga of my RHT problems, I talked to Algar service manager today, and he says it has been fixed (heard that before...), and he has cycled the opening and closing over two days, in all types of conditions (outside heat, road tested, etc.) and it is working properly.

    At the end of the day, they called FNA and trouble shot and go it done. Turns out that the shims that were added last month (to solve a "minor noise" from the top in the closed position) were advised to be removed and "return to factory specs", lubricated every joint and moving part possible, and low and behold, the top is working again.

    Let this be a lesson to all of us, that adding parts that were not there in the first place doesn't make any sense.

    I am still waiting on the cost of this mis-adventure of the service department, but the manager says he is going to "move some costs around" and see what he can do to "make me happy".

    I'm not getting my hopes up on him eating the costs of having to ship the car both ways, because of the problem that they caused, but at least I now have a car that the top works as it is supposed to work. But again, that's what they said a month ago...

    Thanks for all the support. I feel like I have been in a therapy session on Fchat.
     
  15. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

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    ^David... Encouraging news. I hope this is the start of more enjoying and less fretting about your Cali...T
     
  16. JasTex

    JasTex Karting

    Feb 21, 2016
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    Jason
    Dave and Vic, am real pleased to hear that it seems the gremlins in your cars have been fixed. Happy driving, enjoy the summer!!!
     
  17. vjd3

    vjd3 F1 Rookie
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    Awesome, David. Keep us posted and enjoy the car.
     
  18. BeachDad

    BeachDad Rookie

    Jan 10, 2016
    24
    I hear you....had exactly the same problem with my 2011. After 4 frustrating trips to the dealer, they were able to identify one sensor which had gone bad. It sounds like they were able to spot it while letting the computer run the diagnostics and noticed an anomaly. It took about a week to get the sensor delivered and cost abou $1,200 to repair but after over 1000 miles driven since seems to be resolved. I feel your pain but it can be solved. good luck!!
     
  19. carmelostarks

    carmelostarks Rookie

    Jul 9, 2015
    19
    Aww man i'm gonna have to make a thread about all my California issues in the next few days, i'm about to dump mine too i'm on my second roof issue
     
  20. DJV

    DJV Rookie

    Mar 5, 2019
    5
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    Domenic Valentine
    Not sure if this is "technically" a roof issue but I got a 2014 Cali last month (4000 miles) and the passenger window glitches some times. Example: roof closes fine but passenger window doesn't close all the way. One time it didnt close at all. The problem has been extremely intermittent !!! After a while it works fine. Took it to the shop ...they couldn't diagnose the exact problem....battery was fine....they mentioned a "communication" issue with the roof/window. So they suggested just driving it until the failure was "complete" and then bring it back in. Not exactly sure what that means...they said they could replace every sensor on passenger side door...replace motor and regulator...etc etc... but they didnt want to just put in parts for no reason. I would be really freaked out ....but it works most of the time and I love the car !!
     
  21. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
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    .... does not look to be a roof issue. Your intermittent passenger window could be due to a loose, "dirty" or corroded connector/connection. I would check the service records to see if and when the previous owner had the same issue.
     
  22. Crazy reads here.. oh cali roooof. Why you hurting us
     
  23. DJV

    DJV Rookie

    Mar 5, 2019
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    Domenic Valentine
    Thanks...will look into that.
     
  24. cali2012

    cali2012 Karting

    Apr 27, 2020
    75
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    Giulio
    looks like I am having the same issue you had.....do you have by chance the part number of the tonneau cover sensor? thank you so much for your time and your videos! ahhhhh what a pain!
     
  25. oldman1982

    oldman1982 Rookie

    Jun 15, 2022
    31
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    Harris M
    i wanna know this as well . pls someone help us


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