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Minor annoyances

20K views 18 replies 15 participants last post by  mikcin 
#1 ·
Hey all - I have enjoyed reading the posts here and learning so much about the car. Thanks and keep it up.

I've had my RWD Ghibli for about 2 months now. I love it! Fast. Looks great. Sounds great. It is absolutely the car I hoped it would be.

That said, I have had a few minor issues with it. I am wondering if I am alone in these, or if other have experienced them. Please let me know:

1. Squealing brakes. They started screeching on me after about 2 weeks. Brought them in and they replaced front pads and rotors (and showed me the pads with manufacturing defects in them which had scored the rotors). On the way home the sound returned. They replaced the rear pads. On the way home the sound returned. This time the answer was the factory is working on a solution and wait. For a month. Just got the call this week that a newly formulated pad is going to ship in a week which should fix the problem. I hope!

2. Window doesn't close after opening door. So the window is very clever and goes down when opening the door so you can close it more easily. And it's supposed to go back up afterwards. And it does - most of the time. But 10% of the time it doesn't. I'll noticed wind noise and will manually close it. Mentioned it to the dealer and they said they fixed it. Still happens 10% of the time.

3. Trunk won't close easily. I had just finished teaching the kids not to slam the trunk on my Volvo when I get this new car. And even though the lid is pretty light it still won't close unless you give it a good smack. This worries me for the long term. I expect a firm hand should be enough, and I don't want to break anything. But as of now I almost need to take a running start to get it shut.

4. Not getting all Bluetooth functions. I read about all the things you can do with BT in the manual. And I have successfully paired by iPhone 4s. And I can stream music (with very limited functionality - basically only random play across all music on the device. Somewhat jarring to go from Christmas music to explicit rap!) But thinks like reading and sending text messages via speech control doesn't seem to work. And I admit I'm not sure I can fully understand the manual - like it was written in Italian, translated to Japanese, then to English. The words are English but don't always form cohesive thoughts.

That's about it. Excepting the brakes it's nothing to worry about. And I will say again - I LOVE the car! But if any of you have had similar experiences, and especially if you've identified solutions to them, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
I'm in the same boat with you in regards to #2 and #4. I have voiced these issues to the dealer multiple times but nothing has been done to fix it. The window not going back up is just plain annoying and sometimes my seat and steering wheel do not recall to the memory position either.

As for the BT, I have another issue and I want you to pay attention next time... the sound quality with BT is significantly worse than when connected to USB. As for functionality, you are right... I don't get any playlist info or artist info on BT... It just plays and I have to shuffle through the music rather than be able to see my playlists. It makes no sense. Maybe it was configured for an iPhone 5 or perhaps an Android phone but the 4S does not work well with it. On the other hand, my 4S pairs up beautifully with MB and BMW with all information available. Go figure!
 
#3 ·
I have the first 3 for sure. THE BT side I haven't tried anything other than playing music from google all access and it steams just fine. It doesn't just choose random music, I should find my iPod and try it out. I do love the car but you are not alone in finding the small stuff.

I am going to take my care back in to have the brakes looked at, I heard they think changing the pads will fix it.

I will let you know if it does.
 
#4 ·
Have had my Ghibli since end of January. Drove it only a couple of days in Feb and just dropped it at the dealer. Lots of little issues.
Brakes squealed for the first few weeks and it went away. Thought all was well but will have them look at that too.
The electronics seem to be wonky. Sometimes the radio does not come on. Some times the steering wheel controls do not work. Sometimes the window does not go back up as well as the seat memory issue. BT seems fine but I only use my IPhone5 for calls. The speakers vibrate terribly in the back. Even at low volumes when there is a lot of 'sub-woofing' going on. The climate control has blasted arctic air even when set at 78*. My trunk is fine but sounds a bit like a tin can. I hope we are all able to get the kinks worked out! I'm really enjoying it otherwise!!
 
#6 ·
1. Squealing brakes. They started screeching on me after about 2 weeks. Brought them in and they replaced front pads and rotors (and showed me the pads with manufacturing defects in them which had scored the rotors). On the way home the sound returned. They replaced the rear pads. On the way home the sound returned. This time the answer was the factory is working on a solution and wait. For a month. Just got the call this week that a newly formulated pad is going to ship in a week which should fix the problem. I hope!
An automotive engineer was once asked what is the difference between engineering a car for a European buyer and an American buyer. His replied that the European buyer doesn't care if the brakes squeal as long as the stop the car, whereas the American buyer doesn't care if the brakes stop the car as long they don't squeal.
 
#7 ·
Hello everyone,

I've experienced all of this and have solutions for some things.

1. Squeaking Brakes -- My dealer says that it's just the nature of the type of brakes that are being used on the car. I'm curious if replacing anything has fixed the problem for anyone, but for now, I'm told this is normal and they will just squeak.

2. Windows - If the windows are not automatically going up, then they need to be reset. You can do it yourself. Pull the window all the way up and hold up on the driver's side window button for 3 seconds. Release and then hold up for 3 more seconds. Repeat once more. That should reset the windows and the auto up should work again.

3. Vibrations from Playing Music - I just had this fixed today! There was an advisory issued by Maserati. Ask your dealer to look up the advisory. What needs to be done is there is special insulation that needs to be put under the rear deck. It works beautifully. There's not more vibration from playing music at normal levels, even ones with a heavy bass. Of course, there's a point where it will vibrate, but this fix will handle the issue for you.

4. Bluetooth Streaming - I've noticed the same issue with the information that's on the display when you're streaming through the BT. It's annoying and dumb that all of the information doesn't pull into the car, but I'm able to manipulate my iPhone with the controls, so all of that does work properly.
 
#8 ·
#3 is an interesting situation i was able to fix (i think), the manual pull to open the trunk from the inside interferes with the lock mechanism so the trunk would not close if that pull is even slightly dislocated. you need to make sure that the pull is tucked in the slot nice and solid, then it doesn t interfere with closing the trunk
 
#10 ·
Random alarms
Have had a number of random alarms. They usually happen within one minute of setting the alarm. The dealer has informed me that a part has been ordered and is coming from Italy. Not sure what the part is, but I will post the info here when I get it, and will also indicate whether this corrects the problem. It is a serious problem, not just an annoyance since I really can't use the security system and walk away from the car with confidence that the alarm will not go off.
 
#11 ·
I had literally the exact same problem since new. My temporary solve was deactivating the interior sensors, but keeping the other parts in alarm. This can be done by clicking the remote lock button 5 times, (you'll hear a chirp). If the alarm still goes off random, than their is another fault with the system.

My fix was the drivers window had a little wind noise, when the dealer adjusted the travel and squared movement, it must have relieved pressure on the window windshield pillar, (where there is a sensor). Since then it then it hasn't happened at all. I do also like to leave the sunroof or windows cracked open in which case I use the 5-click method to deactivate the interior sensors. Otherwise, without fail, the slightest breeze or vibration will set off the alarm.

Maybe your dealer assessed a bad sensor ... would be interested in hearing what they did and if it solved your problem. The alarm issue is not common with the Ghibli; the open window and sunroof alarm is common from my experience and seen on the forums.
 
#12 ·
I am also dealing with squealing breaks and my Ghibli has 12k miles. It is driving me crazy. The dealer is saying this is normal. How can squealing breaks at every slow stop be normal? The dealer suggested I buy new pads and pay to have them replaced. Is this really the best solution from Maserati?

Has anyone had any success with dealers replacing the pads?

Please help.
 
#13 ·
Hey folks - I've now had the car nearly 2 years and am happy to say several of my original issues are gone. Much nice motoring experience!

1 - brakes. Basically what I've learned is I need to brake harder in this car. I prefer calmly coasting up to stoplights as opposed to barreling up and stomping on the brakes. The brakes however prefer the latter. So I need to so a few long hard brake applications each drive and the noise goes away.

2 - windows. Fully fixed! Dealer did a "fix" at 6 months which worked for 1 week. Then for the 12.5K service they did another fix and the issue is completely gone.

3 - trunk. No change. I have adapted but it's a pain.

4 - BT. No change and don't expect one. Maybe time to upgrade my phone??

I have not had any issues with vibrations from music, guess I need to crank it up a bit more!

Happy motoring!
 
#14 ·
3 - trunk. No change. I have adapted but it's a pain.
the trunk should close easily.. it should go down smooth, once it touches the latch, you should have to lightly push on the lid and it clicks. if it doesnt, then the trunk latch is out of alignment and needs to be adjusted. look at photos below. this portion of the latch is adjustable.

photo 1 - trunk out of alignment / hard to close.

photo 2 - trunk perfectly aligned / easy to close!
 

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#15 ·
Thanks for the post mrpa! I will check mine as soon as I leave the office today.

I have complained about it to my dealer and he said it was normal. So assuming they don't know what to do, how exactly do you adjust it if it is not well lined up?

I kinda doubt I just tap on it with a hammer... :)
 
#18 ·
Sorry to hijack the thread as I have a qp but I wanted to offer some advice as to the brake squeal. I replaced all 4 corners pads and rotors with formula dynamics last summer. After a couple weeks I would get the most obnoxious break squeal ever when braking at low speed (coming to a stop). I called and they recommended I re bed the brakes. I did that twice to no avail.
As luck would have it I decided to clean my rims and brakes. I bought a standard brake cleaner and sprayed the absolute crap out of anything visible in the brake vicinity. Wiped them clean and alas no more squeaks and so far not to be repeated.
 
#19 ·
Hello there - don't know if you have tried this but I was having seat memory issues with my 16 Ghibli S Q4 - Found out the keys are tied to the seat position memories - but in Maserati's infinite wisdom, the making on the fob is inside the key. I did have to have my seat module replaced, but then it still was acting incorrectly - Found out I had the #1 key and wife had #2 yet we had the fobs backwards. After switching these out all works great now. Sounds stupid I know but this is what fixed it for me. BTW, Service advisor took apart the loaner fob and showed me the # stamped on the inside.

Any questions about this, give me a holler
 
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