[Troesma]

Ta da daaa...

The facts

Drove today to the nearby stores (just 3 miles or so away) and on my way out, nothing wrong, smooth-as-silk drive. However, about a 1/4 of a mile from home coming back the CEL light appeared, the car began to choke (as if firing on 4 cylinders) and soon afterwards (by the time I was yards from my driveway) the SLOW DOWN warning began to flash, with the car almost coming to a halt. Managed to park and when turning the ignition off a perceived a slight smell like rubber burning.

I know the CEL + SLOW DOWN denotes something has gone wrong on the engine (e.g., ignition) which triggered a catalyst warning (maybe the misfiring led to a gas mixture which triggered the sensors) but whatever, I am NOT HAPPY. The car is not even a month on my hands, it was inspected/serviced pre-delivery, and now this. I think the smell was not of burning sulphur, because that would indicate the honeycomb inside the catalysts went bust, which would worry me big-time. Checked if there was any debris in the exhaust, and could see nothing. But that does not mean the catalysts were not damaged (the flashing SLOW DOWN warning did not go away, but luckily it fired near my doorstep, so I was able to pull over just in front of home).

BTW one thing I noticed a couple of times before this incident was that if I barely gave the engine gas (almost feathering on the gas pedal) from idle in neutral, the engine dropped revs and slightly choked; you had to be firm on the gas to pull the revs up. This in addition to some worries as to oil pressure, as at times pressure went below 2.5 bar (not much below, just a tiny bit) with the engine at service temperature (pressure always OK when cold). I have never experienced this on my Coupe. Nor this choking at idle. All of this makes me wonder. THE CAR WAS THOROUGHLY INSPECTED PRE-DELIVERY..!

Enough for the rant. If anyone has any ideas, most welcome...

Well, I'm out to the US in hours so that will put my mind to rest for a week. Anyone here on CT (Norwalk/Wilton area) ? Will be in NY next week-end. Nice to have time for some retail therapy

Ed

 

[maseratifan]

did it backfire first?
I've had a similar thing which likely was related to bad gas.....once restarted has not happened again.

 

[GrndLkNatv]

bad gas or improper lubrication....

Ed.. it does sound like bad gas.... also... your oil pressure isn't right... maybe improper oil or low... oil not only lubes the moving parts but also disapates heat and bad oil causes an engine to run hot etc... I hope all goes well... let us know what it is and a mighty thanks for the referal on the Zymol.... holy cow that stuff is amazing!!!

 

[Troesma]

Thanks guys.

As for bad gas, hummm... it has already done 1/2 tank on this gas load (from full tank) without a single issue. And it is not running on a nearly-empty tank, which might lift accumulated dirt from the bottom, clogging the injectors in the process.

On the oil, yep, does not sound quite right to me, so what I will try first (assuming there is no other problem lurking around... touch wood) is to change it to Silkolene or Motul 300v, and in the process, throw away the OEM NGKs for Denso's. Checked oil level and it is OK, so it could be just some crap-quality oil used by the dealer in the pre-delivery service. Now, if changing oil does not cure it, I will have some words with the dealer...

Will see on the way back from the US.

 

[DeaneG]

Oil normally runs somewhat thinner as it ages, that's one way to tell that it's ready for a refresh.

But I'm certain your car's problem has nothing to do with oil, or bad gas. Something went quite wrong with the engine electricals. It's under warranty, isn't it?

Best not to think about driving it in that state.

 

[BeeYouZeeZee]

No worries Ed. It sounds like the ECU had a brain fart. One of the great things about your upgrade is your nice long warranty. Mine is going in this week for the valve tapping. Go ahead MNA, replace the engine (again). It'll be better than new and I won't be out a dime!

I wish you were in Dallas this trip. We could put a major hurt on the local establishments. Plus, it's easier to pick up chicks when you're with a dude with an English accent


That is if I were looking for chicks since I'm so happily married (wife edit)

 

[Troesma]

No worries Ed. It sounds like the ECU had a brain fart. One of the great things about your upgrade is your nice long warranty. Mine is going in this week for the valve tapping. Go ahead MNA, replace the engine (again). It'll be better than new and I won't be out a dime!

I wish you were in Dallas this trip. We could put a major hurt on the local establishments. Plus, it's easier to pick up chicks when you're with a dude with an English accent


That is if I were looking for chicks since I'm so happily married (wife edit)

LOL..!

Tell my wife..! But the search NEVER quite ends...

As for the car, yep, the only other s**t could be the ECU playing games, and the car is with a healthy margin of guarantee so it should get sorted, one way or another. That was one of the reasons for upgrading..!

Now, the issue here is not if the ECU is faulty, which would be the easier bit (replace and listo) but if there is some problem in the wiring harness/electricals which are much harder to trace and detect. That makes me slightly worried. Will see what the dealer has to say on this.

Hope you get the engine on your babe sorted Buzz. How do you rate the Dallas dealers for the job..?

Take care dude.

Ed

PS : The weather is very nice down here... FFS some proper summer at last..!

 

[Troesma]

An update...

Just got a call from Joe Macari London, who are now looking at the GS after the above event.

Nothing conclusive so far. It seems they have recovered a whole bunch of random error codes using the SD3 via OBD, which (as Buzz and DeaneG have suggested above) points in the direction of an electrical malfunction, which if that's the case, makes me not too happy. They can be a PITA to localize and pin-down, they could be random...

So hope they trace it down (they are looking hard into it.) I have just informed the dealer who sold the car to me for Maserati GB about this. That something of this sort happens on a car which has just been serviced and pre-inspected (with 200-something miles after the event) totally eludes me.

Will keep you posted on developments.

 

[Troesma]

Further news

Right

Dealer has spent 48 hrs testing all sorts of things on the GS and have sent the results to Maserati UK for their advice. Asked as to what they have found, and told me "...let's wait until we get a reply from factory, so we have a solid POV on how to plug all parts together..." Obviously to my subsequent question "...so, in all, it does look bad, does it?" their reply was "it certainly does not look good, but let's wait until Monday, we should know by then."



On Monday I will try and take some time out to dash into the dealer's place to have a face-to-face talk, I want to see what's going on in person.

Looking as my lawyers will need to get ready...

Cross fingers it's just a scare.

Will update with news on Monday.

 

[bundas]

and the loaner

tell us dealer provided same/upgrade as a loaner. sure

 

[Troesma]

In my dreams...

tell us dealer provided same/upgrade as a loaner. sure

Fact is, I'm going on Wednesday for a month out, so it was more inconvenient for me to ask for a loaner and then be bothered with returning it, etc., before departure, when I'm running on a very tight schedule with work meetings and preps. The car went into the dealer after I came from a biz trip to NY. Remember I'm in London and sometimes being on loaned wheels is (much) wore than depending on public transport or taxi.

That month absence not happening, I would have certainly asked for a loaner....

...which was offered by EuropeAssist, under their standard TNC. Dealer taking charge here is not dealer who brokered vehicle (they are some 200 miles away). That said, I declined loaner for the above reasons BUT whatever I would have got certainly was NOT a Maser (remeber TNC say "car of up to 2000cc" engine capacity).

Interesting to note that IF I was booking the car on my own (not through a warranty claim) dealer would have provided as loaner one of their fleet; the 2 times I was given a loaner on my request I have landed an Audi A8. Not bad. BUT being a warranty call via EuropeAssist, it is for them to sort-out, not by dealer, as warranty TNC apply. BUT also note if booking on my own it would have meant a 3 week queue to get the car inspected, despite the work being eventually paid by Maserati... when going into the shop recovered by EuropeAssist on a warranty call, they are OBLIGED under the TNC to inspect the car within 24-48 hours, and then sort it out ASAP, so it jumps whatever queue is in force.

Balance of outcomes was "better to get car inspected soon" than letting it sit on my driveway until coming back end of September, and forget about arguing on a loaner, as it would end being more of an inconvenience.

We shall see...