[JalanJalan]

Hi, and thanks to anyone willing to help me out with these.

Just picked up my 2004 coupe cambiocorsa yesterday (28,000 miles). It had a clean carfax report, but that's all I know. Bought it at a used exotic car dealership in S. Florida then drove it home about 200 miles no problem. I've learned a lot cruising this board, but still have questions. Any answers appreciated!

1. I have a local Maserati dealership. can then "check out" the car, get the old service records, and get me an owner's manual? I see that you can determine clutch wear somehow by getting a % of clutch left, etc. So imagine there is a plug in computer at the dealership that give me all sorts of info, good and bad on this car.

2. The annoying buzz in the driver's door at around 4000rpm - should I try to get this sorted out or is it kind of typical/hopeless.

3. Car still has the factory warranty. Does MNA offer an extended warranty that I can buy at this point? Does ANYONE?

4. performance: definitely needs at least a tune up - when standing stop full throttle accel in either auto/manual the engine more or less cuts out cold at around 5500-6000rpm well short of redline. Then I/it shifts and the engine roars again. Very jerky what with all the engine cutting in/out stuff. Surely that's too soon for any sort of rev limiter to kick in.

5. off the line starts at a crawl are pretty smooth, anything else you can really feel the clutch engage and there is a bit of jerking, like a very inexperience person learning to drive a manual. This is not in sport mode. I learned today it shifts smoother and the clutch lasts longer in sport mode, so i will try it out. Also, you definitely hear the tranny shifting, subtle medium-pitched metallic clunk with every gear change when in auto mode. Having never driven a Maserati before, I don't know if this is normal or not.

I'm sure if I go to the dealer and have them test drive with me in it, they can tell me alot about "this is normal and this is not" regarding the above but thought I would ask here as well.

That's enough for now, I'm sure I think of more after I've driven it more than once. In any case, the dream has finally come true and that beast looks great in my garage.

 

[RickBullotta]

1. Yes, but assume clutch wear is merely an estimate, and a rough one at that.

2. Since you're under warranty, you can have them try, but it is a "feature" that most of us seem to have. See if it isn't the driver's side speaker or speaker grill rattling first.

3. A lot of us have looked, and none seem reputable. Maserati is considering one but only for certified pre-owned cars purchased through their dealers.

4. Way too soon to be redlining. This engine will run right up to 7500 RPM and, in fact, it loves to. Sounds like a "yellow flag" - I'd have that checked ASAP.

5. Rule #1 - always drive in sport mode. Rule #2 - shift above 5000 rpm for fastest engagement. Rule #3 - refer to rule #1 and #2.

The beast should work great on the street, not just look great in your garage, so definitely get the engine issues sorted out ASAP.

Enjoy, and welcome.

Rick

 

[Glenn Wallace]

+1 for sport mode. I only use normal mode on really bumpy roads.

re 4: might be wheelspin. Does the green MSP light go on when you lose power?

PS don't use auto mode

 

[JalanJalan]

thanks

thanks to you guys for responding. Yellow flag? Should I be afraid to drive to the Maserati dealer (about 30 miles). Other than the early shifting, it sounds and runs pretty well.

re: lights going on while full throttle, no just instant power loss, like ignition gets switched off. Much more abrupt than a typical rev limiter which sounds/feels like you're missing on a few cylinders in my experience.

PS just went for a ride in sport mode and the shifting is obviously much better/snappier.

 

[bundas]

still need owners book? other items

have extra owners book. sounds like you have clutch chatter. cause is weak clutch, and or warp face contact. $$$$$ oh boy! rev limit, is another issue. was the car maintained? i can tell you have no history. changing spark puugs, oil/air filter, oil mobil 1 is my choice, can all be done at home. beware of dealers. try to find a fair one, some are mean. enjoy your car. i love mine. purschased a wreck and put the thing together. have an 02 cc spyder+18 other maserati. old man having a ball

 

[JalanJalan]

I may definitely need that book. Bought my car from an exotic car dealer who bought it from a mercedes dealer who took it as a trade. The owners books didn't follow. Apparently they are floating around the MB dealership somewhere. If they don't turn up, can I buy yours?

I'm not too keen on maintaining the car myself. Used to do that alot. Lots of busted knuckles. Even changed an engine once. I think for this car, I better leave it to an expert. I'll see what the "damage report" is when I take it to the dealership. Thanks for everyones help!

PS if I need the manual, I'll try to email you or leave a message here.

 

[JalanJalan]

check engine light

The jerky shifting, engine cut out mentioned earlier has resolved intself. I think the car had sat for a while and needed to be wound out a couple of times to work properly.

So now a new problem. I drive the car a few times a week for short distances. This morning was fine, this afternoon however the check engine light came on. Also, below the gear indicator on the dash, instead of the outside temp, it just says "E".

My owner's manual is on order so I'm asking if anyone knows what gives, and is it safe to drive to the dealer like this (30 miles +/-) since I have a service appointment in about two weeks anyway.

Thanks!

 

[BeeYouZeeZee]

The jerky shifting, engine cut out mentioned earlier has resolved intself. I think the car had sat for a while and needed to be wound out a couple of times to work properly.

So now a new problem. I drive the car a few times a week for short distances. This morning was fine, this afternoon however the check engine light came on. Also, below the gear indicator on the dash, instead of the outside temp, it just says "E".

My owner's manual is on order so I'm asking if anyone knows what gives, and is it safe to drive to the dealer like this (30 miles +/-) since I have a service appointment in about two weeks anyway.

Thanks!

Usually the CEL is no big deal. In your case however, I'd have it towed. Here's why. When a car misses badly or cuts out, the cyls that didn't fire dump raw gas into the pre-cats. The Lambda sensors sense the rich mixture and the ECU adjusts by running leaner. The leaner a car runs, the hotter the exhaust. This can cause exhaust valve damage and can eventually melt and break up the pre cats. The debris from the pre cats can get stuck in the restriction under the steering box or in the main cats causing power loss. It's my experience that MNA will not replace cats under warranty. Let us know what you find out.

Buzz

 

[squid]

A car that won't redline is not healthy. Check for a fouled plug or something--it may only be running on 7, or 6 cyls.

 

[Glenn Wallace]

I drive the car a few times a week for short distances. This morning was fine, this afternoon however the check engine light came on.

prob related to your performance issues, either misfire or cat efficiency is my guess.

Also, below the gear indicator on the dash, instead of the outside temp, it just says "E".

This is an annoying is that I am still in the middle of resolving.

Not only does my flashing E go away when you turn the car off and on, but also the dealer CANNOT pull codes related to this issue unless you bring the car in while it is flashing E and WITHOUT turning it off.

There is a thread on here about it. I was too lazy to search.

My car has had:
- HVAC controller replaced (twice) - this is the bit with the climate controls on it.
- one of the HVAC flap actuators replaced

Haven't picked it back up yet.

This issue seems difficult to diagnose and repair. Note that when it flashes E, the HVAC defaults to "limp home" mode which is to blow hot air on the windshield.

Glenn

 

[JalanJalan]

Fast

Thanks for the lightening fast replies. Actually, all the "misfire" issues and jerky motions disappeared after driving the car a few times and accelerating. I think it had sat for a while, the new problem just started today after a few weeks of othewise running well. I've ordered a code reader and will see what it says when I hook it up.

The car has 29000 miles and I have an appointment for the 30000 mile service this month which I think is a "biggie" not just oil/filters . Unfortunately, my car is missing the owners/maintenance manual so I don't really know what they will do. I'm thinking I will wait till then to get the CEL fixed and not really drive it till then. Thanks for the help.

 

[squid]

Might have been bad gas fouling the plugs. Some sustained highish speed running can help clear the crap out.

 

[BeeYouZeeZee]

Might have been bad gas fouling the plugs. Some sustained highish speed running can help clear the crap out.

Bad gas... Crap... Blow it out.... May I please be excused?

 

[Glenn Wallace]

Might have been bad gas fouling the plugs. Some sustained highish speed running can help clear the crap out.

I would not do this while my car has a check engine light showing. I would get it to the dealer ASAP to pull the code.

 

[JalanJalan]

Is this typical Maserati stuff?

So today I started the car the check engine light was on again. Pull it out of the garage, forgot something, turned it off again. When I restarted, the CEL is now OFF. Furthermore, the car runs flawlessly now all the way to 7500redline with good wheel spin off the line and on the 1-2 shift on several 0-80mph runs. This is one of those things that makes you go hmmmm. I think this is going to be a very intersting car to own! Fortunately it's not my only car.

And I've read on this forum before weirdness after filling an almost empty tank. Well guess what? The day after I filled the tank from near empty is the day the CEL came on. I've never let the tank get that low before.

Lastly I retightened both the gas cap and the oil filler cap this morning before the CEL went off.

In case anyones interested, the Maserati dealership wants $140 for an owners manual and says the warranty book and other goodies are out of print. However I was able to order from Eurospares the owners manual, warranty book, folder that they go into complete for about the same price. Whether or not they actually have them, I'll have to wait and see.

 

[The Head]

I had purchased my manual from www.ricambiamerica.com for way less then 140 also what is the Maser part number on the folder for the owners manual? I want to get one of those.

 

[JalanJalan]

manual

you have to drill down through their menus yourself because it asks for the model and year before you get to the listing. Under tools, equipment and accessories it lists:
http://www.eurospares.co.uk/partsListing.asp?M=3&Mo=389&A=1&B=20957&S=&ID4=912095#

which I think is the plastic envelope to keep all the paperwork goodies in. Not certain, though.

 

[squid]

Check engine light is usually just a fuel vaporization issue related to the OBD2 software the government requires. Usually you just tighten the gas cap and run it a couple of times and it goes away.

 

[JalanJalan]

Obd2

Anyway, I got an obd2 code reader from Amazon.com. Of course it arrived after the CEL went dark again, but I know I'll get to use it sometime soon!