2014 Maserati Ghibli cracked strut tower

BJL

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Porsche recalled all GT3s a couple of years ago and replaced the engines plus any issues on earlier engines were either dealt with under warranty or if out of warranty then at a subsidised rate. Obviously not if out of warranty and the car had a track history. We have a GT3 in the family and have experienced the follow up.

If this has happened to a number already it makes a second hand 4 year old Ghibli a very dodgy purchase. I for one am not in denial about this, the Ghibli is a massed produced car built down to a price and even though they have shifted 82,000 since launch the factory are on forced holiday until the end of Jan due to low demand.

It looks like engine out, beefed up tower being fitted and engine back in plus the PR costs. 2k of labour and bits at in house costs x 82,000 = 164 mil
 

Rwc13

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1,668
Yes, maybe, if every single car is affected. But that's worst case scenario without knowing any of the facts. It could also be a small batch of towers that were manufactured subspec. Or do you know for a fact that every Ghibli is affected?

And it's not a case of being in denial, I was aware of this issue before I bought my last Ghibli and received reassurance on the matter from Maserati before proceeding.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

allandwf

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Lets not get carried away with horror stories. As said it me be just a few. The internet is great at blowing things out of all proportion.
 

BJL

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No, you are absolutely right to ask the question, I do not know for a fact but the problem is one of perception from the press and general public and the fact that, as has been confirmed both here and in the US, there is a serious problem with the tower and that the batch (hopefully) or the general design needs to be sorted before someone is killed but getting Maserati to accept responsibility appears less than straight forward.

I have just enquired and there is no official recall on any Ghibli generally or batch specific chassis numbers regarding suspension tower replacement. That is tantamount to recklessness and all it needs is someone charging along the Autobahn at around 200kph and the steering going walkabout after hitting a pothole.

Currently there are nearly 200 used Ghiblis for sale in the UK. Would any potential purchaser sensibly consider one without an absolute guarantee the problem has been resolved or suspension modifications applied.?
 

MrMickS

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3,951
Apparently there are no recalls on my car. I had to book it in for something to be looked at yesterday and they checked. I have had springs replaced and a free geometry check in the past though. Perhaps there was something related there.
 

P R

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1,382
I forget the reason of a recall they did on mine, but what I do remember is they put some "resin" somewhere on the suspension and the car had to be left off its wheels for 24 or 48 hrs.
 

GeoffCapes

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14,000
Like most motor manufacturers. They look at the cost of a recall verses the potential payout for a claim through faulty design.

If the cost of recall is higher, then they don't do it. They take their chance and settle out of court if need be.

Happens all the time. When I worked in insurance we had to sign non-disclosure agreements when handling such claims.

Off the top of my head I handled ones for Ford, GMC, Opel and Buick. All were settled for sub $5m
 

Rex B

Member
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657
The strut tower looks like it is cast or forged aluminium and is from the parts diagram on eurospares is sold as a separate part at £280 and is riveted in place. So 0 probably not hard to do for an experienced body shop although time consuming and could well have been a batch issue in manufacture. Let's hope all with the problem get a customer focussed response from Maserati.

Rex B
 

CraigWaterman11

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Whoa, I had to go back and read all of these...lol.

So lets see if I can chime in about some of what has been stated. I don't think it will reach a recall level until someone forces it. I think it's about the money. The thread I posted a hyperlink to at the beginning of this Maserati of N/A took care of under the Lemon laws. The case that started that thread was right here in MA. He doesn't appear to be active after his car was fix. BTW seems like the quote for doing that job was 20-25k usd. Even in that case if you read that thread Maserati of N/A attempted to deny they had heard of any other cases. What got them in trouble was the two other people who had their cars repaired for that very same thing, were apart of that very forum that one of the Admin help get contact information for. So the Gentleman called back Maserati of N/A gave them all the details of their cases, and lo and behold his car was taken care of. The odd thing was toward the end of that thread it looks like he went into hush, hush mode about whether they were actually paying for it. I'm think non-disclosure if they did so.

So in the regard do I think they would just recall the cars....no, no I don't. Was there a TSB for it, yes, yes there was. Here guys follow this link:
http://www.ghibliforum.com/forum/maserati-ghibli-general-discussion/14961-maserati-service-campaigns-2014-onwards.html

"Campaigns for 2016


1. 272A - ECU Update for Emissions and rough idle on start. All MY14 and MY15 gasoline engines (US). Dated 3/11/2016
2. 286 - Front strut tower dome check and reinforcement if needed on MY14 and MY15......"

Above is the pertinent information if you don't want to go there. Now I've looked for this campaign but haven't found it yet but plan to keep doing so. However, can we agree that if there were a service campaign for it specifically listing the front strut tower dome, we can also agree there was an issue they knew about, and were inspecting for it?
 

Eddie

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Craig, I've heard of one case. The guy had huge heavy aftermarket wheels with ultra-low profiles and they were blamed. Not heard of a TSB but I'll check tommorow and let you know...
 

Phil H

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4,107
'Campaign 306 - Case by Case need - replacement of front springs with MY16 version to address premature spring sag and not getting car into alignment.'

Had the cars with fractured turrets been inspected/repaired under 306?

PH
 

FIFTY

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3,100
That is a stupid amount of work to get to the strut towers! Maybe a used ghibli won't be such a bargain in a few years
 

CraigWaterman11

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Okay, I received word back from a Mas. Mechanic (that actually works for them) in the states over here about a TSB and here is what he stated:

Re: TSB for Maserati Ghibli
There was never really a TSB on the matter, there was a recall that involved checking the dome shape and inspecting for damage.
I never did them myself, I removed the subframe/engine/trans and had an associated bodyshop guy come down for 2x 4 hour sessions of cutting out, cleaning, installing/gluing/riveting in the domes with special braces for alignment of the domes. I don't believe the online service info has information on how it is done, it was a sort of talk through direction set for the body shop guy.
Sorry I can't be of more help. Maserati service info leaves something to be desired sometimes.
 

CraigWaterman11

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So guys this is where I am at now. I went to the Maserati dealership closest to me, the parts department obviously to order the parts or strut towers. I literally brought in the torn strut tower. They verified that there is a recall. That there are actually 7 open campaigns for this Ghibli, and it technically still had a warranty until April 2018. The service manager also told me they don't do these in house and out source the job out to someone local to them. Now here is the kick in the seat of the pants. They refused to sell me the parts. They told me I could get the parts overseas but they would not sell them to me.

Of course this didn't sit well with me. I called Maserati North America. At first the prospect looked good, until today. She confirmed they would not sell me the parts either, but if I put the entire car back together (mind you again they out source the job), and tow it to them, they would do it. She told me she specifically told the Service manager they HAD to perform the work whether he wanted to or not because it was a safety recall. He did tell me he didn't even want the job because of the amount of work that was involved. So to be honest, I'm just quite dumbfounded by the entire scenario. I asked her who was going to pay us for doing the work. She said that wasn't her problem that was on the customer and he should have brought the car to them.

At this point I pretty much let her know that, they don't have a good reputation for working on cars, and also if they could do the job in the first place why do they out source it to begin with. We have all of our licenses in order. Again, it doesn't matter to them.