MC Shift gearbox ECU

[ensignia]

My Granturismo MC-S clutch woes continue (the garage has had it for 6 months(!)), and the latest issue is they're saying the gearbox control unit is goosed. AKA gearbox ECU or Transmission Control Unit.

A new one is £1450+VAT and available to order. The software is corrupt apparently and a new one is required.

What are my options other than adding another £1800 or so on to my total bill which will be approaching 30% of the cars total resale at this point... I'm relying on the combined knowledge of the experts on here to stop me from having a meltdown. This is the silly bugger in question:

 

[Gazcw]

My Granturismo MC-S clutch woes continue (the garage has had it for 6 months(!)), and the latest issue is they're saying the gearbox control unit is goosed. AKA gearbox ECU or Transmission Control Unit.

A new one is £1450+VAT and available to order. The software is corrupt apparently and a new one is required.

What are my options other than adding another £1800 or so on to my total bill which will be approaching 30% of the cars total resale at this point... I'm relying on the combined knowledge of the experts on here to stop me from having a meltdown. This is the silly bugger in question:

Is this a specialist garage for a start with the right diagnostics? Are the a specialist Maserati or just 'supercars'?

 

[conaero]

Could you start by listing the history on this car, the faults, what has been the reason for any parts replaced and what has been done.

Then, we will all be able to make an informed remark.

And which garage is it.

One thing I will say is that I’ve never seen a TCU fail.

Feel free to PM me if you would rather not discuss this on the open forum.

 

[ensignia]

Is this a specialist garage for a start with the right diagnostics? Are the a specialist Maserati or just 'supercars'?

They deal with a number of Maserati's and appear to be highly rated (albeit not on here), but they've been diabolical with me. They claim to have the SD3 but I think they use a different machine.

Could you start by listing the history on this car, the faults, what has been the reason for any parts replaced and what has been done.

Then, we will all be able to make an informed remark.

And which garage is it.

One thing I will say is that I’ve never seen a TCU fail.

Feel free to PM me if you would rather not discuss this on the open forum.

Car is a 2010 with 65k which I've owned for ~4 years. Was running completely fault free until September 2022 when I was 'making progress' and tried to shift at 7k rpm into 3rd and got the message gear unavailable. Managed to limp home with limited gears but no reverse.

The F1 fluid was low so topped it up but didn't make a difference so had it trailered to these guys.

So far the clutch has been changed (clutch wear wasn't too bad but it had a blown oil seal on the crankshaft which leaked oil into the clutch plate).

Full list of parts (that I know of) that have been changed:

Clutch position sensor
Clutch release bearing
Clutch itself
Gearbox potentiometer (PN 248095)
Crankshaft rear oil seal

Their communication has been poor so I don't know what else they've done but suffice to say that I will not be using them again.

I agree with the TCU rarely failing, they don't seem to just break and the garage didn't even advise me of it, just sent a message saying it needed a new one and that'll be another 1450 + VAT as we've gone ahead and ordered it.

I've a right mind to just say stop any work on it, I'm taking it somewhere else as I've lost any trust I had towards you.

 

[conaero]

F1 system are brilliant to a point but when they go wrong they are a pain.

Our route with any of these is to remove the box, remove the entire F1 system and send it for bench testing.

You will then be presented with a likelihood of a potential weakness.

This works well to a point where there but are often curveballs. Both myself and Zep have had these and Zep still has his. Mine, believe it if not came down to a failing wheel bearing. No lights, drove perfect but with random gear drops at high rpm. The bearing finally failed about 18 months later and was replaced and the gear issue was gone.

You had a failed oil seal which did require the clutch so it’s not wasted money.

As for the TCU, I would want the hard evidence as to why to change it before committing. I don’t know which garage this is, their process so I won’t comment negatively on them as these things are a headache when they go wrong.

 

[CatmanV2]

No lights, drove perfect but with random gear drops at high rpm

Engine speed / road speed under stall condition expected I guess?

C

 

[Felonious Crud]

...

Their communication has been poor so I don't know what else they've done but suffice to say that I will not be using them again.

... just sent a message saying it needed a new one and that'll be another 1450 + VAT as we've gone aheadand ordered it.

I've a right mind to just say stop any work on it, I'm taking it somewhere else as I've lost any trust I had towards you.

I won't (can't!) comment technically but two things would make me get the car away from that garage and to somewhere I trust:

1. Spending your money without asking first
2. Bad comms.

What part of the country are you in?

 

[ensignia]

I won't (can't!) comment technically but two things would make me get the car away from that garage and to somewhere I trust:

1. Spending your money without asking first
2. Bad comms.

What part of the country are you in?

After literal months of silence they inform me that they've changed out stuff without asking me or telling me costs and that the car will be ready in a few days, then silence for weeks again...

I'm in the South East, the garage is in Kent (SE London side). I've got loads of stories about how **** this place has been, some of the things have been truly laughable.

With regards to the TCU, is there anyone who can reprogram them? Struggling to find any used TCUs which are compatible with mine.

 

[Gazcw]

Get it out of there and get a second opinion. Seems like they are stringing you along. Funnily enough I think Leicesterminiracer had similar with hi old QP. Went in for a clutch and had to have a new ecu in the end. Not sure of the exact detail though.
Different garage

 

[Felonious Crud]

After literal months of silence they inform me that they've changed out stuff without asking me or telling me costs and that the car will be ready in a few days, then silence for weeks again...

I'm in the South East, the garage is in Kent (SE London side). I've got loads of stories about how **** this place has been, some of the things have been truly laughable.

With regards to the TCU, is there anyone who can reprogram them? Struggling to find any used TCUs which are compatible with mine.

You could look at

• Grimaldi in Halstead, they know their way around these cars
• AV Engineering in deepest darkest Kent (Ashford) has an exceptional reputation but, I think, a long waiting-list and...
• Probably furthest away but equally reputable is SportsItalia way down in the deep south.

Phone 'em all and send a truck to collect. I highly recommend Sterling in Upminster. info@sterlingmotortransport.co.uk

 

[ensignia]

I wanted to take to SportsItalia, but was slightly too far for the trailer company annoyingly.

Anyone know of my best bet to get a second hand TCU for a 2010 MC Shift (M145)?

 

[Steve4200]

I wanted to take to SportsItalia, but was slightly too far for the trailer company annoyingly.

Anyone know of my best bet to get a second hand TCU for a 2010 MC Shift (M145)?

I doubt the software just became corrupted, vehicle ECU‘s are generally very robust pieces of kit.

Without knowing the diagnostic route that suggests the unit is goosed it‘s hard to offer a better solution than new or eBay.

Do you have any of the diagnostic reports from the garage?

I will gladly test the ECU free of charge to at least see if it communicates and self diagnoses. If Matt at SportsItalia is happy then post it to him and I will pick it up.

Regards
Steve

 

[drellis]

I wanted to take to SportsItalia, but was slightly too far for the trailer company annoyingly.

Anyone know of my best bet to get a second hand TCU for a 2010 MC Shift (M145)?

If the car isnt drivable get it onto the street and use the aa \rac etc and nominate sports italia and demand low.loader or they break the diff etc

 

[ensignia]

I doubt the software just became corrupted, vehicle ECU‘s are generally very robust pieces of kit.

Without knowing the diagnostic route that suggests the unit is goosed it‘s hard to offer a better solution than new or eBay.

Do you have any of the diagnostic reports from the garage?

I will gladly test the ECU free of charge to at least see if it communicates and self diagnoses. If Matt at SportsItalia is happy then post it to him and I will pick it up.

Regards
Steve

They haven't said what steps they took or what they did that suggests it's goosed, the line of comms went like this:

Them: "gearbox ecu is faulty, soft wear(!) corruption. ordered new one 1460+ VAT"
Me: "Does it definitely need a new TCU?"
Them: "Yes, we tried it on another maserati"
Me: "Is it not possible to reflash the existing TCU if it's a software issue as a new one is another £1700 on to the total bill?"
Them: "No, we tried it. The garage did this on their diagnostic"

I'll ask the garage to send the TCU to me, would be fantastic if someone with experience of gearbox control units could give me some guidance.

 

[CatmanV2]

I doubt the software just became corrupted,

Yeah, I mean these are what, EEPROMs? Failure basically zero. Something else going on I feel

C

 

[Steve4200]

They haven't said what steps they took or what they did that suggests it's goosed, the line of comms went like this:

Them: "gearbox ecu is faulty, soft wear(!) corruption. ordered new one 1460+ VAT"
Me: "Does it definitely need a new TCU?"
Them: "Yes, we tried it on another maserati"
Me: "Is it not possible to reflash the existing TCU if it's a software issue as a new one is another £1700 on to the total bill?"
Them: "No, we tried it. The garage did this on their diagnostic"

I'll ask the garage to send the TCU to me, would be fantastic if someone with experience of gearbox control units could give me some guidance.

All very odd, why need reflash? If that was attempted with the incorrect tool then = goosed.

As mentioned previously the garage may have acted in good faith but without the diagnostic info it’s a tough call. Offer of free check as previously posted.

 

[conaero]

Yep post it to Sportsitalia and I’ll pass it on to Steve for you, Google the address

 

[ensignia]

All very odd, why need reflash? If that was attempted with the incorrect tool then = goosed.

As mentioned previously the garage may have acted in good faith but without the diagnostic info it’s a tough call. Offer of free check as previously posted.

I have access to a workshop Autel diagnostic machine which I had a little fiddle around with before I sent it to the garage.

Could this have anything to do with it? The garage has seemingly tried to pin the blame on me doing that for a lot of the delays, but I fail to see how a robust component like the ECU or TCU could be completely wrecked by adjusting a few values like the PIS and some other clutch settings.

Possible yes, but seems far fetched.

Yep post it to Sportsitalia and I’ll pass it on to Steve for you, Google the address

Thanks conaero, this would be really useful. I think the garage will try and be as difficult as possible in giving me the unit as they seem to be completely uncooperative. The owner even tried to claim it was my fault that the car had been there so long and it was taking up valuable space!

 

[Zep]

Them: "No, we tried it. The garage did this on their diagnostic"

This bit intrigued me. If these are the words they are using, then they aren’t doing the diagnostic themselves. Have they subbed the work? Do you know where your car actually is?

 

[ensignia]

This bit intrigued me. If these are the words they are using, then they aren’t doing the diagnostic themselves. Have they subbed the work? Do you know where your car actually is?

Yeah I didn't really know what he meant by this, but messages from him are sometimes indecipherable due to his tenuous grasp of the English language.

My car is still in the workshop, on the same lift it's been on since October - I know this only from looking on their Instagram page where they post regular updates of all the cars they have in