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Lamborghini London, Major service, gave back undrivable Lambo

8K views 29 replies 14 participants last post by  JULIAN 
#1 ·
This is my first ever thread at this brilliant forum. Just wanted to share my experience and and get some view points.

I've had my 58 plate, (2008) Gallardo (5,200 miles when i purchased it) for a year and did about 1500 miles. My car was running Perfect except for squeaky brakes.

Decided that I wanted to maintain a Main dealer full service history for my car and decided to book it in with Lamborghini London, school road.

Got it back and drove home 30 miles north. Next morning started her up and the engine warning light 1-5 came on!! Scared the crap out of me!. Rang Lamborghini, no reply. Sent emails, no reply. Sent a stronger email, and two days later had a response, they stated they never received my email even though when negotiating my business I received emails very timely and they always got through!

They suggested I bring the car back in and they will find out what the fault is, it may be condensation in misfire pipes that may have accumulated over time and corroded them. What??!! I bring the car to you for a major service, spend thousands and the next day I have this fault and it's probably due to accumulation of condensation over time! and nothing you guys did to the car that caused this problem which strangely appeared the very next day??!!

Are you having a laugh or what?? You guys have done something to my car and are already indicating that it may be an unrelated problem! Does anyone else think I'm taken for a possible ride here?

Anyway, going abroad for a few weeks, will let you know when I came back what the deal is. However, has anyone experienced this with this garage before? Or know the probable cause and cost of fixing the error and or even know what my rights are? It appears that they can simply suggest this as coincidental and the problem was already there building up. Should have stuck with a reputable Indy!

Or may be I'm just so angry and there's very little wrong with the car, maybe the technician forgot to plug something back in. And may be they will be excellent and simply fix the issue and that is that. So at this moment I'm reserving my judgement on Lamborghini London, I'm sure they would have done some great work for others....but what happened when it came to me...?:confused:

Any tips much appreciated. I think however this will go legal.

Avais
 
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#2 ·
Calm down.

Get an OBDII code reader, plug it in under the dash, and find out the
numeric error codes -- they will help you better understand what the
check engine light (CEL) is trying to tell you.

I got this one

INNOVA 3030 Diagnostic Code Reader for OBDII Vehicles : Amazon.com : Automotive


which I keep in the glove compartment... plus a printout of the table:

https://serviceinformation.lamborgh...onnect/eu5/web/en/obd+ii/obd+ii+download+my08

(click on item #15 -- it's a PDF file)

In a nutshell, the codes fall into three different categories. Ones that
require an immediate shop visit (and possibly tow), ones that require
a shop visit in the near future (i.e. next time you're in the neighbour-
hood), and ones that can be ignored safely (which, in many cases, do
reset themselves after e.g. five driving cycles).

The exhaust pressure sensors are a known weak spot of the Gallardo,
and many owners are familiar with e.g. codes P1311 and P1314. I get
them several times a year, especially during the cold/wet season -- I
simply clear them with the code reader; if they come back a lot, then
it is worth a shop visit, but otherwise they are benign.

Oh, and yes, I have gone through both, the series of warranty repairs
that are typical for this (clean mis-fire tubes, replace sensor, replace
electro-valve), as well as your specific scenario (get a CEL as I drive
off the shop's lot, right after they completed service).

In short: code reader + code table = better understanding = less risk
of a heart attack and no money wasted on a lawyer.

Cheers! :)
 
#3 ·
The longer I own a Lamborghini, the more stories I hear that Lambo dealers service department are jokes! Lambo dealer here near me is MAG in Columbus Ohio, horrible stories that I hear there!

I personally decided to take my G to an independent exotic mechanic shop, better pricing, better attention, and now I'm starting to believe these independent shops are even at better doing the job!
 
#5 ·
Lautlos, thanks for your reply, and you other guys I am beginning to BELIEVE that Indys are the way to go. But I know that specially in the UK there seems to be a cultural thing about Main Dealer Services being a must. If you have a prestige car that hasn't had a full main dealer history.....well, it's gets frowned upon and almost raises suspicion.

I have already ordered an OBDII scanner, hopefully it will be here in a couple of days, assuming it reads ok, I'll share the fault codes. I purchased this one...

OBD2 AUTO SCANNER ORIGINAL Creader 6 code reader LAUNCH CREADER VI Update on official website: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

I will calm down I'm sure but if I was the dealer and gave a car back to my customer then I would be pushing them to bring it back, offer solutions, talk etc...but hey may be not everyone is like me!

Avais
 
#6 ·
Yeah as a foreigner living in UK, the whole maintenance stamp book thing here is bull****.

If you find a good mechanic (or are one) go with that. The whole culture of buying or not buying a car because you have a booklet with little stamps in it is ridiculous.

That said, I take mine to Lambo of Birmingham. They actually don't do most of the work there, they outsource it. Which works a lot better in my opinion. Especially before their main service lead left (Steve). He was awesome. But the new manager does ok.

Anyway Lambo of London wouldn't return my email either. Funny enough though I found a different shop to do the work I was enquiring about (reupholstery). Auto Audio. Which I think is just down the road from the dealer.

I feel your pain.
 
#7 ·
Matt, couldn't agree more. Tell you what though there's are great Indy in Luton where I live, he's Italian too! He's worked on all the top Italian brands and I trust him implicitly. If you ever need anything other than a service, (purely due to main dealer stamp on a piece of paper) then you should check him out. Let me know if want details and I'll look them up in my address book.

Avais
 
#8 ·
Living down here in Plymouth in the Westcountry, UK, I can tell you that the area is devoid of main Lamborghini dealerships.

My 2006 Gallardo is due to have the power steering pipe upgrade .

I repeatedy rang Lamborghini London to arrange same , but couldn't even get a reply !

VERY poor.

In consequence I contacted Lamborghini Birmingham who will be collecting the car for transportation to Birmingham from Plymouth on Monday for the work to be carried out.

Initial impressions are one of politeness and efficiency.

Time will tell!

Hitherto I have used The Supercar Rooms at Hartlebury in Worcestershire.
 
#25 ·
Living down here in Plymouth in the Westcountry, UK, I can tell you that the area is devoid of main Lamborghini dealerships.

My 2006 Gallardo is due to have the power steering pipe upgrade .

QUOTE]

Hi,:wave:
having just bought a 2006 Gallardo, 6 speed manual, I am unaware of the power steering pipe recall. Is this recall a general Lamborghini inspired one due to leaking pipe etc?

Appreciate any info or link to site concerning this.
john
 
#10 ·
Yeah Birmingham actually called me to tell me about the steering recall. They do good work. Petty nice showroom too. They had 2 limited edition Aventadors on the floor last time I was there. There can't be many of those even in UK. And they've had at least 5 there. I've sat in 4 of them! :)
 
#12 ·
Do a search of this Forum "CEL 1-5. and you will see a lot of info.

I have had the CEL 1-5 pop up one time and it was probably due to me almost stalling the G-Car while backing out of a drive way. After driving it for a while the CEL 1-5 disappeared.

Some people attribute the code to temperature changes, leaving a warm garage and driving in cold outside temperatures. Others indicate a defective sensor.
 
#15 ·
Finally got my code reader today! Plugged it, turned on the ignition. The reader picked up the code P1311.
So, do I need to be worried? Is there anything that the dealer could have done to my car as part of the major service that could cause this? 😥
 
#18 ·
Thanks for the reply guys. Seems I can breathe a bit easier again although if all those components need to be changed then we are still talking about £2K! So is it possible the dealer could have done something that could have caused this? And , out of interest what are the ramifications if I did simply nothing and drove a whole year with the light on? Other than annoyance could their be any potential damage caused to the car.

Thanks
 
#20 ·
I've only done 1 mile since the error came on. So I got a reply from Lamborghini London today after I sent them the fault code. They said its the misfire tubes and instead of charging me £1,956 they would do it for £1,639 by applying some parts discount.
Hmmm....let me think, I pay you £2,600 for a service, you give me back my car the next day with an error it never had and want me to pay you all this additional money......!!!!!

So what should be my next move?

1) Tell them to get *******, and go legal?
2) Pay them and just shut up and do it?
3) Find an Indy to do it?
4) Ignore it and just drive.....

Wish I had never gone to them!!

Advice appreciated as well as any other options I may have missed out! ��
 
#21 ·
Option 5 = sell the car. Buy a Cor vet.

We do not know that the dealer actually did anything wrong in this case, or if it was just very mis-timed bad luck, but it does look very suspicious.
 
#22 ·
> P1311
> They said its the misfire tubes

see http://www.lamborghini-talk.com/vbforum/242681-post2.html

>> The exhaust pressure sensors are a known weak spot of the Gallardo,
>> and many owners are familiar with e.g. codes P1311 and P1314. I get
>> them several times a year, especially during the cold/wet season -- I
>> simply clear them with the code reader; if they come back a lot, then
>> it is worth a shop visit, but otherwise they are benign.
>>
>> Oh, and yes, I have gone through both, the series of warranty repairs
>> that are typical for this (clean mis-fire tubes, replace sensor, replace
>> electro-valve), as well as your specific scenario (get a CEL as I drive
>> off the shop's lot, right after they completed service).

Clear the error code and keep driving. Only if it keeps coming back during
each and every one of your next dozen or so drives, do you need a repair.

My last P1311 was in late February.

I no longer sweat these.

(Another good one that happens easily: P0126 -- low coolant temperature.
I can trigger that one almost at will: start driving to my freeway on-ramp
and watch the car get to 70 C water temperature; then accelerate hard on
the ramp, watch the water drop back below 70 C for a few seconds... and
voila! -- CEL for P0126 it is.)
 
#24 · (Edited)
Just because you service the car does not give you a warranty. You are being ridiculous to even raise a law suit. Get ur head screwed on.

People already gave you enough info for you to make a reasonable decision on what to do, ie clear the code and see if it appears. If it does reappear, then it's up to you to fix it or not. if you can afford repair, then that's ur problem.
 
#26 · (Edited)
John, This appears to be a general recall.

Lamborghini in Italy recently wrote to me explaining that under extreme pressure, there had been instances of a power steering pipe fracturing , in consequence of which the steering fluid sprayed all over the side of the hot engine , thereby making the risk of a fire distinctly possible.

On my 2006 model the work entailed amounted to 3 hours.

On 2004/2005 models apparently it is a weeks work as the whole of the underside of the car has to be dismantled, the new system fitted and then re-assembled.

There is no charge for this.

May be worth checking with your main dealership to see if the upgrade has already been carried out, as there is no space on the service handbook for the relevant information to be included. If it hasn't , obviously they will want the car to fit the pipe.

For those in the UK, I can advise that my car was picked up at 0900 on Monday 11th March in Plymouth in an enclosed truck for transport to Birmingham , and returned at 0900 on Thursday 14th March.

In addition to the recall work, at my request , Lamborghini Birmingham fitted new pollen filters, changed the brake/clutch fluid, changed the gearbox and front differential fluids, renewed the gearbox filter, and re-adjusted the handbrake . I give up as regards the handbrake efficiency. The reality is that the handbrake just doesn't work very well !

The cost of collection/delivery was £500, and the rest including parts and labour £728, making a total of £1278, which I thought wasn't too bad.

As a dealership, I would describe Lamborghini Birmingham as excellent , and I would have no hesitation in using them again.
 
#27 ·
Hi guys, just got back after a few weeks in Dubai...lovely weather compared to the UK. Just been following up on some of the replies and some hot ones too!! especially from djantlive! Don't know what's got you so hot under the collar my friend but you know what...you speak sense!....Respect! Screw the litigation bull! I can afford to fix the problem, I was simply speaking out on principles. Anyway, cleared the error, drove for a couple of days, did about 40miles no error. However it returned again today, cleared it once more, drove another 10 miles, not returned again. I guess I'll get it soughted in summer when I get some time.
Out of interest though, what do these misfire tubes actually do? I guess djantlive can help here!
 
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