[Freakuk]

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone has experienced this and if anyone has managed to have the repairs done FOC.

Basically my Panigale (I'm not going to go into too much detail just in case dealers are reading) was registered in March 2013 and in April 2015 the engine has let go.

The bike has covered a little over 5000 miles, had 3 services and the last one a few months ago, the engine issue is a major oil and coolant leak somewhere in the motor and my dealer has stripped it and found no issue, however they have said they've seen the very same issue before and it the fix was to replace the engine cases!!!

So sure enough it needs new cases, through some conversations these are being supplied FOC but I'm being asked to cover the labour charge... estimated at just over $3000.

Now it also came to light that the extended warranty has been withdrawn and I couldn't purchase this so I'm left with a lemon down to under 5 weeks out of warranty, I've contacted Italy (today) but so far nothing.

Has anyone had the same out there, specifically out of warranty and was it covered by your respective country i.e. Ducati NA and if so could you contact me as I could do with the evidence to present back here.

Thanks

 

[Tuned]

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry for your issues.

Ducati should be able to warranty this problem. If you are in the US, I'd contact Ducati North America, they have people on staff there who deal with these problems every day. They need to approve the service before anything can be done with your dealer.

Also, what do you mean by the extended warranty has been "withdrawn"?

 

[Freakuk]

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry for your issues.

Ducati should be able to warranty this problem. If you are in the US, I'd contact Ducati North America, they have people on staff there who deal with these problems every day. They need to approve the service before anything can be done with your dealer.

Also, what do you mean by the extended warranty has been "withdrawn"?

I'm in the UK and speaking to Ducati UK directly, but so far no joy with the labour...

And yes from what my dealer has told me Ducati no longer offer an extended 3rd warranty, certainly in the UK/Europe so if I'd have known this I possibly would have moved the bike on and bought a 1299 for peace of mind.

 

[Tuned]

The extended warranties here in the US are through aftermarket companies, not Ducati. I assume you could have done the same thing in the UK. They have a deductible, but they cover the same stuff as the OEM warranty. I never knew Ducati had a one year extended warranty program.

 

[W17]

I don't understand why they are replacing the cases if they can find no issue .
Sounds like the O rings that seal the sleeves failed ?

 

[Proctologist]

I would put up a bit of an argument, especially if your up on scheduled service and maintenance.

The $3000 price tag of labor seems aggressive. I'd try to work with the Ducati representative as best as possible.

Hopefully something can be worked out .. any details you can provide us on the engine failure would be greatly appreciated.

Best of luck to you

 

[spoonz]

I think the implication is that the cases are porous which will not easily be visible as a failure once stripped.

Not Panigale specific but I have heard of a few Ducati cases having porous issues since they went to the newer casting method that allowed for thinner walls.

 

[Freakuk]

I would put up a bit of an argument, especially if your up on scheduled service and maintenance.

The $3000 price tag of labor seems aggressive. I'd try to work with the Ducati representative as best as possible.

Hopefully something can be worked out .. any details you can provide us on the engine failure would be greatly appreciated.

Best of luck to you

Basically I was riding down one of my local road, probably 30 miles into my journey and the dash started flashing up that the engine temp was high, seconds later it would return to a normal reading, then flash high again and so on.

There was no noise or vibration so continued for a few miles believing the issue was down to a faulty thermostat, I needed fuel so pulled up into the service area and lots of fluid was dripping under the bike near the front, it was green but oily... a mix of the two.. We stripped the bike by the roadside but could trace the issue so got it recovered.

My dealer has seen a few do the same, they've swapped all seals but the problem persists, so they've stripped the motor and cannot see anything obvious so opted for cases based upon previous experience.

 

[Tuned]

I don't understand why they are replacing the cases if they can find no issue .
Sounds like the O rings that seal the sleeves failed ?

That was my thought and honestly I don't know what else it could be unless the cases themselves have twisted somehow.

 

[Freakuk]

They're previously replaced seals on other engines and that hasn't fixed the problem... they believe it's fractures in the casings but nothing that they can see with the naked eye.

However what I need to know is if anyone else has experienced the same and how it was dealt with to hopefully assist with my potential bill..

 

[Zootcadillac]

The person you need to be talking to at Ducati UK is Tony Cowley. Although that won't necessarily help you he is the person that would have to deal with this ultimately. It could be that you are already talking to him as there are not that many people in the office. But to be sure make sure that your correspondence is with him.

Now for the bad news. Extended warranties, even when they used to be offered by Ducati, are with 3rd party insurers ( even Ducati Insurance are a third party company with no physical business ties to Ducati Motor Holding. They simply have exclusive rights to use the brand name ). If you wanted it you ought to have bought it at the time of purchase and you could have gone to many different places.
So the sad truth is you are out of warranty and nobody has an obligation to fix it F.O.C.

Something I have covered before is that Ducati do not sell motorcycles to the public. They sell product to independent authorised dealers. Your contract is with your dealer and he has no obligation to fix anything out of warranty. Ducati don't like to get involved with customer issues directly. Even if your bike was in warranty then the dealer would have to fix it and recover costs from Ducati, you would not be party to that process, that's between Ducati and the dealership.

What you do have going for you here is the fact that they are prepared to change the parts for free and have suggested that there is a known fault. Now if they are able to change the parts for a fault which is none of your doing and you could not have prevented then surely you should not be liable for the labour also?
Find out if anyone else has had this problem, in or out of warranty. Get in touch with as many as you can and get their experience. Cite those stories to both your dealer and Ducati. You have to prove that the bike was not fit for purpose and has failed within an unreasonable time. Having evidence of this in other bikes will strengthen your case. But you may have to go the legal route and be prepared to pay for the repair then try to get your costs back in court. As I said, out of warranty is out of warranty. Start recording your conversations with the dealer and get them to reference the case issue. Don't worry about UK dealers reading here. I know many of the dealers personally, I know all the staff at Ducati UK. They don't come here.*
If you can get either of them to admit that this is an unreasonable failure, and why should it not be or you would be asked to pay for the whole job, then you have a chance at getting it done F.O.C.
But don't take my advice as gospel, speak to either, or both the local trading standards office and your CAB for advice on how to proceed. Alienating the dealer or Ducati at this point will only make things more difficult and protracted.




* too often