Is Aston Simply a POS??

Astonnut said:

Bear in mind you are comparing an 05 early production car (early cars will always have more "issues") with an 09 Maser!
Don't let the odd emission warning quirk undermine your confidence, the new Gaydon Aston range have proved to be very robust with few major problems, they do have the odd quirk, but let's call it personality rather than faults, although I appreciate it undermines your initial confidence - the newer the car generally the less quirks!

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Hi, Astonnut. I'm only comparing to my '09 Maserati because that's what I have comparable at the moment. I could compare it to the '06 Quattroporte that I had which had no issues until I got rid of it at 67,000 miles. Better yet.... perhaps I should've compared it to my '05 612 Scaglietti whith 18,000 miles on it; the Aston 13,000 miles. On the Scaglietti I've had to replace a power steering hose clamp for a small leak that the original clamp wouldn't seal.

I'm all for cars being described as having character.... soul. I prefer speaking of them in that manner as well. however, I think this Aston has a little too much "character" too soon

In addition to the fuel level sensor errors (which are being repaired Tuesday btw), the car is now displaying more of it's personality. I've narrowed the issue down to this exact pattern:

1. Open the driver's door, then close it (without locking). Count for 30 seconds (or wait for the start engine button illumination to dim)
2. Open the driver's door.

The door locks are now continuously trying to lock the doors, but can't because of the open door. Close the door and the attempts to lock stop.

1. Immediately open the door again (before the illumination dims), and it doesn't happen.
2. Close the door and wait 30 minutes to reopen; it doesn't happen.
3. Close the door, wait for the illumination to dim (or 30 seconds), but still use the "unlock" button on the remote.... it doesn't happen.
4. Close the door, lock the car, unlock, open and it doesn't happen.

Obviously there's some bug in a software routine that needs tweaking considering the timing and conditions necessary for it to happen. The dealer is addressing this on Tuesday as well.

After these issues are repaired, I'm giving the car some more time. I love the style, sound, and craftsmanship. Hand-builts amaze me, and I feel that automobiles that are hand made are done so by folks with more automotive passion. I'm just agitated, I suppose, because this is my first Aston and the car has such low-mileage for this many issues IMO.

But hey.... if you see my first post ever.... knowing nothing af Aston quality IS the reason I decided to buy at this price.

--Nick

Vulcan said:

However, due to the canbus electrical systems, a fault such as yours could be down to a bad connection in a completely different system such as the ABS for example.

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This is what I'm afraid of. The previous owner purchased the car and had it serviced at the dealership where I purchased it from. I'm sure the dealer would never tell, but I'm wondering if this is an issue that they were never able to pinpoint due to the canbus system. I hope not.

I've figured the pattern necessary for the fuel level fault.

1. Fill the tank until the pump stops. Fuel indicator stops 1/8th shy of full.
2. Drive the car approximately 10-15 miles (yes, it's that exact).

Fuel level indicator will drop to "E" and range indicator will specify "---"

3. Another 10-15 miles and the indicator will rise back to 1/8th shy of full.

From this point the indicator works normally with the "chance" that the check engine will illuminate stating "emissions systems service required".

It's almost as if the tank gets filled beyond the sensors capability to register, causes a sensor fault (needle drops), and once the fuel actually reaches the level of 1/8th below full... the sensor recognizes normality and functions properly until the next fill up. I've tested this by leaving the switched power on while fueling.... stopping as soon as the indicator reaches 7/8ths of a tank. In this case I didn't have the indicator malfunction.

My issue with this is I don't know if the fuel gauge is accurate once it recovers from the error.

Nick

New developments.

Right taillight:




Right brake light:

Update:

Everything is working now "except" the fuel gauge. I'm still having the same problems despite the fact the dealer replaced the fuel sending unit. All of the studying I've done on the error code since getting the car back, it seems that just as Vulcan mentioned, tons of Ford owners have this problem. The REAL problem is that there seems to be no solution. Some threads I've read even state that Ford has simply stated to not overfill the tank. Well, the problem with that is filling until the pump stops is usually a little overfilled in relation to the actual float stopping point.

The following thread that I found on a Ford forum seems to be exactly as I'd theorized:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3051140&postcount=10

I'm not liking this The dealer had my car for 4 weeks!

--Nick

That's NOTHING!

"Now I have a check engine warning stating "emissions systems service required"!

Wth???!!! And what next???? What sucks is I'm currently 400miles from home. We head back tomorrow and I just hope this isn't something major as in a clogged converter or something. That would leave us stranded on the highway I'm sure."

Welcome to the world of Aston Martin ownership! In October of 2013, I purchased a 2007 DB9 Volante with 18,500 miles on it. It was the same . . I've owned a couple of BMWs and a 911 C4S and never even considered AM but thought, what the heck?

- Faulty passenger's side airbag sensor
- Faulty back-up/parking sensors
- A leaking engine-oil gasket (requiring two long-term stays at the dealership)
- A leaking transmission fluid line
- Water saturated the boot-well when it rained
- Passenger-side tail-light assembly blew out
- Emissions Service warning light came on (accompanied by a terrible rattling from underneath the car - possibly a catalytic converter?) that magically corrected itself
- Faulty passenger-side window seal that caused an infuriating whistle at above 40 MPH
- Stability Control System warning light came one but ALSO magically corrected itself
- Rear brake pads were almost completely worn out
PS - My fuel gauge almost never shows totally 'full,' unless I stand at the fuel pump and force in an extra half-gallon or so (with the fuel nozzle's trigger annoyingly popping 'off' ever few clicks).

In addition, there's just a general sense of poor build quality. The car's suspension is so awfully sorted that I wonder whether the engineers were just playing a joke to see what they could get away with? The shocks slam over minor bumps and small road imperfections (transmitting the impact into the cabin, causing the doors and dashboard to rattle) but simultaneously bounce and float over larger bumps and undulations like a 1970 Cadillac. The brakes are mushy and the steering rack (while precise and communicative - probably the car's best feature) sends cheap feeling shutters up though the wheel whenever the car encounters mid-corner bumps.

I understand the frustration. I filed a Lemon Law suit against the dealership and intended to take the money and buy another Porsche, but I'm finally getting the car sorted out and it's been running well lately so I've decided to roll the dice and keep it.