McLaren 720S 'suspension failure' message
Discussion
My 720S, Nov 2017, full dealer history with 12,000 miles on it is repeatedly giving 'suspension failure' messages on start up. I have been advised to make sure the car has 'booted up' and the tachometer has swept the needle up and back before starting the car. I do this religiously but still get the message on most starts. Letting it run for a few minutes, then shutting down and re starting generally cures it. Without the re start I have no nose lift (which I need to leave our road) and obviously no active dynamics panel. Mclaren Manchester are just getting involved in trying to sort this out, the car was with them for 3 days to do the NVH recall and look at the 'suspension failure' msg. Just driven the car home and had the message 3 times today. I suspect it will be going back after the weekend.
I completely 'get' that this car is complicated, but if a complex car throws up a 'fault' the systems need to indicate to the technicians where that fault has originated. That fault then needs to be assesed as genuine, eg a low pressure accumulator or a sensor fault, which would then need replacing. There seem to be a lot of people on here with this fault struggling to get answers. It looks like I am joining those people. Also see other post.
Richard
I completely 'get' that this car is complicated, but if a complex car throws up a 'fault' the systems need to indicate to the technicians where that fault has originated. That fault then needs to be assesed as genuine, eg a low pressure accumulator or a sensor fault, which would then need replacing. There seem to be a lot of people on here with this fault struggling to get answers. It looks like I am joining those people. Also see other post.
Richard
Does it display the fault as soon as you start it? If I park with lift up, then start the car and try to leave while it's still reactivating lift I often get a suspension fault as I drive onto the road. If I don't use lift, or I wait until it's reactivated before moving, I don't. (650)
Whilst annoying it shouldn't be a major issue and one that will get fixed so just chill out and enjoy.
These little things seem part and parcel of supercar ownership these days so don't let it spoil your entire experience eg My Performante fuel filler door wont open and close properly at the moment, basically its not springing out fully which then means I can only just get my finger tip on it to open to fuel up but it then wont close unless I pull the popper out fully manually. Also my now 2nd lambo trickle charger within 12 months has failed again.
Whilst frustrating and a little inconvenient as it means a 100 mile journey to the dealer in 2 weeks I'm not going to let it get me down or slag off and criticise the brand.
I'm looking to get a McLaren 675LT spider at the moment but I do wonder at times if the community I'm looking to join are more demanding or just like a good old moan and the brand has become a massive victimn of its own reputation which has been poorly managed by McLaren.
I've had many issues with numerous Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and Porsche's but they have never been discussed and magnified to such an extent on the internet as McLaren.
Everyone seems to have a friend of a friend down the pub who had his engine and gearbox blow up
whereas my experience with 5 or 6 mates that own them (650S/675LTS/720S ) is bl00dy darn good frankly so I can only speak as i find.
Good luck getting it fixed and once sorted enjoy the car which is an absolute steal for the money. I bet your bottom dollar that if McLarens had Porsches reputation you wouldn't be paying sub £150k for a 720S more like £225k which is where I would see a well sorted car versus the competition out there
These little things seem part and parcel of supercar ownership these days so don't let it spoil your entire experience eg My Performante fuel filler door wont open and close properly at the moment, basically its not springing out fully which then means I can only just get my finger tip on it to open to fuel up but it then wont close unless I pull the popper out fully manually. Also my now 2nd lambo trickle charger within 12 months has failed again.
Whilst frustrating and a little inconvenient as it means a 100 mile journey to the dealer in 2 weeks I'm not going to let it get me down or slag off and criticise the brand.
I'm looking to get a McLaren 675LT spider at the moment but I do wonder at times if the community I'm looking to join are more demanding or just like a good old moan and the brand has become a massive victimn of its own reputation which has been poorly managed by McLaren.
I've had many issues with numerous Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and Porsche's but they have never been discussed and magnified to such an extent on the internet as McLaren.
Everyone seems to have a friend of a friend down the pub who had his engine and gearbox blow up
whereas my experience with 5 or 6 mates that own them (650S/675LTS/720S ) is bl00dy darn good frankly so I can only speak as i find.Good luck getting it fixed and once sorted enjoy the car which is an absolute steal for the money. I bet your bottom dollar that if McLarens had Porsches reputation you wouldn't be paying sub £150k for a 720S more like £225k which is where I would see a well sorted car versus the competition out there
Edited by WilliamWaiver on Saturday 25th July 13:13
Thank you for the information and encouragement. I always leave the car at normal ride height, the fault appears immediately the car starts. If I shut down and re start immediately the fault tends to be still there. If I run it for a few minutes then shut down and restart it generally clears and all is ok. I really do understand that the 720s is amazing value for the performance, and that there will be some problems along the way. Ultimately I'm sure it will get sorted, Mclaren have obviously seen this quite a lot so the diagnostic process (whatever that is) hopefully will lead to rectification eventually. It is actually the other post about the gearbox that is more worrying. I have come to the Mclaren following 14 years with two Nobles, an M12 and an M400. They have been amazing vehicles to have owned, very different to the McLaren obviously. Thanks again guys for any input.
Richard
Richard
Hi Noble
How are you getting on with the car now?
I'm looking at a few of them, just can't get my head around the sort of problems people see coming from porsche ownership. Heart says yes, head says I don't want to be stranded on the M25
Really not trying to kick off a huge discussion on it - just genuinely curious as to if you got sorted or not
How are you getting on with the car now?
I'm looking at a few of them, just can't get my head around the sort of problems people see coming from porsche ownership. Heart says yes, head says I don't want to be stranded on the M25
Really not trying to kick off a huge discussion on it - just genuinely curious as to if you got sorted or not
caminator11 said:
I'm looking at a few of them, just can't get my head around the sort of problems people see coming from porsche ownership. Heart says yes, head says I don't want to be stranded on the M25
Although they have their fair share of niggling problems (at least some cars do) - I think it's pretty rare for them to actually leave you stranded somewhere.davek_964 said:
Although they have their fair share of niggling problems (at least some cars do) - I think it's pretty rare for them to actually leave you stranded somewhere.
Cheers DaveHad a really honest and transparent chat with the service manager on my visit to a dealership today while waiting for a sales person. He's put my mind at ease. After a shot in the demonstrator its clear I'm now in the market for one
I had this frequently when I owned a 720S and the dealer tried everything to stop it occurring. Software updates, a couple of dampers come to mind. It was all futile until they replaced the accumulators and that seemed to fix it.
It is an annoying failure and I can sympathise, because it renders the active dynamic panel redundant until it sorts itself out in its own time. So, whilst I do to a degree subscribe to the fact one needs to be accepting of some issues on these cars, this specific issue is not really one that you can viably live with.
So, if the issue persists then insist they replace the accumulators and see how that goes.
It is an annoying failure and I can sympathise, because it renders the active dynamic panel redundant until it sorts itself out in its own time. So, whilst I do to a degree subscribe to the fact one needs to be accepting of some issues on these cars, this specific issue is not really one that you can viably live with.
So, if the issue persists then insist they replace the accumulators and see how that goes.
NobleSteed said:
My 720S, Nov 2017, full dealer history with 12,000 miles on it is repeatedly giving 'suspension failure' messages on start up. I have been advised to make sure the car has 'booted up' and the tachometer has swept the needle up and back before starting the car. I do this religiously but still get the message on most starts. Letting it run for a few minutes, then shutting down and re starting generally cures it. Without the re start I have no nose lift (which I need to leave our road) and obviously no active dynamics panel. Mclaren Manchester are just getting involved in trying to sort this out, the car was with them for 3 days to do the NVH recall and look at the 'suspension failure' msg. Just driven the car home and had the message 3 times today. I suspect it will be going back after the weekend.
I completely 'get' that this car is complicated, but if a complex car throws up a 'fault' the systems need to indicate to the technicians where that fault has originated. That fault then needs to be assesed as genuine, eg a low pressure accumulator or a sensor fault, which would then need replacing. There seem to be a lot of people on here with this fault struggling to get answers. It looks like I am joining those people. Also see other post.
Richard
Had this a few times on mine, switch on/off and it went away, never bothered getting it looked at, it was also a Nov 17 car.............is yours black,from Redline ?I completely 'get' that this car is complicated, but if a complex car throws up a 'fault' the systems need to indicate to the technicians where that fault has originated. That fault then needs to be assesed as genuine, eg a low pressure accumulator or a sensor fault, which would then need replacing. There seem to be a lot of people on here with this fault struggling to get answers. It looks like I am joining those people. Also see other post.
Richard
No, mine is not from Redline. It is still with McLaren Service at the moment. Fortunately the car has come up with the 'suspension failure' message whilst with them and the data is now with Mclaren at Woking. Just waiting to see what they decide to do. Hopefully they will find a fix.
WilliamWaiver said:
Whilst annoying it shouldn't be a major issue and one that will get fixed so just chill out and enjoy.
These little things seem part and parcel of supercar ownership these days so don't let it spoil your entire experience eg My Performante fuel filler door wont open and close properly at the moment, basically its not springing out fully which then means I can only just get my finger tip on it to open to fuel up but it then wont close unless I pull the popper out fully manually. Also my now 2nd lambo trickle charger within 12 months has failed again.
Whilst frustrating and a little inconvenient as it means a 100 mile journey to the dealer in 2 weeks I'm not going to let it get me down or slag off and criticise the brand.
I'm looking to get a McLaren 675LT spider at the moment but I do wonder at times if the community I'm looking to join are more demanding or just like a good old moan and the brand has become a massive victimn of its own reputation which has been poorly managed by McLaren.
I've had many issues with numerous Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and Porsche's but they have never been discussed and magnified to such an extent on the internet as McLaren.
Everyone seems to have a friend of a friend down the pub who had his engine and gearbox blow up whereas my experience with 5 or 6 mates that own them (650S/675LTS/720S ) is bl00dy darn good frankly so I can only speak as i find.
Good luck getting it fixed and once sorted enjoy the car which is an absolute steal for the money. I bet your bottom dollar that if McLarens had Porsches reputation you wouldn't be paying sub £150k for a 720S more like £225k which is where I would see a well sorted car versus the competition out there
675LT is the most sorted McLaren, F1 excluded.These little things seem part and parcel of supercar ownership these days so don't let it spoil your entire experience eg My Performante fuel filler door wont open and close properly at the moment, basically its not springing out fully which then means I can only just get my finger tip on it to open to fuel up but it then wont close unless I pull the popper out fully manually. Also my now 2nd lambo trickle charger within 12 months has failed again.
Whilst frustrating and a little inconvenient as it means a 100 mile journey to the dealer in 2 weeks I'm not going to let it get me down or slag off and criticise the brand.
I'm looking to get a McLaren 675LT spider at the moment but I do wonder at times if the community I'm looking to join are more demanding or just like a good old moan and the brand has become a massive victimn of its own reputation which has been poorly managed by McLaren.
I've had many issues with numerous Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and Porsche's but they have never been discussed and magnified to such an extent on the internet as McLaren.
Everyone seems to have a friend of a friend down the pub who had his engine and gearbox blow up
whereas my experience with 5 or 6 mates that own them (650S/675LTS/720S ) is bl00dy darn good frankly so I can only speak as i find.Good luck getting it fixed and once sorted enjoy the car which is an absolute steal for the money. I bet your bottom dollar that if McLarens had Porsches reputation you wouldn't be paying sub £150k for a 720S more like £225k which is where I would see a well sorted car versus the competition out there
Edited by WilliamWaiver on Saturday 25th July 13:13
I am informed a lot of the “electronic” niggles are actually software/firmware related. Whereas the 650/675 generation has 3 systems that need to interface (engine management, chassis/gearbox and infotainment), the 720 has 5. This is because the cars are assembled from disparate modules manufactured by separate suppliers. FWIW, my daily driver Tesla has one integrated system that is continually updated/optimized.
12pack said:
I am informed a lot of the “electronic” niggles are actually software/firmware related. Whereas the 650/675 generation has 3 systems that need to interface (engine management, chassis/gearbox and infotainment), the 720 has 5. This is because the cars are assembled from disparate modules manufactured by separate suppliers. FWIW, my daily driver Tesla has one integrated system that is continually updated/optimized.
That will probably explain why the 650/675 dont seem to have anywhere near the problems of the 720S.The other thing I've learnt from my research is to buy a car nearer the end of the production run when its well sorted.
650/675 benefitted from the issues with 12C being sorted
New launch model 720S were a nightmare by the sounds of it as well as early sport series 570S cars.
Get a well sorted used Mclaren and you are laughing as far as I can tell.
2018 720S for 2013 458 money is ridiculous value and a totally different level .
Market perception makes market reality
Sorry this has taken so long to answer but, it is finally sorted. Mclaren Manchester and in particular, Sam (front of house service) and Jamie, who did the actual work, together with McLaren themselves, decided to change all 4 suspension accumulators/spheres. We have been waiting for parts for quite a while (not McLaren Manchester's fault) and finaly the old speres were removed to reveal that they had failed internally and the gas was now mixed in with the hydraulic fluid. So after 6 weeks I have have the car back and the big giveaway which may help others, is that it is completely and I mean COMPLETELY different to drive. In comfort mode I never thought the car was particularly compliant, in fact I thought it was not much differnt to my Noble M400 down some poor roads near where I live. The ride is now exactly as all the road testers rave about with an obvious change in sport mode. The car now 'rides' the road and doesn't 'crash' through it. I had never driven another 720S so had nothing to compare it to, but I really think that comparing a good one to yours if you have a similar problem may be a great help. Thank you to everyone for the comments, encouragement and info. I am now offf to the other topic I posted about the car de-clutching itself for no reason!
Richard
Richard
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