RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (Full Version)

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RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had?

  

sowaxeman -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (12/12/2007 3:08:16 PM)

My wheel shimmy issue has to be flat spotting...its NOT a balance issue as I have taken my front wheels to both a tire shop AND the dealer and neither found them to be out of ballance.  Back on the road, I had to endure the shimmy for about 50-100 miles before it went away....thus my deductive reasoning tells me it has to be flat spotting (at least in my case).

  
dheller1 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (12/13/2007 6:00:31 PM)

2006 S281SC 5K miles in serivce since July 07
 
1) Front brakes squeaking badly, feels like front rotors are warped also
 
2) Tires feel out of balance at high speed nibble and shake at driver interface
 
3) Right side dash squeak, gauge pod squeak and rattle 
 
4) Coating inside of chrome rims coming off can see chrome in spots, comes off like loose paint in spots. 
 
5) Fake Chrome is worn off fender emblems and starting to look poor after 4 months in service
 
6) Need to have windshield banner and serial # replaced 
 
7) Rear ground effects plastic mounts melted do to exhaust too close to rear body kit, exhaust clunking when going over bumps, need to have exhaust adjusted and rear ground effects replaced
 
8) Third brake light lens has turned faded pink is no longer red needs to be replaced
 
9) Front ground effects metal screen mesh paint coming off, mesh is beginning to break off at bend points, left side is worse the right
 
10) Composite hood line off on left side of car, too high at mid point

It has been sitting at the dealer about 2 months waiting on parts and doing the run around game.....

abbas -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (12/13/2007 6:45:50 PM)

Front brake squeak is driving me nuts.

I also have a goofy problem with SC Temp gauge. The first time I turn on the car in the morning, I could drive the car all day and the temp gauge will not move (as long as I dont turn off the car). Once I turn it off and back on, then it acts normal. Don't know where the problem stems from.

AL_TOON -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (12/18/2007 8:42:35 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: abbas

Front brake squeak is driving me nuts.

I also have a goofy problem with SC Temp gauge. The first time I turn on the car in the morning, I could drive the car all day and the temp gauge will not move (as long as I dont turn off the car). Once I turn it off and back on, then it acts normal. Don't know where the problem stems from.



nothing really.

I have a 2006 saleen extreme 36. coupe.

I now have 3000 miles on it.

I get an odd viberation from the rear once a while. not sure if the exhaust is bumping the rear.

I have the E sluggish sometimes in 2nd and 3rd gear. I need to get it re-flashed.




but all those problems are pretty minor car problems! you guys need to drive an italian and then get back to me

I was in my m3 last week....thinking...wow I am getting great gas miliage.....put put put.....pfft.. no power is there..... i have no idea what happened...... i tow the car. to the dealership....the fuel censor went out.... this caused the fuel pump to die too.. stupid **** costs me $1400 to fix.


dotbomb -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (12/19/2007 7:54:45 AM)

I have had almost all that and the following to add

- No engine bay plaque
- Chrome rim peeling

Both issues were fixed along with some of the others listed here I was afflicted with.

redpony07 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (1/18/2008 1:52:15 PM)

Hey guys

spoke with Craig aka torquejunky(sp) we had talked about the shimmy issue. My car has the pzeros craig had suggested raising the pressure to right at 36psi. Having raced a great deal I thought that if these tires are flat spotting dues to pressure fluctuation or lack of use that nitrogen may be tha way to go. Guess what I just happened to have in the ol race trailer....big ol cylinder of nitrogen 36 psi all the way around and walaaaaa no shimmy please feel free if your a stang owner with this prob to get in touch with me I have enough to do a couple more cars,if your in the Dallas area

MikeRokkit -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (1/18/2008 5:29:39 PM)

We fill high-performance aircraft tires with nitrogen.  The nitrogen dissipates heat much more efficiently than air, and there's less pressure loss in tires filled with nitrogen.  Longer tread wear, less moisture in the tire... it's good stuff.  But beware of stations charging up to $5/tire for nitrogen.

06Saleen3V -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (1/18/2008 5:50:56 PM)

To all those with the pink third tail light....why not just paint it black [:)]

elburrito99 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (1/29/2008 2:24:16 PM)

Just thought I'd follow up on having this moved up to be a sticky.  There is some good info here and we seem to have more folks stopping by this forum who are looking at used Saleens. 

You beat me to it [;)]  As soon as I saw it come back to the front page I was thinking "humm, I was supposed sticky this".....here you go [:D]

S281 457 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (2/26/2008 12:36:19 PM)

Mmm, I've got an 05.
So far I've had the HeadRests replaced ($400 paid via warranty) and got the 'rattle' in the back. It seems from what I've read, that its the exhaust, but hate to by-pass those valves as they're supposed to force the exhaust thru resonators for low-end torque.

The shimmy was solved by dumping those chrome rims... bah.  Got something lighter for better unsprung weight.

sowaxeman -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (2/26/2008 2:38:03 PM)

Resonators - what resonators?  The exhaust exits out the center tips full time, and out of the turn-down tips only when the throttle is pressed enough to actuate the valves.  No resonators back there.

I suggest you just bypass the valves....exhaust rattle will be solved.  You cannot convince me that those valves will have any impact on torque or hp...if they did then Saleen would have found a way to fix them/design them better rather than nix'ing them on the 2006+ models.  All they do is block off the "turn-down" tips which tames the exhaust note under idle and normal driving.  Bypass the valves, and they are open full time, no rattle, and the exhaust note is improved dramatically at idle & cruising speeds.

See my stickied post about this fix for the easy how to.  Its a matter of minutes to fix it....that or you can attempt to file a warranty claim and deal with all that hassle to get a replacement system that doesn't have the valves [&:]

127shtry127 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (3/1/2008 10:14:34 AM)

.

127shtry127 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (3/1/2008 10:22:43 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: AmyVCTexas


* Passenger side airbag light/sensor doesn't work properly. This is a biggie as it has the potential to kill someone.




Given the seriousness of this issue (has the potential to kill someone) has anybody filed a complaint here :  http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm  ?

Clearly with the number of people that mention the issue on this forum it isn't a one-off problem.  I also suspect that the dealers have fed back the complaints to Saleen and from the sounds of it nothing has been done for the consumer.  Why not file a claim through NHTSA-that is what they are there for.  We pay for the policing service through taxes so you might as well get your monies worth and make your car safe at the same time.  Can't imagine ever buying a car where I had the airbag light flickering while driving.  My first thought would be "this car has been in an accident and the restraint system is botched up".

redpony07 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (3/2/2008 4:43:24 PM)

Ok I have a new one!!

Heading to work Thursday morning make a turn and hear a thump kinda like when you run over an aluminum can. I think no biggie just didn't see it and then I try(yes try) to turn into my parking space good thing I am a personal trainer cause it doesn't want to turn!! WTF!

Got parked and popped the hood ....you guessed it shucked the belt so I look out in the street and yep there it is. Pick it up take it in and look at it, looks like it was cut hard to diagnos. Fast forward to the dealership and the fiasco starts( not with the dealership ) the wrench working on my car comes out to get me and says he wants me to take a look at something. We get back to the car and he grabs his flashlight and shines it down on the drivers side idler pulley...WTF! its grooved,.... not supposed to be.

My service writer Craig Ellis who by the way has been great through the whole situation, calls George Lopez Saleen's Cust Service rep( yep thats what I thought) and asks what the deal is according to Craig, George tells him thats the way its supposed to be and thats the right pulley. Well Craig doesn't argue, but being the bright kid he is pulls up the schematic(sp) for the blower kit from Saleen and gets the part number from the Saleen kit...guess what its a guide pulley NO grooves just two raised edges. Then he goes on to order the pulley on his own credit card just so I can get back on the road.

Well hopefully tomorrow I get the car back and sometime in the not too distant future the warranty claim will be paid.

My point is how many of our cars have this problem and will we all get the crappy answer if we try to get it changed.

any suggestions?

S281 457 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (3/3/2008 6:49:44 AM)

Ferrari uses this technology to 'shutdown' the rear resonators under load. This increases the low-end torque.
Since we ONLY have these rear mufflers, it'd seem a straight-thru system... illegal in VA, who has to know !

Are you saying the opposite is true, the valves just turn down the volume at speed / idle ?

Also, in doing this fix, I assume you do NOT have to plug the line going back to the mufflers, just the vacuum to the front ?

Thanks again !

S281 457 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (3/5/2008 11:50:31 AM)

Mmm, I'll just assume the muffler side piping can be left un-plugged...

sowaxeman -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (3/5/2008 2:04:39 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: 127shtry127

quote:

ORIGINAL: AmyVCTexas


* Passenger side airbag light/sensor doesn't work properly. This is a biggie as it has the potential to kill someone.




Given the seriousness of this issue (has the potential to kill someone) has anybody filed a complaint here :  http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm  ?

Clearly with the number of people that mention the issue on this forum it isn't a one-off problem.  I also suspect that the dealers have fed back the complaints to Saleen and from the sounds of it nothing has been done for the consumer.  Why not file a claim through NHTSA-that is what they are there for.  We pay for the policing service through taxes so you might as well get your monies worth and make your car safe at the same time.  Can't imagine ever buying a car where I had the airbag light flickering while driving.  My first thought would be "this car has been in an accident and the restraint system is botched up".


This is a FORD issue, NOT a Saleen issue.  In fact, Ford just issued a major recall on all the 2005-2008 mustangs for the Passenger Side airbag.  Check with your closest Ford dealer for info.

sowaxeman -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (3/5/2008 2:06:51 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: S281 457

Mmm, I'll just assume the muffler side piping can be left un-plugged...


As soon as you cut the line, the valves will open up.  Plug the tube that leads back up to the front of the car.  Plug the other if you wish, but it shouldn't matter.  You want those valves open.  This exhaust system is nothing like a Ferrari [;)]  If you look up at the valves you will see they are AFTER the mufflers, and only close of the turn-down tips...which are the major source of that muscular exhaust note [:)]

127shtry127 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (3/6/2008 1:53:36 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: sowaxeman

quote:

ORIGINAL: 127shtry127

quote:

ORIGINAL: AmyVCTexas


* Passenger side airbag light/sensor doesn't work properly. This is a biggie as it has the potential to kill someone.




Given the seriousness of this issue (has the potential to kill someone) has anybody filed a complaint here :  http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm  ?

Clearly with the number of people that mention the issue on this forum it isn't a one-off problem.  I also suspect that the dealers have fed back the complaints to Saleen and from the sounds of it nothing has been done for the consumer.  Why not file a claim through NHTSA-that is what they are there for.  We pay for the policing service through taxes so you might as well get your monies worth and make your car safe at the same time.  Can't imagine ever buying a car where I had the airbag light flickering while driving.  My first thought would be "this car has been in an accident and the restraint system is botched up".


This is a FORD issue, NOT a Saleen issue.  In fact, Ford just issued a major recall on all the 2005-2008 mustangs for the Passenger Side airbag.  Check with your closest Ford dealer for info.


WRONG!  The Ford issue has to due with how much force the PAB has when it deploys.  The Saleen issue has to due with the new higher density foam and changing the cover from cloth to leather-the sensor meant to detect 53lbs of weight does not get recalibrated to accomodate for the new amount of resistance in the seat before the the sensor detects weight.  Roush had the same recall back in 2005-just look up the NHTSA recall document and you will understand.  Trust me, if those who have had the issue filled out the NHTSA complaint you'd see a totally seperate recall.  It's just a metter of time before Saleen is forced to take responsibility-I assure you they know it's a problem based on people here that have complained but they've chosen to try sweeping it under the rug case by case since they probably can't afford a recall.  In my opinion this tarnishes their credibility.  At least Roush stood up and took responsibility.

ScreaminS281 -> RE: 05-07 Saleen S281. What problems have you had? (3/6/2008 5:06:41 AM)

I rubbed the chrome off of the s281 fender badges with meguiars extreme shine.  I was trying to make the black look better because someone at the dealership got wax on them and it had turned white. I was going to just buy some new ones but after checking, those little suckers are $50+. Also my third brake light is pink. I'll probably just buy a new one and clear coat it before installing it.  My passenger side airbag light goes off and on when someone is in the passenger seat including me and I'm 215 pounds. I had to replace the windshield banner because it had acid rain spots from sitting on the car lot for a year and a half. Other than that, I love the car.  It turns heads like you would not believe!!

  

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