Murcielago....really...how unreliable is the Pre LP Egear?

Longtime lurker, first time poster....

 

I have done plenty of searching and while I have seen various threads of issues with Egear issues on Pre LP cars......in the grand scheme of things, how problematic are they? People don't generally post about the transmission unless there is an issue. I already have a gated Gallardo and am looking to add a Pre Lp roadster to the stable, I just don't want to get something that is plagued with transmission issues. Has anyone put a significant number of miles on a PreLp without needing major servicing? Thank you for your time

Welcome on board.

 

I think we need to narrow down on how you define "problematic" first.

 

If you are referring to break downs, then I would say e-gear is actually very reliable. There are seldom any report on break downs that caused someone to be stranded on the road or parts falling off/fluids draining out. Keep in mind that the Murci series are very sensitive to battery voltage and it's often the battery that's causing the e-gear to have problems; not the e-gear mechanism itself. I have seldom heard of failures let alone complete malfunction or major component replacements.

 

Now, if you are referring to performance, then early e-gear is 50/50 at best. The early ones shift slowly, jerkily and idiosyncratically. The "feel" can never come close to an actual manual transmission. And aside from the ease of simply pulling the right or left paddles, there simply is no comparison on the physical engagement from a manual car. And never mind the fancy clutch work on modulating the car since there isn't a 3rd pedal at all.

If you have a fear of the early egear, I would suggest getting an early gated car. I have zero experience with the Murcie, but I drove an '04 G egear extensively and would never buy an early G without a manual. Turned me off so much I bought a RuF Porsche Rturbo. Personally, an early car I would buy manual only. LP is a different story.

Welcome on board.

 

I think we need to narrow down on how you define "problematic" first.

 

If you are referring to break downs, then I would say e-gear is actually very reliable. There are seldom any report on break downs that caused someone to be stranded on the road or parts falling off/fluids draining out. Keep in mind that the Murci series are very sensitive to battery voltage and it's often the battery that's causing the e-gear to have problems; not the e-gear mechanism itself. I have seldom heard of failures let alone complete malfunction or major component replacements.

 

Now, if you are referring to performance, then early e-gear is 50/50 at best. The early ones shift slowly, jerkily and idiosyncratically. The "feel" can never come close to an actual manual transmission. And aside from the ease of simply pulling the right or left paddles, there simply is no comparison on the physical engagement from a manual car. And never mind the fancy clutch work on modulating the car since there isn't a 3rd pedal at all.

 

 

Not sure how many people on here have owned 2 egear Murcielagos, but I have. 06 Roadster and 09 LP640 Roadster, and honestly VCR is on point on his top half, I collectively now have 15,000 miles on Egear, and not 1 problem. Save it needing a clutch replacement on my first one, but it was not failure, more like a design issue that these clutches (stick or egear) only last about 12-15k if you drive them aggressively.

 

As far as speed/clunkiness of egear, I am not sure what car VCR is referencing but my 06 was pretty spot on, and it definitely shifts FASTER then a human, and never makes a mistake (so no grinded syncros, no engine over-revs, etc). But with that said, the part about no ability to modulate is sooooo true, I hate that the computer doesnt have the 'human' approach to managing the clutch, it simply uses a mathmatical table for when it engages an unengages the clutch, (this is only an issue at very low speeds, like parking and reversing). So I'd say Egears man issue is taking off and parking if we are going to bitch about it. On the highway, forget about it, it shifts so hard, and so fast, it will beat a stick counter part Murcielago. But that doesn't mean I like egear more, I havent driven a stick murci unfortunately, so I can't compare, I think it would be more fun to own a stick version, but it wont be faster, egear for straight line is faster, and on track if you are switching gears rapidly.

 

Thats my 2 cents, and btw, the 06 egear vs 09 egear is NOT hugely different as some have lead people to believe. My 09 marginally does take offs better, all else is the same.

 

Thanks!

 

Jon

Quite sure the e-gear Murci that I drove was in 2005 but the car was an early designated-MY2006 car.

The OP specified on pre-LP model which was what that car was. Nothing malfunctioned, just that the shifts felt slow, clunky and jerky as compared to similar technology available from other brands such as Ferrari. I wasn't comparing it to manual, i.e. shifting actuated by hand on shifter and foot on clutch pedal. While it executed the shifts without error as in no grinding, no stalling, no over-revving, it also paled by comparison to what Ferrari had to offer. The dancing donkey cars' algorithm was superior and made the shift and modulation less "robotic". I currently have a 670-4SV and its e-gear is quite a bit superior than the first e-gear Murci that I had driven. But that ought to be so. Hardware-wise, both are likely very similar; it's the algorithm/software that made the differences. The OP can draw his own conclusions on what has been depicted. But overall, I would say e-gear is more reliable than most would have you believe.

Honestly, never really saw a "reliability" issue with it at all. The early Gallardo product had some issues with the clutch package and PIS adjustments, but when it hit the 12 cylinder cars, it was pretty rock steady.

 

As for performance, it is pretty spot on too. I think the major issue with it was low speed drivability. It isn't the most friendly in parking lots and traffic. It will never be able to replicate the finesse that you can provide in a 3 pedal car with your left leg modulating the clutch pedal. When you talk about ripping the car performance wise, it is bad to the bone.

 

I think the only thing I have really seen as an issue, albeit a rare one, was with the e gear pump. I think Sprite had that problem with his SV as well. It isn't cheap to fix. THat said, he got his fixed and I don't think he has had a problem since.

 

 

I had an 04 egear murcie and I thought the shifts were slow as molasses. I also had the potentiometer go out randomly. That's a $150 part that requires an engine out to replace. After that I swore off egear murcielagos.

I've had two Murcielagos, one stick and one egear. The stick was fun. The egear wasn't great compared to post-LP iterations but it was tolerable. Slow speeds, backing up, hills, these are all the nemesis of the early egear.

I have owned 2 E-Gear LP640s and 2 Stick LP640s. I have also driven a couple hundred Murcielagos for reference.

 

E-Gear is not unreliable. There are extra parts that are subject to breaking but very few go without warning (symptoms). Unfortunately most parts are expensive and require 30-40 hours of labor to address due to the transmission location.

 

I have put about 50k miles on Murcielagos and a similar number on Gallardos and while I consider a stick LP640 to be the best car ever produced, I do not mind the E-Gears at all.

 

For driving hard on highways and technical roads the transmission is flawless. For driving slowly in tight and confined spaces it is absolutely terrible. You learn to live with it and the rest of the car is plenty cool to make up for it.

 

Good luck!

Thank you all for the input, I truly appreciate it! I think I was more concerned with the egear sensor needing "engine out service". For as few miles as I would put on it, the responses are reassuring

Quite sure the e-gear Murci that I drove was in 2005 but the car was an early designated-MY2006 car.

The OP specified on pre-LP model which was what that car was. Nothing malfunctioned, just that the shifts felt slow, clunky and jerky as compared to similar technology available from other brands such as Ferrari. I wasn't comparing it to manual, i.e. shifting actuated by hand on shifter and foot on clutch pedal. While it executed the shifts without error as in no grinding, no stalling, no over-revving, it also paled by comparison to what Ferrari had to offer. The dancing donkey cars' algorithm was superior and made the shift and modulation less "robotic". I currently have a 670-4SV and its e-gear is quite a bit superior than the first e-gear Murci that I had driven. But that ought to be so. Hardware-wise, both are likely very similar; it's the algorithm/software that made the differences. The OP can draw his own conclusions on what has been depicted. But overall, I would say e-gear is more reliable than most would have you believe.

 

 

Just wanted to clarify, an 06 in america, is still a pre-lp car. I get rest of world 2006 is an lp640, in the USA, its a regular Murci. So I have driven both, and are sharing that experience.

 

 

1st Gen egears may be generally reliable, but those cars are getting up in years now, so they are more likely to have a failure due to age.

 

The problem is the cost if you are unlucky to have a problem and you have to pay dealer prices. It gets very expensive because of the cost of parts, and the whole engine has to come out.

 

And that egear failure may happen shortly after you already paid to have the engine pulled to replace the clutch, which would stink.