Fanatec McLaren GT3 wheel buttons randomly stop working

[Warfalcon]

Just curious if anyone else has this issue? I know some do that I ran into on other forums. I RMA'ed mine and the new one sent is doing it as well. I have tried 310, 311 and 312 beta and still have the problem.

If you have yours on a wheel base that is not a Fanatec base do you ever have this problem?

I have a CSW v2.5 base. I have two other wheels from Fanatec that I have zero issues with. This is something with the firmware I believe. It will eventually start working again just randomly. I do not have to exit the sim or restart hardware.

Someone else I spoke w/ also RMA'ed and got a replacement that was also doing it so that is why I think this is a firmware issue.

 

[BP]

I'm on my 2nd McLaren GT3 Rim. The first one right out of the box had an issue: rotating the FunkySwitch didn't work properly. If I rotate clockwise only, it would go LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT. Same thing if I rotate anti-clockwise.

Contacted Fanatec and they wanted to RMA...I said no, because I had previously owned the BMW GT2 rim and that had a screen issue and I was getting tired of sending wheels back to them. They offered to send me a replacement FunkySwitch instead so I agreed. FunkySwitch arrives, I install it and...same issue.

Contact Fanatec again and they say it's probably a Main board issue, so they could either send me the replacement board or I could RMA the wheel for a replacement. Decided to replace the whole wheel. Received wheel #2 yesterday and all was working well...until a few minutes ago. This time the shifter is missing downshifts. At first I thought it was me, but I parked the car and checked it out...it started with one missed shift, but later on it was missing 4 to 8 shifts in a row! I exited the game and checked the Fanatec control panel (In Windows)...the shifter is indeed malfunctioning as the dots that indicate a button was clicked would randomly not light up (it eventually started working better but now I'm worried It'll do it again).

Both rims are/were on v311 and I'm using a CSW v2.5 as well. I also have a Porsche 918 rim that works perfectly.

I really love the feel of this wheel but man...these quality control issues are getting to me (not to mention I had to wait 6 months on my pre-order to get it). I almost wish I had kept the first rim as that one didn't have the shifting issue

 

[White Hawk]

This doesn’t look good, I had my rim for a couple of weeks and while time trailing in F1 2018 it wasn’t upshifting all the time, went into driver and it was doing it there, so currently it’s on its way back to them, got a feeling I’ll be getting a refund eventually as I don’t think this rim has the best quality control, my universal hub has been fine for years. I got the metal quick release for this too, hope there’s no issue with getting a refund or exchange for a different rim, might have to wait it out till the podium F1 rim comes out.

 

[ricerracer]

You guys using the fanatec hubs or osw?

 

[White Hawk]

You guys using the fanatec hubs or osw?

Fanatec CSW 2.0 here, in my case it was a hardware fault, the way it was behaving and no other buttons were doing it including the down shift it was obvious, but I think this rim is having both driver/firmware and hardware issues.

 

[DomB_Fanatec]

Hi guys, I'm just popping in here to say your feedback has been noted and we'd like to assure you that we're actively working on an investigation into these issues.

 

[BP]

Hi guys, I'm just popping in here to say your feedback has been noted and we'd like to assure you that we're actively working on an investigation into these issues.

I’m really glad to see you’re also patrolling forums for customer grievances other than the Fanatec blog. Looking forward to getting this resolved soon, but all signs point to hardware failure.

 

[anton_Chez]

Anyone with a McLaren rim that is using another wheel base will need to have it updated to the latest firmware via Fanatec customer service or another user that has a Fanatec wheel base. I use mine on my OSW conversion hub and I had problems with it. After I've received it back from Fanatec, I've never once thought about it. It works perfectly. Clutch paddles used to drop out and never come back, shifting was a little unreliable also. Now, perfect. I guess even if you are using a Fanatec wheel base and you haven't updated the firmware on the rim, I would recommend to do so. It may exhibit the same problems mine had.

 

[BP]

Had to air my grievances:

https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/dear-fanatec-why-did-you-treat-me-this-way.159460/

 

[Jason Davis]

Shift issues here to.
With the ClubSport Wheel Base V2.5 and the elite P1 wheel i got double downshifts, moving to intermittent downshift to none at all.
Fanatec RMA'd it, but in the mean time i got a Mclaren GT3 wheel. After 2 days of working fine that to started double downshifting and intermittently missing up and downshift.
So appears its not a wheel specific issue.
Im at a loss and a bit miffed.

 

[DomB_Fanatec]

Shift issues here to.
With the ClubSport Wheel Base V2.5 and the elite P1 wheel i got double downshifts, moving to intermittent downshift to none at all.
Fanatec RMA'd it, but in the mean time i got a Mclaren GT3 wheel. After 2 days of working fine that to started double downshifting and intermittently missing up and downshift.
So appears its not a wheel specific issue.
Im at a loss and a bit miffed.

I'm sorry to hear that Jason. It is possible that it is related to the base, and it is also possible that the shift issues you got with the Elite P1 are completely unrelated to the ones on the McLaren wheel. In any case, our support team will help you out.

 

[Jason Davis]

Thanks DomB, Ill update them with my problem.
Being the problems are so similer id be suprised if they are unrelated - however, i guess its not impossible!

 

[anton_Chez]

I'm having trouble with the BMW rim button box. I've contacted support and sent the videos in. Just waiting to see what happens. It's weird. With all this talk in this thread it just started happening. Had my pit limiter engaging randomly during a race and paddles work / don't work when they feel like it. Haven't noticed anything similar with the other rims I have. It's the oldest one I have so maybe something has gone wrong just with prolonged use. It works perfect sometimes and other times it plays up.

 

[F1Aussie]

I have read in the fanatec forums that some people have used a 314 firmware update that seems to be going around but not publicly a ailable on the fanatec website. It seems to have fixed these issues for a number of people.

 

[anton_Chez]

@F1Aussie is that regarding a specific rim or just in general? I cannot use firmware updates for Fanatec hardware as I have an OSW. The McLaren GT3 rim actually has firmware on the rim itself, and updating that to the latest version (at the time) fixed my issue with it.

I'm in contact with customer support. I have some instructions on how to open and hopefully inspect the ribbon that may be causing problems in the BMW rim. I might need a replacement part but that's OK if I can do it myself I'll just have them send it out. No need to send the rim in if it's something I can do at home.

 

[F1Aussie]

I thought it was on the GT3 rim itself. If you check the fanatec forums you might find more on there.

 

[anton_Chez]

Yeah I've updated the firmware on the GT3 wheel, via Fanatec customer support. The workshop did it for me. I was referring to my BMW rim that's having issues with the button box. I've been given instructions on how to solve it so I will try myself first and see where that gets me. I might be able to just exchange the part out and fix it myself. I'll only know once I've opened it up and had a look. Even then I might not see anything. But I've got somewhere to start at least.