One of the bigger June and LEGO Technic releases this year is the 42143 Technic Ferrari Daytona SP3, the newest and most expensive Technic Supercar yet.
As fans all over the world begin receiving and getting started on the 3,778-piece red behemoth, you might want to be aware that several errors, and mistakes are present in the printed instruction manuals.
As first picked up by Racing Brick, LEGO have updated some pages of the digital instruction manuals, but not all them have been fixed.
Racing Brick, who received the set early for review was one of the first to identify several glaring errors and mistakes in his detailed review, which I highly recommend watching if you’re a fan of Technic, or cars as he’s one of the most reputable, and knowledgeable voices on Youtube.
Before you begin the build, here are some of the most glaring errors and fixes that you should be aware of, especially if you’re using the included printed instruction manuals during your build.
Step 88
The original instructions were missing an additional panel which indicated how the 2 orange wave selectors should be positioned before the green beam is inserted.
As this affects how the gearbox functioned, and puzzled a lot of the reviewers, this is a critical step, which makes sense why LEGO would fix this in the digital instructions.
Step 104
This hasn’t been fixed by LEGO just yet, but there’s a confusing error on Step 104, which has the wrong element highlighted.
Extra Pieces after your build?
At the end of the build, you’ll also notice 2 rogue black fairings leftover.
As found by Racing Brick in his review, these should be attached to the exposed red axles at the back of the car, near the underside.
Mistakes happen, and the teams of people that work on sets like the Ferrari Daytona SP3 are certainly not immune from mistakes. From packaging errors on the UCS Republic Gunship, to Marvel Mechs with issues earlier this year – it hasn’t been a great run for LEGO.
But, for a set that costs a whopping US$399.99, that’s an official Ferrari licensed product, the combination of so many mistakes, and one very critical issue with the gearbox instructions does beggar belief.
LEGO and Ferrari went to great lengths publicising and telling the epic story of this collaboration – in the instructions (which can be viewed digitally), you can read about this romanticised collaboration, and how aligned both brands were.
In fact, in the very first page of where the manual officially begins, you get this impressive photo of the new LEGO Campus, with this very unfortunate quote about how both brands has the very same goal – the never-ending pursuit of perfection in everything they do.
Another quote, “The care that went into the smallest of details was very impressive.” found on page 14 of the manual is equally ironic.
One of the dominant news stories from 2022 is the much-publicised price increases, which has been tough to stomach for an already premium product.
The Technic Ferrari Daytona SP3, as one of the flagship Technic sets of 2022, is one step above that, an ultra-premium offering from LEGO that is meant to deliver a luxury experience that feels worthy of its expensive pricetag.
Having so many mistakes present in the manual, including ones that negatively impact the finished model is unacceptable, and really makes you question whether LEGO can instil confidence in its brand, and position as a “premium” brand, and most importantly, command even higher prices when prices go up in August.
Sure, being able to update digital instructions are a quick fix, but I think LEGO need to go beyond this here, and find a way to mail out corrected versions of the Instruction Manual to anyone who’s purchased the set.
I didn’t buy the set, but seeing the multitude of mistakes in the manual, I will definitely wait it out until LEGO sorts this out – I can only imagine how upset one would be if you had jumped on this on day one, only to be greeted with a sub-standard experience.
LEGO needs to do the right thing here, and over-correct .
As so eloquently put by Balasz from Racing Brick, “If LEGO really wants to give fans a “sense of perfection, they really need to try harder”.
Don’t let me get started on the botched release of The Sense of Perfection, because I’m putting the finishing touches on another editorial on that soon.
What do you think of the error-plagued Ferrari Daytona SP3? What can LEGO do to prevent things like this from happening in future flagship releases?
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interesting read, i am dealing with step 812 page 169, the two longish pieces length are not specified nor do they lock into anything without using small red pieces i.e. step 162 page 136. Also they are too long tried using various parts available. please help as i have tried everything in the box. nor do they specify length or make choosing what length to use. Have tried contacting lego help. No replies.
Thank you so much for publishing this review. My son and I started building this Ferrari only to get stuck on step 104. When we got to this step, I believed we were missing one of the smaller ball joint pieces. I looked at the piece inventory list in the 2nd book and saw that they included 2 in the set. Plus, the step showed we needed the small ball joint and not the larger one. We waited 2 weeks to get a new piece ordered, only to find out we didn’t need it. This is the 3rd set I have bought this year with mistakes in the instructions (Jazz Club, Roller Coaster, Ferrari). It’s getting REALLY frustrating given the price you pay for sets like these.
Yeah, unfortunately these mistakes seem to be cropping up more and more. Do send some feedback directly into LEGO as it helps put it on their radar
I am have a terrible experience. Building the Ferrari Daytona sp3 and although pretty good so far, THE DOORS are horribly hard to follow book. Are there are there errors in the book about the doors. Please help me.
Michael Sternberg
Drmike011@verizon.net
Can anyone assist, built the lego daytona and one door is perfect the other won’t stay closed. Has anyone else experienced this issue and know where I might have gone wrong.
omg soooo frustrating, i have the same issue on the right door and i’ve been building for years
The fixes are posted in several places. It is a great set. Kind of surprised they were not more meticulous however as it is overall a fabulous set. IMHO the nicest LEGO car ever and a beautiful display piece and fun build.
Imagine creating a beautiful Lego set with Ferrari .
Collaboration and approval by the brand .
and then rushing out instructions with heavy mistakes .
just to announce a week later that the prices will increase. How about you fix your quality before asking for more ?
Yeah, that’s what I’m disappointed in the most. It just feels super rushed, and doesn’t justify the high price and premium glossy experience that they’re trying to go for.
And these are pretty simple mistakes that should’ve been picked up during QA/QC.
Are there any other errors then the ones you’ve mentioned? Thanks and keep up the good work!
Not too sure, but the gearbox is the most egregious part. I don’t think others have been found, and thank you for your continued support!
Has anyone figured out a fix for the drivers side door hanging opened a bit after closing? I reassembled the door 3x now, it matched the passenger door each time, and still fails to close correctly.
It’s an Italian supercar – of course there will be issues. (Does it catch fire as well like the 488)
Could have been worse – imagine if it was an Alfa Romeo
Otherwise – love your column / blog.
Who knew LEGO would also be able to deliver the complete Ferrari experience in more ways than one.
Thanks for your support!
I ordered the Ferrari book 5 minutes after it was released, had a confirmed order, then within 24 hours, they cancelled my order due to a technical problem (per my chat and phone calls with Lego). They said they would fix it, but then basically said too bad. So Lego screwed me out of the limited edition book and won’t make it right!
I wonder why the book was limited to 5,000 copies, none of which were allocated to Australia? Why create artificial scarcity when only the scalpers benefit?
I was cut to learn (in a call to CS a few hours before midnight June 1st), that Aus was misaing out on the book.
Very dark.
I found a couple mistakes while I was putting together the Lamborghini Sian a few years back and found that all of the errors I saw had already been corrected in the digital instructions.
There were no severe issues as I was able to figure out what was wrong pretty easily, but it was a first for me.
I was using the PDF instructions to do the Concrete Mixer, and the instructions did not match the parts that came with set while building the engine. Had to revert to the printed instructions.
Kind of a swap from what you’d expect, where the errors lie.
And it really irks me that LEGO mostly ignores reports of mistakes with instructions, as it is an issue that LEGO customer service simply doesn’t care about. Even LEGO ambassadors seem to struggle to get their voices heard.
Thanks for this Jay. It’s great reading a candid and honest opinion and update around this.
The Lego polish is fading, and it’s got me searching for the glitter.