FERRARI

Ferrari faces wave of lawsuits in the US over faulty braking systems in its supercars

Ferrari is facing a legal storm in the United States that threatens to further tarnish its already controversial reputation.

The North American subsidiary of the Italian supercar brand is at the center of a class action lawsuit filed by owners who allege serious faults in the braking systems of several of the automaker's models, with a real risk of accidents due to total or partial loss of braking capacity.

The lawsuit made an important breakthrough on March 14, when federal judge Jamel K. Semper, in New Jersey, decided to allow several of the claims against Ferrari North America and supplier Bosch to move forward in the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs accuse the companies of deliberately hiding a defect related to brake fluid leaks, even after reports of serious failures, accidents and customer complaints.

According to court documents, Ferrari even initiated a recall in 2021, which was extended in 2022 to almost all models manufactured since 2005. The solution offered? Replacing the brake fluid reservoir cap and updating the car's software to issue alerts in case of low pressure.

For the owners, this was a workaround. The indictment says that Ferrari preferred a cheap and temporary measure instead of replacing the defective components, putting profit above customer safety.

The owners' accounts are worthy of a movie script — and not a good one. Jeffrey Rose, for example, said that less than a month after buying his used 488 GTB, the brakes failed completely, causing the car to literally roll until it fell into a lake.

Howard Hardwick, on the other hand, experienced moments of terror on the race track, when the brakes on his Ferrari failed at Sebring International Raceway, causing it to crash into a tire barrier. His loss? More than 150 thousand dollars. The class action lawsuit brings together customers from several US states, including California, Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts and New Jersey, and is based on local consumer protection laws.

It is alleged that Ferrari not only concealed the risks, but also misled consumers through marketing materials and official statements, omitting safety test data, complaints and warranty records that would have shown the defect.

Although Ferrari tried to block the lawsuit by arguing that the allegations were unfounded or out of time, the judge disagreed, noting that there is sufficient evidence that the company concealed crucial information.

For now, the lawsuit is not yet national, but the progress of the case could set a precedent for other similar lawsuits throughout the country.

The lawsuit is now expected to move into the evidence-gathering phase, unless the automaker opts for a settlement. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for the loss of value of the vehicles, repair costs and even punitive damages.

To date, Ferrari has not publicly commented on the status of the case.

Ferrari had recalled its vehicles in several countries, including the U.S., in 2021 and 2022 to address other braking issues, but had offered an interim “remedy” to owners involving replacing a part that caps brake fluid to prevent leaking.

However, the complaint alleges Ferrari continued to sell thousands of cars with systems susceptible to leaking — the only fix being to replace its master cylinders when it happened.

” … class members would not have purchased the (Ferrari vehicles) had they known braking capability could be partially or totally impaired due to a component failure — a component that Ferrari has been unwilling to repair or replace,” the complaint read.

The lead plaintiff in the proposed class-action is Iliya Nechev, a San Marcos, Calif. resident who bought his 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia in 2020.

Nechev said in the complaint that he experienced brake issues “from the day (he) received” his Ferrari, coming close to an accident several times. When he brought these issues to the Ferrari dealership, he says staff told him it was “normal” and that he should “just get used to them.”

Nechev then attempted to repair the problems on his own in April 2021. After reaching the master cylinder in the engine, he discovered a small pool of brake fluid that was leaked by the master cylinder seal. Fixing it, the complaint says, solved the issues he experienced while driving.

Later that year, Ferrari began recalling some of its vehicles, such as the 458 and 488, produced over the last two decades for brake issues.

In a statement, Ferrari told Nexstar that the “safety and well-being” of their customers is their highest priority.

“We operate according to stringent safety and security guidelines to ensure that our vehicles always respect homologation specifications,” the statement continued.

Ferrari also added that all “relevant international authorities” were made aware of the recall due to the possible defect in the braking system affecting some vehicles made between 2010 and 2019. A subsequent voluntary extension was added for cars made between 2003 and 2019 in line with what Ferrari described as its “uncompromising engineering practices.”

Bosch, the German manufacturer of the allegedly defective parts who is also listed as a defendant in the suit, declined to comment in a statement that read, “As a matter of policy, Bosch does not comment concerning topics in litigation.”

According to the complaint, the proposed class in the lawsuit is seeking a refund to all of their vehicles and repairs resulting from the brake issues, on top of any compensatory and punitive damages.

For a brand that has always prided itself on selling high-performance machines, this brake scandal could seriously damage its credibility. After all, what good is a supercar that can't stop?

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