Englewood Cliffs, N.J. – July 2, 2018 – Ferrari North America (NYSE: RACE) has recalled more than 1,500 vehicles potentially equipped with defective Takata air bag assemblies, according to documentation submitted to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The campaign affects multiple models, including:
- 2012 Ferrari 458 Italia coupes
- 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider convertible coupes
- 2012 Ferrari California convertible coupes
- 2012 Ferrari FF hatchback coupes
The Italian automaker suspects all of the vehicles named in the recall contain the defective components.
Recall summary
Affected models include air bag assemblies with non-desiccated ammonium nitrate inflators prone to propellant degradation. In the event that the propellant in these fixtures does deteriorate, the material may combust upon air bag deployment, exploding the metal inflator casing and sending steel shards flying through the vehicle cabin at high speeds. This defect poses a serious safety hazard to occupants.
These defective air bag assemblies, 50 million of which have been recalled worldwide, according to the NHTSA, have claimed the lives of approximately 23 people and injured more than 100 others, Car and Driver reported. However, Ferrari has yet to receive field reports linking the Takata air bags involved in this action to any accidents or injuries.
On Jan. 3, 2017, Takata filed a Defect Information report with the NHTSA, indicating that it intended to recall a slew of new air bag assemblies installed in numerous models across multiple brands. Ferrari immediately reviewed its stock and issued a recall of its own soon after the Takata filing. In May 2018, the car manufacturers reassessed the issue and decided to expand its previous action.
Ferrari notified dealers of its intentions June 15, 2018.
The repair
The automaker has directed dealers to replace the air bag inflators in affected models free of charge, according to an NHTSA recall acknowledgment document. Ferrari notified owners via first-class mail June 22, 2018.
Is your vehicle part of the recall?
Over 1,500 vehicles were originally part of this recall. As of January 8, 2020, – the last date for which information was available – 1,263 airbags had been replaced. To see if your car still needs to be repaired, use MotorSafety’s free lookup tool.
