A Ferrari owner claims the company didn’t do enough to address a brake issue that affected most of its vehicles since 2004
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Brakes are a crucial component in any vehicle, and their importance becomes even greater in high-performance cars like Ferraris. An American customer is now suing Ferrari, claiming the company failed to adequately address a braking system issue with their 458 Italia.
The individual taking legal action against Ferrari is Iliya Nechev, owner of a 2010 458 Italia. Nechev characterizes a recall initiated by the automaker in 2022 as merely “an interim corrective measure,” alleging that it has resulted in thousands of owners being left with unsafe vehicles. He is urging other owners of the supercar to join him in holding the company accountable and has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in San Diego federal court this week.
The lawsuit details one frightening occasion in which Nechev claims to have experienced a loss of braking in his vehicle, reports Bloomberg. He recounts driving downhill at approximately 50 mph (80 km/h) toward a sharp 90-degree turn. Despite attempting to decelerate, he says that the brake pedal felt rigid, failed to slow his speed, and left him with no choice but to downshift instead.
Read: The Brakes Could Fail On More Than 23,000 Ferrari Models Built Since 2004
Nechev alleges that when he reported this issue to his dealer, he was told that it was “normal.” Indeed, in 2022, Ferrari recalled 23,555 vehicles in the United States alone for this issue, though similar campaigns were also undertaken in Germany, Japan, and China. A wide variety of model dating back to 2004 were included in the recall, and the automaker told drivers to pull over immediately if a “brake fluid level low” warning appeared on their dash.
The recall identified a faulty brake fluid reservoir cap as the culprit of the leak, aiming to resolve the issue by replacing the cap. Nevertheless, Nechev asserts that Ferrari failed to sufficiently notify customers about the complete nature of the defect, which he alleges could only be rectified in his vehicle by replacing the master cylinder.
The lawsuit contends that Ferrari either directly sold or profited from the sale of “thousands of cars containing this life-threatening defect.” Apart from the automaker, its brake component supplier, Robert Bosch GmbH, is also listed as a defendant in the suit.
