Fast and Faulty: Ferrari Faces Lawsuit Over ‘Dangerous’ Brake Defect

Having functional brakes is inarguably the most important component of a car, so when one Ferrari driver in California pressed down on his brakes while going 50 miles per hour and nothing happened, he was fast and furious. 

The driver has filed a lawsuit against the car manufacturer accusing it of failing to fix a “dangerous safety defect” pertaining to the brakes in its luxury sports cars, despite issuing multiple recalls, Bloomberg reported. 

Brake failure on the open road

San Diego resident Iliya Nechev filed the lawsuit against Ferrari and Robert Bosch GmbH claiming his 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia, which he purchased in 2020, had “brake issues” from day one and “would experience partial or total loss of braking capability,” Bloomberg reported.

“On one occasion, plaintiff was driving downhill at approximately 50 miles per hour and while preparing to take a 90-degree right hand turn, plaintiff pressed down on his brakes,” however, the car didn’t slow down and despite the brake pedal moving downward, there was no brake pressure, the lawsuit states. 

Nechev reported the issue to his Ferrari dealer, who said the issue was “normal,” according to the proposed class action. He accuses the company of not notifying customers about the full extent of the brake defect, which he argues could only be fixed by replacing the master cylinder.

Recalls weren’t enough

The lawsuit follows a number of recalls Ferrari issued for brake fluid defects, affecting 2003 to 2019 models, Times of San Diego reported. However, the lawsuit claims the recalls were nothing more than “an interim corrective measure” and thousands of Ferrari drivers were left with unsafe vehicles. 

High profile Ferrari crashes in Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam, all blamed on brake failure, are cited in the lawsuit. Ferrari continued “to sell (or benefit from the sale) of thousands of cars containing this life-threatening defect,” the lawsuit states. 

However, Bloomberg reports that Ferrari said: “The safety and well-being of our clients is our highest priority. We operate according to stringent safety and security guidelines to ensure that our vehicles always respect homologation specifications.”

Multiple models could be affected

Ferrari is facing very similar accusations in a separate lawsuit filed in New Jersey, that was previously dismissed but has been revived, as Car Complaints reports. The plaintiff in that case argues that his Ferrari 488 suffered brake failure and finally stopped in a pond.

According to the lawsuit, these Ferraris are defective:

• 2010-2015 Ferrari 458 Italia
• 2014-2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale
• 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale A
• 2012-2015 Ferrari 458 Spider
• 2016-2019 Ferrari 488 GTB
• 2016-2019 Ferrari 488 Spider

In a different kind of legal action, Ferrari was forced to settle a lawsuit with a businessman and his wife, after they alleged that an employee at a California dealership took their 2014 Ferrari 458 Spider to “‘hot-rod’ around town” and then crashed it, Express News reported. The terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. 

The current proposed class action filed by Nechev is just getting started, so if you have a Ferrari, especially one affected by one of the proposed class action lawsuits or recalls, make sure you follow along in case you could get in on any settlement. 

The Ferrari brake defect proposed class action is Nechev v. Ferrari North America Inc., Case No. 24-cv-00516, in the U.S. District Court Southern District of California.