Ferrari and its parts supplier, Robert Bosch GmbH, are immersed in a major controversy after being sued for an apparently serious problem with the brakes of some of their luxury cars. The complaint, filed in a federal court in San Diego, in the state of California, alleges that these high-end sports cars present a “dangerous safety defect” in their braking systems that, even after several revisions, continues to put them at risk. the safety of its drivers.
The case, promoted by Iliya Nechev, a resident of San Marcos and owner of a 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia acquired in 2020, has exposed the constant struggle with the brakes of his car, which presented problems from day one.
Nechev has recounted a particularly worrying experience in which, when attempting a 90-degree turn at about 80 km/h, he discovered that his vehicle was not decelerating, encountering a rigid brake pedal and no brake pressure, a situation that forced him to to slow down in a hurry to avoid misfortune.
This experience, which was far from an isolated incident, was not taken seriously by the Ferrari dealer, who described it as “normal” and something he simply had to get used to. This response did not satisfy the driver, so the lawsuit alleges that Ferrari failed to adequately notify its customers of the full extent of the brake defect, a problem that Nechev said could only be remedied by replacing the master cylinder.
This situation is aggravated by a statement from Ferrari in October 2021, in which the company informed international authorities of a possible defect related to brake fluid leaks that could compromise braking performance. Despite the risks, Ferrari would have continued to profit from the sale of thousands of these defective vehicles.
The brand wanted to take action by making a recall that covered some model years from 2010 to 2019, but it was later voluntarily expanded to include vehicles manufactured between 2003 and 2019. “We operate under strict safety and security guidelines to ensure that our vehicles always respect the homologation specifications,” Ferrari said in a statement. Despite this, it seems that it has not been enough because these types of incidents have continued to be reported in other parts of the world such as Portugal and Vietnam.