Ferrari 2015 model-year 814 sports cars recalled due to Takata airbag defect

Ferrari, a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles subsidiary, is in the news for recalling 814 cars for an issue related to the assembly problem in the airbags. The faulty airbags are manufactured by the Japanese company, Takata Corp., which is also responsible for the largest automobile recall in the history of US.

The recall, however, is not related to the explosion of inflators but is due to insufficient gluing of leather in the driver’s side airbag assembly. Also, possibly rotated installation of the driver’s airbag cushion in the airbag module may cause the airbags to inflate in the wrong direction, as stated by Ferrari in a recall document submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The cars affected by the recall includes California T, FF, F12 Berlinetta, 458 Italia, 458 Spider, 458 Speciale A. 458 Speciale, and LaFerrari automobile models. The cars are manufactured from December 19, 2014, to April 29, this year.

According to the recall document, Ferrari was notified by Takata Corp., about the possible defects on June 16 while the luxury carmaker decided to announce for a necessary recall on June 22. “The issue is a possible production defect in a component inside the airbags,” Krista Florin, a Ferrari spokeswoman said in a statement. She further continued, “Ferrari has immediately issued a recall for those cars to have the airbags in question replaced with conforming devices.”

The affected cars cost from US$200,000 to more than US$1.4 million approximately, suggesting an embarrassing mistake on Ferrari’s part. In its defense, Ferrari said that the cases of incorrectly deployed airbags due to the defect are “extremely limited,” but they are still ordering dealers to stop the sales of the affected cars until the fault is rectified.

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Although no casualties or injuries have been reported due to the defect so far, Ferrari, as per the law and safety of customers, will replace the driver-side airbag assembly free of cost. The recall is expected to begin soon on July 30.

In other news, the airbag manufacturer Takata Corp. is also involved in the largest auto recall ever worldwide. The recall includes about 34 million vehicles, for a defect in the airbag inflator, which can explode and send metal pieces inside the cabin.