Report: Ferrari selling new vehicles with faulty airbags

Anyone see this ... have been wondering what's in my 2013 California ...

From Reuters:

Daimler AG, Ferrari selling some new vehicles with faulty air bags: U.S. Senate report

REUTERS/MICHAELA REHLE

Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz USA and Daimler Vans units and Ferrari NV are among a small group of automakers selling some new vehicles with faulty Takata airbags that will be subject to recalls by the end of 2018, a U.S. Senate report said on Wednesday.

The vehicles are legal to sell since the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has said they will not become potentially unsafe until exposed to high humidity for an extended period. Safety advocates and some in Congress have criticized the sale of vehicles that will be recalled.

Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, said the vehicles include the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and 2016-2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible and numerous 2016 and 2017 Ferrari models including the FF, California T, 488 GTB/488 Spider, F12/F12tdf and GTC4 Lusso.

Nelson said the report underscores "the failure of certain automakers and regulators to level with people about the true extent of the problem and to have the cars fixed before they’re sold."

Mercedes Benz USA spokeswoman Donna Boland said the company has told regulators that its "dealers will be informing prospective buyers of the pending recall on these models at the time of purchase in the very near future."

Ferrari spokeswoman Krista Florin said the Italian automaker also plans to notify customers of the future recalls.Seven out of 17 automakers Nelson contacted have admitted to equipping some new vehicles with defective Takata airbags, including Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCHA.MI) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE). All agreed to notify buyers of the planned recalls.

Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) is the only automaker that has not provided a written response, Nelson said. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday from Reuters. NHTSA said in May Tesla would be required to recall vehicles for Takata inflators.

Takata inflators can explode with excessive force and spray metal shrapnel. They are suspected in at least 13 deaths worldwide and more than 100 injuries.

In May, Takata agreed to declare as defective, by 2018, another 35 million to 40 million U.S. inflators that lack drying agents in frontal airbags after 14 automakers previously recalled more than 24 million U.S. vehicles. Worldwide nearly 100 million inflators have been declared defective.

NHTSA said there have been no ruptures in vehicles built since 2008. According to NHTSA, the vehicles do not become vulnerable to exploding airbags without long-term exposure to high humidity. In the short-term, the agency says, they are safe to drive and much safer than older models.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Meredith Mazzilli)

 

What's an airbag?

 

Oh my...

 

I believe the operative word in this report is "some."

 

I think "some" is referring to the Daimler cars ... they mention every current Ferrari model specifically.

I suspected my 13 has a Takata airbag ... but the only Ferraris listed on the NHTSA current updated "affected vehicle" list are the 2009-2011 California and 2010-2011 458 Italia.

My VIN# shows no recalls.

 

Maybe I just don't get it, but all I can think is "big deal". So in 2018 you'll get in line for new airbags.

 

Sure, but just hope between then and now you don't win the Takata lottery. Just had the passenger bag replaced today on my wife's Honda Ridgeline. Driver's bag done last year. My Cali - TBA...T

 

An Italian car with faulty electronics? No way! That never happens LOL

 

The thread title makes it sound as though Ferrari knew the airbags were faulty and fitted them anyway, and that they are the only manufacturer involved in this situation.

The fact of the matter is, Ferrari are just one of a number of major car manufacturers who have been supplied with faulty airbags, and as soon as they became aware of the issue, they have responded with a safety recall.

Frankly, I'd be a bit more concerned about Tesla's lack of response to the situation than Ferrari's positive action:

"Mercedes Benz USA spokeswoman Donna Boland said the company has told regulators that its "dealers will be informing prospective buyers of the pending recall on these models at the time of purchase in the very near future."

Ferrari spokeswoman Krista Florin said the Italian automaker also plans to notify customers of the future recalls.Seven out of 17 automakers Nelson contacted have admitted to equipping some new vehicles with defective Takata airbags, including Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCHA.MI) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE). All agreed to notify buyers of the planned recalls.

Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) is the only automaker that has not provided a written response, Nelson said. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday from Reuters. NHTSA said in May Tesla would be required to recall vehicles for Takata inflators."

 

There's a first time for everything...

 

Used to be that Italian cars just had biodegradable frames and body panels. The British cars were the ones with electronics where the smoke leaked out.

How times have changed.

 

Italian cars used to have a reputation for two things:

1) Corrosion due to cheap quality steel being used in their construction combined with a lack of decent anti-corrosion treatment.

2) Crazy electrics due to:

A) Dodgy Earth connections due to corrosion caused by the poor quality steel used in their construction.

B) Illogical circuit layouts (Just look at how Ferrari places fuses and relays all over the car - Some of which get no mention at all as to where they are in the owners manuals!)

 

on the airbag issue....

Our 2015 FF was involved in a recall last year, it was on Takata airbags but it was an installation issue with the cover. What i do remember is it took them a while to pinpoint which units were defective, then it was pretty straightforward to tie to a VIN.

From what I have read (i.e. allegedly good sources like Automotive News), a struggle everyone is having is 1) which units are defective 2) where are they and 3) even if we knew that, do we have replacements?

 

Just another example of all car companies (and probably all big corporations) putting profit first. Manufacturers know there is a problem but choose to use the cheaper Japanese Product anyway. The cost of a few lawsuits way cheaper then the expense of immediately fixing the problem or using way more expensive alternatives. And dead people are even cheaper to deal with. Same story over and over: faulty acceleration in Japanese cars, defective keys and ignition switches in American cars all known about with known injury and fatalities and all ignored for years until those companies were forced to admit and deal with those issues. If you think Ferrari is any different...

 

Bull-lonely.

 

My California is in the shop right now for airbag recall.

 

I had a crash in a new Mercedes 5 or so years ago (head on) and the airbags didn't go off. Neither for me or my passenger.

 

How did Lamborghini get involved?

 

Has anyone else though about the propriety of cars having multiple potentially lethal built in bombs in the the passenger compartment? Some cars have a lot of them now!

 

silicone tits

 

Good point, did I read somewhere one newer car has ........ 18 airbags ?

 

After 47000+ chances, I expected more? Keep workin on it

 

How much does an airbag cost on a car they sell at $300,000? 30 bucks?

Math apparently isn't your strong suit.

 

Totally wrong in this case!

The airbag fault was not present at the time of manufacture and it was not a case of manufacturers using the cheapest supplier possible with no regard as to the quality of the product.

The fault with the airbag has developed over a long period of time, and as soon as it came to light that there could possibly be an issue, all of the manufacturers who were supplied by the manufacturer of the faulty airbags carried out a programme to replace them free of charge.

Some car manufacturers were initially believed to be unaffected, but further studies into the issue have revealed that their airbags could also develop a problem and so they too have implemented a free of charge replacement programme.

What you seem to have completely failed to grasp is, in this day and age, making a car that kills your customers is very bad for business, both from a sales point of view, and from a Lawsuit point of view.

These days, companies can no longer get away with simply paying out a couple of hundred grand to families affected by a car defect, these days it can cost hundreds of Millions, either directly or indirectly.

If it helps: It's not 1973 anymore!

 

Errr, the point is they they are delivering, today, brand new cars that have airbags in them that are already known to be faulty at the time of delivery to the customer.

VW also got heat for this.

And make no mistake, this behavior is a cost-saving and time-to-delivery issue. They don't have enough parts right now to already do the recall, and they are legally allowed to do this. That doesn't mean it's right. I would be curious what specific known defects are in the airbags delivered to consumers this year. If it is the same "metal fragment spray" issue then that is most certainly not OK. At least one person got the neck artery cut by a fragment and died. Maybe the recall for the currently delivered airbags is for something more harmless such as simply not working. But still, I don't think this is OK by any standard.

At least the customer should have a choice of waiting for delivery with replaced module or do it later. But the customer doesn't even get informed of this.