458/488 Brake Recall

The 458 has so much engine braking I barely use the brakes on the street. Pedal has always felt firm but I guess that's no indication that everything is fine. It'd be really nice to know what to look for, but it sounds like you have to disassemble the master cylinder/booster to see it. I don't really want to find out at 150mph in a braking zone. COTA has alot of runoff space, but not THAT much!

 

Your tech inspection and preparation should alleviate any concern.

Fresh brake fluid before the event (i.e. full flush and fill), plus a full review of the brake system, checking around the booster and master cylinder for any leaks...

 

Agreed. I contacted Ferrari of Houston today and they had not yet heard of the recall.

 

Any proof for your VIN theory? I am also a ZFF67NFA...

 

Absolutely none. Pure conjecture on my part. Based on my experience with the Takata airbag recall on a couple BMWs, I would not be surprised if they end up expanding the VIN range.. even assuming the "numbering" works the way I think..
Thinking about it more... it's probably the last 6 digits that matter, and I'm solidly inside that range, which spans 43036 vehicles if they're assigned sequentially, probably across all models.

 

The NHTSA documents imply that in at least one failure analysis, the leak was from the master into the booster, ie: an internal leak. If that is the root cause of the failures, it is not going to be detected with a visual inspection.

I would also suggest that a flush and fill might actually help mask the situation... If the fluid level is low (possible internal leak), and a flush and fill or bleed tops it off, you've basically reset the counter on how much fluid must leak internally before the brake level warning trips.

 

I wonder if the brake issue is one of the reasons it’s been impossible to get track day insurance on 458s lately.


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My car is also a ZFF67NFA VIN (late 2010 build) and I experienced the failure. Read my post above to the link detailing the failure and remedy.

Bottom line, unless Bosch figures out which batch of master cylinders are defective we won't know. They may end up recalling every single 458 and 488. That seems very likely since the issue persists in the 488, a car produced 5+ years later than mine but uses the same components...

There is no way to visually tell if there is a problem without removing the brake booster. It takes an insignificant amount of brake fluid to leak inside the booster and cause the membrane to not seal properly. In my case, it was a coating of fluid, not enough to register in the brake fluid reservoir.

I contacted my local dealer today and they unequivocally stated that they had never heard of this problem. Even though I called them several months ago when I first experienced the issue. At that time they said they'd never heard of it. That's what made me decide to change the brake system components myself instead of being charged dealer rates to participate in their R&D. Today I told them I have photos documenting the failure. They were very interested in receiving them and forwarding over to Ferrari corporate.

 

I have sent this notification to my UK Service Manager, it had had heard about it but saw it would make some enquires with Ferrari North Europe. It will interesting if anything surfaces on this matter in UK/EU. It is unlikely to just be a US issue.

 

Agreed, if the booster fails you have a very hard pedal and stopping distance dramatically increases, by at least 20 times original(as compared with brake boost).

Sounds like, at a minimum, dealers would need to take the brake assembly out of the car and inspect and if a leak is found, replace the master cylinder and booster.

Seems to me if the piston seals fail in the master it would cause the leak and probably also introduce air bubbles into the brake fluid which further reduce brake pressure. Sounds like Bosch needs to issue new brake assemblies for all with a better design. Ferrari probably knew something about this years ago as the 488Pista uses the brake system of the 812SF...

Also, wasn't one of the big news items on the 458Speciale is that is uses the same brakes as the LaFerrari? But, the LaF is not on the list? Maybe the 458Speciale is only using the rotors/calipers of the LaF.
reference:
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This happened to me as well in my spider…no performance loss nor fluid leaking. It seems to occur due to the fluid momentarily dipping below the sensor which is right at the top of the reservoir.


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Just got an email from Ferrari NA for the recall. It appears my 2013 is included, however, there is no solution at this point. The email suggests to drive slowly to the dealer if the brake light comes on. Waiting for additional details…..

 

Scheduled my annual maintenance yesterday and mentioned the NHTSA findings and he had no idea what I was talking about. Just got an email from Ferrari NA.

 

ha ok. i have driven almost 10k in mine with no brake issues

 

i guess i'll keep driving?

 

the email i got does not say to park it just to go to dealer if light comes on.

 

Says Ferrari will pay to have the car transported to dealer, here is the email I just got…

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Probably should be noted here that the failing Master Cylinder is a Bosch part .. supplier to Ferrari. I'm sure Bosch and Ferrari are have 'discussions' over who is going to pay the final bill on the recall.

 

words of wisdom. i had a track day for Saturday i was going to take my 458 to but am canceling it. thx

 

Great info and it’s likely you found the root cause of these failures. Good that you swapped in a new booster but wouldn’t it be the exact same design as the one that fails? My car may see a lot of down time until there is a re-designed part.


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I wonder when they add 430 Scuderias and 16Ms to this recall....both intermittent and outright failures of the booster/master cylinder on them as well. I know of five, including myself. Had mine replaced summer 2020.

 

How recalls are handled, is Ferrari will redo the fix and replace the parts again, and if you submit your bill for the previous work, you will be reimbursed.

 

Good to know thanks, that is a little reassuring. From what I understood it has to dip a lot before the sensor comes on

 

This was the beginning of the current mess. Ferrari's current response is not acceptable.