- In 2021, the Ferrari 488 GTB of a plaintiff lost brake fluid, forcing him to ditch it in a pond.
- Ferrari has issued two recalls over brake issues originating with a bad reservoir cap.
- A US judge has dismissed some claims, but they can be changed and refiled.
When things go wrong with a Ferrari, they really go wrong. The luxury Italian automaker is facing a lawsuit in the United States over a brake failure that allegedly caused the owner of a 488 GTB to crash into a pond. The plaintiffs initially sought to file a class action, but earlier this month, a New Jersey judge dismissed that claim, though it can be amended and refiled.
The legal action was filed soon after Ferrari issued a recall for over 10,000 vehicles in the United States due to issues with brake systems that could leak fluid. The recall affected a range of models, including the 458 Italia, 458 Spider, 458 Speciale, 488 GTB, and 488 Spider, to name just a few. A second, expanded recall followed in 2022.
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This new recall saw the list of impacted models grow considerably, including the 430, 612 Scaglietti, 812 Superfast, F60 America, F8 Spider, F8 Tributo, Roma, California, California T, F12 Berlinetta, F12 TDF, FF, GTC4 Lusso, GTC4 Lusso T, LaFerrari, LaFerrari Aperta, and the Portofino. According to Ferrari, the brake fluid reservoir cap did not provide proper ventilation for the brake system and asked dealers to replace the caps.
However, in the lawsuit, the plaintiffs contend that replacing the brake reservoir cap is only an interim repair and doesn’t address an alleged problem where the rear seal can twist out of place, causing brake fluid to leak from the master cylinder into the brake booster. The lawsuit claims that Ferrari should have replaced the master cylinders, too.
Seven Ferrari owners, including those with 488 GTBs, 430 Spiders, California Ts, and 458 Italias, have joined forces in the legal battle.
An Unplanned Water Adventure
The owner of the Ferrari 488 GTB, Jeffrey Rose, is the lead plaintiff. In June 2020, he purchased a pre-owned 488 GTB from a dealer, but about a year later, the supercar displayed a ‘brake fluid low’ message. He carefully drove the car home and tried to park it. However, the brakes stopped working and it slowly rolled across his yard. He “frantically released his seat belt,” and jumped from the car, before it rolled into a pond behind his house.
Though the lawsuit has seen some setbacks, it’s far from over. In late 2022, a judge dismissed parts of the case, though plaintiffs were given the opportunity to revise and refile. And they did just that. Now, several aspects of this new lawsuit have been granted, while others have been rejected by the court.
According to court documents, as reported by CarComplaints, Judge Jamel K. Semper dismissed several claims against Ferrari, including nationwide class action allegations. Importantly, these claims were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they can be revised and refiled.
As is often the case with complex litigation, this lawsuit is likely to drag on slowly through the courts and could be years away from being settled or dismissed.