Ferrari Recalls Hundreds Of Cars In US To Fix Faulty Air Bags

Luxury car maker Ferrari has recalled 814 sports cars in the U.S. to fix problems on the driver's air bags, made by Japanese component supplier Takata. According to the Italian automaker, it noticed the assembly problem by which the air bags may inflate with the wrong orientation and pose injury during a crash.

Affected Models

The affected cars are 2015 models such as 458 Italia, 458 Spider , 458 Speciale, 458 Speciale A, the California T, FF, F12 Berlinetta and LaFerrari. In fact, Takata informed the company about the problem.

Ferrari is owned by Italian manufacturer Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. However, Ferrari’s problem is different from the previously reported problem that Takata air bags had caused. Such complaints had the air bags inflating with excessive force and hurtling shrapnels on the drivers and passengers and caused many casualties in the U.S.

But Ferrari can take comfort that it does not have the same defect that afflicted Hondas, BMWs, Chryslers, Nissans and other cars, which were recalled for repair. That recall had affected 34 million inflators worldwide. For Ferraris, the snag looks minor with wrong installations. In the Ferrari snag, the leather skin covering the air-bag module was improperly glued and the air-bag cushions were put at a wrong angle.

Now, the dealers have been asked to take responsibility for replacing the air bag at zero cost to owners, from July 30. The costly Ferraris range from $2,02,000 for the California T to $1.42 million for the LeFerrari. According to the documents Ferrari had filed with the U.S. regulator, no fatalities or injuries have been reported so far. But Ferrari promises to replace all defective side air bags free of charge for models manufactured between Dec. 19, 2014, and April 29, 2015.

The Luxury car maker detected this error while doing tests on a 458 Italia’s steering column, reveals the documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It said the air bag deployed was found in a rotated orientation and was deemed risky.

IPO Soon

Meanwhile, Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler an initial public said it would be offering a spun off Ferrari SpA is “days away.” In the IPO, Marchionne plans to offer 10 percent of Fiat's shares to the public, while 80 percent of the remaining shares will go to Fiat Chrysler shareholders.

Fiat Chrysler has said Ferrari's tax residence will not be changing following the IPO even though it is incorporated in Netherlands and headquartered in London. Ferrari is based in Maranello, Italy with all its manufacturing operations. "Ferrari will continue to be organised under Italian law and tax resident in Italy. Ferrari will pay Italian taxes on its income as all Italian tax resident corporations do today," the automaker said in a statement.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at k.kumar@ibtimes.com.au)