Massive Ferrari Lawsuit Alleges Automaker Has ‘Neglected’ Life-Threatening Braking System Defect

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Ferrari faces a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges the luxury automaker has done too little to address a potentially deadly defect that can cause brake fluid to leak from a vehicle’s braking system and partially or totally impede the driver’s ability to brake. 

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The sprawling 100-page Ferrari lawsuit alleges the company has known since at least June 2015 that the master cylinder/brake booster assembly (pictured below) in certain vehicles was faulty, yet, despite initiating at least two voluntary recalls, has failed to disclose to drivers the full extent of the problem. The suit also alleges Ferrari’s apparent fix for the braking system issue is woefully inadequate and that the company, the world’s preeminent luxury sports car brand, continues to sell cars that, unbeknownst to the public, leak brake fluid. 

“In short, Defendants had a duty to disclose the Brake Defect because they were in a superior position to know of the safety defect, actually knew about the defect, and Plaintiff and the Class could not have reasonably discovered the defect until the brakes in the Class Vehicles failed,” the proposed class action case summarizes.

The filing explains a vehicle’s braking system must compensate for wear caused by brake friction. As brake pad material wears, the suit says, the space between the caliper and rotor is reduced, and in order to keep the gap between the caliper and rotor the same, brake fluid must enter the master cylinder reservoir to “take up the extra volume created.” When this occurs, air must enter the reservoir to replace the volume of brake fluid that was called upon to close the gap between the brake pad and rotor, with this replenishment happening gradually over time, the case states.

When brake fluid escapes this type of braking system, it can cause partial or total loss of braking ability, the complaint stresses.

After “multiple reported brake failures,” the case says, Ferrari S.p.A., the Maranello, Italy-based vehicle maker, in October 2021 instructed Ferrari North America, which distributes and warrants the vehicles in the United States, to initiate a voluntary recall of U.S. vehicles “equipped with a braking system that could potentially leak brake fluid, which may lead to partial or total loss of braking capability.” Per the complaint, Ferrari North America identified the defective part as the master cylinder/brake booster assembly manufactured by defendant Bosch GmbH. 

The suit alleges, however, that Ferrari knew about the apparent braking defect years earlier, at least since a fatal accident in 2015 involving alleged brake failure and litigation following another accident in 2017. 

In July 2022, after another lawsuit was filed over the apparent braking defect, Ferrari significantly expanded its earlier recall, this time offering an apparent fix that involved “replacing the brake fluid cap at the entry point to the brake fluid reservoir component of the braking system” and a software update, the suit states. At this time, Ferrari also executed recalls worldwide, including in Germany, Japan and China, the filing adds. 

According to the complaint, both recalls came to include nearly every Ferrari sold in the U.S. since 2005. 

However, the lawsuit says that although Ferrari initially identified only one “failure mode”—the twisting out of place of the rearmost seal between the master cylinder and brake booster, affecting only the front brakes—the automaker later identified a second “failure mode”—a similar seal problem that could create a vacuum inside the brake fluid reservoir and affect the rear brakes. Together, the two failure modes can cause a car’s braking capabilities to be “almost totally compromised,” the suit relays, claiming Ferrari has violated two Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) that mandate that a loss of fluid from one compartment shall not result in a total loss of braking fluid from another compartment. 

The suit charges that Ferrari’s brake fluid cap remedy is merely “an interim corrective measure” that addresses only the second failure mode, i.e., rear brake failure. The lawsuit says that although Ferrari has provided a warning notification that alerts the driver when the car has lost significant brake fluid, it has failed to remedy or prevent the issue affecting the front brakes. Per the case, the warning notification is “insufficient” considering brake failure can occur “suddenly, violently, and when the nearest Ferrari dealership is hundreds of miles away.” 

The case contests that neither Ferrari recall ultimately addresses what is needed—the replacement of the defective master cylinder if a brake fluid leak is found, which indicates the rearmost seal has twisted and is damaged.

“Despite this knowledge and in breach of their obligations to Plaintiff and the Class, Ferrari and Bosch have failed to act,” the complaint alleges. “Defendants have not informed owners of the full extent of the Brake Defect, only remedied one failure mode, and continue to sell (or benefit from the sale) of thousands of cars containing this life-threatening defect.” 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons or entities in California who bought or leased a Ferrari equipped with a braking system that may rupture and/or experience a leakage-type failure in any component of the braking system, causing partial or total loss of braking ability, including, but not limited to, vehicles equipped with a defective master cylinder/brake booster assembly or vehicles subject to Ferrari’s cap-and-warning repair. 

ClassAction.org will update this page with any major developments in the case, including in the event of a class action settlement.

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