Global Ferrari airbag recall affects 58 cars in Oz

A WORLDWIDE recall of 2600 Ferrari vehicles, including range-topping LaFerrari, over driver’s airbag concerns extends to 58 Australian-delivered 458 Italia, 458 Spider, 458 Speciale, 458 Speciale A, California T, FF and F12 Berlinetta models.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recalls website describes the potential defect as “a possible non-conformity in the production process of the driver side airbag module, the airbag may deploy abnormally”.

“If the airbag does not deploy correctly there is an increased risk of injury to the driver during a collision,” it says.

According to documents from the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, under which 814 Ferraris are caught up in the airbag recall, the Italian supercar maker discovered a problem when an airbag inflated in a rotated orientation during testing of a 458 Italia steering column.

The documents explain that the leather skin of the airbag module was insufficiently glued to the plastic base and the airbag was installed at an incorrect angle.

Ferrari is replacing the driver’s side airbag modules free of charge, with the procedure expected to take around an hour.

Although the airbags in the Ferrari recall are made by Takata – the company embroiled in a global recall scandal encompassing tens of millions of airbags, numerous deaths and more than 100 injuries – in this case, it was production issues at Ferrari’s Maranello factory.

In other recall news, Hyundai is recalling 2044 Sonatas produced between July 2014 and May 2015 over braking concerns, Honda is recalling 1199 City and Jazz models due to potential transmission failure and Mercedes-Benz is recalling seven E-Class and CLS vehicles sold between April and May this year because a bulkhead seal could fall into the engine compartment and catch fire if it touches hot components.

According to the ACCC, the Hyundai recall is over “incorrect fitment of brake tubing or seal ring on the brake booster system”, which “may increase the risk of the vehicle's braking not performing correctly during the activation of electronic stability control (ESC). This may pose an increased hazard to the driver and other road users”.

The vehicle identification numbers (VIN) of affected cars are in the range KMHE341BMFA045604 – KMHE241FMFA142833 and owners will be contacted and invited to make an appointment with a Hyundai dealership to have their vehicle inspected and the defect fixed if necessary.

The Honda recall affects 2014 model year City sedans and 2015 model year Jazz hatchbacks and is over programming of the continuously variable transmission (CVT) that the ACCC recalls website says “uses high hydraulic pressure which may subject the drive pulley shaft to high stress during operation”.

“The higher stresses combined with a shaft of lower hardness may result in the shaft breaking during use,” says the recall notice.

“If the drive pulley shaft breaks the vehicle may lose acceleration, or the front wheels may lock up while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.”

A list of affected VINs is available from recalls.gov.au and owners of vehicles in this recall will be contacted by post and invited to make an appointment with a Honda dealer to have a CVT software update applied.