Nearly 10,000 Ferraris Could Suffer Brake Failure

According to Ferrari's notice with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), the issue has been pinpointed to the master cylinder assembly, but engineers still can't figure out why it's leaking.

The only safe thing to do is to recall every vehicle built with that particular assembly type. "The Ferrari 458 and 488 model vehicles are no longer in production, and subsequent Ferrari models do not use the same brake master cylinder/brake booster component," the company said. Ferrari and brake booster and brake pump assembly manufacturer, Bosch, are currently working to trace the problem and figure out a repair solution.

"Ferrari intends to send an interim notice letter to all 458 and 488 vehicle owners to warn them of this issue, and instruct them that if the "Low Brake Fluid" warning message appears on the vehicle dashboard, the driver should pull off the road as soon as it is safe to do so and then contact Ferrari Roadside Assistance and get towed to the nearest authorized Ferrari dealer."

The Italian carmaker first became aware of this problem last March when a 2018 488 GTB experienced brake failure in the US. In September, Ferrari learned of another two 488s suffering from the same problem. In one of those cases, brake fluid leaked into the brake booster chamber. Hopefully, a fix will be quickly found and owners will no longer need to worry.