Ferrari 488 GTB and California T recalled in USA over fire risk

Ferrari 488 GTB – fire risk

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The Ferrari California T is being recalled in the US due to a faulty fuel pipe fire risk, and the Ferrari 488 GTB has a sale-stop order for the same reason.

When the Ferrari 458 first arrived, Ferrari ended up recalling all the early cars because of fire risk, and it looks like the replacement for the 458 – the Ferrari 488 GTB – has the potential to go up in flames too, as has the California T.

Ferrari has already issued a recall notice in the US for the California T, as a fuel line has the potential to leak vapour or fuel in to the engine bay due to a faulty connector, increasing the chance of smoke or fire.

Now it seems the new 488 GTB suffers with a similar problem, but despite it being almost a year since the 488 GTB was revealed Ferrari hasn’t actually handed a single car over to its owner in the US, so the recall for the 488 takes the form of a stop-sale order to allow Ferrari dealers to fix the problem before the cars go to their owners.

The problem for the California T and 488 GTB isn’t the same issue that affected the 458 – that was due to a heat shield being fitted with glue instead of rivets – but represents a serious potential hazard.

But it seems Ferrari has caught the problem early enough this time to prevent new cars spontaneously combusting.

There is no indication so far that the 488 and California T in the UK and Europe need the same fix. But we’ll keep you posted.