Ferrari Italia 458 Flambeau Recalled

**Monseratto** · September 3rd, 2010 12:08 PM

http://jalopnik.com/tag/ferrari458italia/

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/eu...KrMo&wom=false

Ferrari recalls latest supercar amid fire threat
By Paul Armstrong, CNN
September 2, 2010 -- Updated 1900 GMT (0300 HKT)

CNN) -- Ferrari has been forced to recall its latest supercar after reports that several had burst into flames.

The Italian carmaker revealed it had investigated five "thermal incidents" across the world involving its 458 Italia model, which was unveiled last year at the Frankfurt motor-show. No fatalities were reported.

They discovered defects in the bonding adhesive used to attach the heat-shield to the wheel arch in each of the five cars. The heat-shield is designed to protect the wheel arch from the exhaust pipe, so if this "glue" melts then the wheel arch housing would be exposed to high temperatures.

But a Ferrari spokesperson told CNN it would have taken a combination of extreme conditions to actually cause the $260,000 car to ignite.

"Heavy usage of the car, such as driving very fast down a twisty road or up a mountain, will increase the temperature inside the engine bay," she said.

"If that is combined with extremely high ambient temperatures, which has been the case throughout Europe especially this summer, then this will cause the deformation of the wheel arch, bringing it closer to the exhaust and causing the car to smoke or ignite."

Ferrari said these defects would have occurred in a relatively small portion of the production, though it plans to examine all 1,148 cars produced up to July 30 this year. The five thermal incidents reported so far occurred in the U.S., Britain, France, Switzerland and China.

"We're contacting clients across the world to get them to bring their cars back to the dealers so we can check the wheel arch," the spokesperson said.

"If necessary we will replace the heat-shield with a new heat-shield that is riveted to the wheel arch rather than attached with the adhesive."

The luxury carmaker stressed that the issue is limited to the 458 model only.

Ferrari's latest sports car rolled off the production line at its Maranello factory near Bologna, Italy earlier this year. With a design inspired by former Ferrari F1 legend Michael Schumacher, the 458 boasts a formidable 4.5l V8 direct injection engine that gives it a top speed of almost 320 kph (200 mph).

**jimnyeatworld** · September 3rd, 2010 02:32 PM

five incidents in five countries ... the irony

**Monseratto** · September 3rd, 2010 05:26 PM

At least those victims will be recieving brand new ones. Paano yung mga 430s na nasunog dati?

Here's a close up of the F430's engine that burned in SLEX:

**renzo_d10** · September 3rd, 2010 05:30 PM

Originally Posted by Monseratto

http://jalopnik.com/tag/ferrari458italia/

This is where you get that f**ksh*t feeling wherein you've got nothing to do but just to walk away ...

**[archie]** · September 3rd, 2010 05:36 PM

Originally Posted by Monseratto

At least those victims will be recieving brand new ones. Paano yung mga 430s na nasunog dati?

Here's a close up of the F430's engine that burned in SLEX:

kung ako mayari niyan... siguro masasabi ko na lang... sana bumili na lang ako ng isang range rover at porsche na brand new. sobrang ouch niyan!

**safeorigin** · September 3rd, 2010 05:41 PM

hmmm... how come Jeremy Clarkson didn't get burned when he made a review of those?

**istan** · September 3rd, 2010 06:32 PM

Cuz its usually raining or drizzling in the UK. :D

**vito corleone** · September 6th, 2010 12:33 PM

what's wrong with ferrari engineers? hindi pa ba sila natuto sa f430?

**foresterx** · September 6th, 2010 01:04 PM

There is a service campaign on the 458 involving the installation of a modified breather vent unit for the fuel system The new part is fitted to the area in front of the left hand side rear wheel well. As far as the 458 service campaign goes, I had the new breather pipe installed this morning and it only took 45 minutes to do. I should have added, I've had zero issues with my car and if owners follow Ferrari's advice to leave the engine running for a few minutes before shutting down after a run this gives the engine a chance to cool down more efficiently. let's see how many will react, i dont really have a ferrari, just copy and pasted from ferrari chat.lol

**niky** · September 6th, 2010 01:28 PM

Originally Posted by foresterx

There is a service campaign on the 458 involving the installation of a modified breather vent unit for the fuel system The new part is fitted to the area in front of the left hand side rear wheel well. As far as the 458 service campaign goes, I had the new breather pipe installed this morning and it only took 45 minutes to do. I should have added, I've had zero issues with my car and if owners follow Ferrari's advice to leave the engine running for a few minutes before shutting down after a run this gives the engine a chance to cool down more efficiently. let's see how many will react, i dont really have a ferrari, just copy and pasted from ferrari chat.lol

:lol: :hysterical: Poser!

So... it's not cool down your engine to preserve your oil life... it's cool down your engine to keep your car from exploding? Okay... anybody interested in becoming a dealer in Ferrari badged turbo-timers?