Maserati Recalling Brand New Sedans Over Fire Risk

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Maserati of North America is recalling over 1,000 of its newest luxury sedans to repair fuel lines that pose an engine fire risk. It’s not exactly what you’d want to hear when discussing your fresh, six-figure status symbol, but the automaker appears to be addressing the problem right out of the gate. According to the manufacturer, the vehicles haven’t even been delivered to the customers yet.

The affected vehicles include Maserati’s 2018 Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans. Both models suffer from a potentially weepy fuel line in the engine compartment that could leak gasoline exactly where you don’t want it. As customers have yet to take delivery, the units will have to be repaired prior to being picked up.

In the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall report, the faulty component is from supplier SumiRiko Italy SpA and encompasses all 1,406 of the vehicles manufactured from July 24th through December 14th — when the problem was finally identified.

“The suspect vehicles may experience a fuel leakage, at the quick connectors, within the engine compartment and underfloor of vehicle connectors,” read the NHTSA document. “This is due to an excessive peeling of the plastic fuel line end, during the preliminary phase, before the fuel line quick connector is assembled onto the line.”

Presumably, no Maserati owners will have to deal with the issue firsthand. However, a engine warning light should illuminate if the probablem were to arise on any unit that somehow escaped repairs. If you just so happen to own one of these vehicles and notice the alert, it would be advisable to take it in right away.

Maserati will be happy to remedy the situation free of charge and stated that it will be issuing customer notification letters by mail, regardless of if the repairs take place before an owner takes delivery or not.

[Source: Bloomberg] [Image: Maserati]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

More by Matt Posky

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 8 comments
  • IBx1 IBx1 on Jan 02, 2018

    “an engine warning light should illuminate if the probablem were to arise on any unit that somehow escaped repairs.” The term you're looking for is "pilot light."

  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Jan 02, 2018

    This is the sort of thing EV drivers don't have to worry about.

    • See 1 previous
    • Mcs Mcs on Jan 03, 2018

      @singray65: "Yes, EV owners only need to be concerned about exploding batteries." Really? The article was about vehicles in a non-accident situation. I haven't read any articles recently about EVs with exploding batteries outside of cars involved in accidents. Maybe you have since you seem to be totally obsessed with EVs. I do worry about the batteries in the robots I work with and take a lot of precautions, but I don't worry about my car. It seems to be fine. My gas cars are another story. Especially the vintage ones.

  • FreedMike Not my favorite car design, but that blue color is outstanding.
  • Lorenzo Car racing is dying, and with it my interest. Midget/micro racing was my last interest in car racing, and now sanctioning body bureaucrats are killing it off too. The more organized it is, the less interesting it becomes.
  • Lorenzo Soon, the rental car lots will be filled with Kia's as far as the eye can see!
  • Lorenzo You can't sell an old man's car to a young man, but you CAN sell a young man's car to an old man (pardon the sexism, it's not my quote).Solution: Young man styling, but old man amenities, hidden if necessary, like easier entry/exit (young men gradually turn into old men, and will appreciate them).
  • Wjtinfwb Hmmm. Given that most Ford designs are doing relatively well in the marketplace, if this was forced I'd bet it was over the S650 Mustang. It's not a bad looking car but some angles seem very derivative of other makes, never a good trait for a car as distinctive as Mustang. And if he had anything to do with the abysmal dashboard, that's reason enough. Mustang doesn't need the "Tokyo by Night" dash arrangement of a more boring car. Analog gauges, a screen big enough for GPS, not Netflix and some decent quality plastics is plenty. The current set-up would be enough to dissuade me from considering a new Mustang.
Next