Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio Recalled for Brake Snafu

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

Many years of competing in demolition derbies taught me many things, such as the value of not looking over my shoulder while reversing into someone at a high rate of speed and the importance of a good neck brace. I also learned that while one can substitute other liquids for transmission fluid, braking systems don’t play well with any pollutant that’s not designed to be in there.

Alfa Romeo has also discovered this fact, and is now recalling a total of 307 Giulia sedans and Stelvio crossovers from the 2018 model year for potentially contaminated brake fluid.

As detailed by the NHTSA, certain Giulias and Stelvios may contain brake fluid that was contaminated in the assembly plant with a non-compatible oil type. On November 23, two vehicles within the plant failed the dynamic Customer Product Audit quality test when they experienced a loss of clutch pressure. FCA says the entire yard was subsequently placed on hold as a safety measure.

Five days later, Alfa Romeo opened an investigation into the loss of clutch pedal pressure due to QC failure of those two subject vehicles. The same day, the boffins at Alfa donned white coats and conducted laboratory analysis on the vehicles that failed QC. This revealed contamination of the brake and clutch fluid with mineral oil. Further investigation found that a pallet containing those three fluids was used starting November 13th.

The next day, all vehicles were held at the assembly plant, with suspect vehicles tested for oil contamination. On December 5th, the plant created a system in which vehicles would be assembled using brake and clutch fluid from barrels they knew to be uncontaminated. Using date codes and a bit of math, Alfa determined 307 Giulias and Stelvios were built during the time frame in question.

What happens when brake fluid is polluted? Well, the brake system components contaminated with non-compatible oil may become damaged and braking performance may suffer. Vehicles with contaminated brake fluid may experience decreased braking performance when depressing the brake pedal. In certain cases, it can cause a system failure with little warning, leading to a vehicle crash.

Alfa Romeo will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the braking system, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 8, 2018. Owners may contact Alfa Romeo customer service at 1-844-253-2872. Chrysler’s number for this recall is T84.

[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • RHD RHD on Jan 02, 2018

    Powdered Stelvio really sweetens up a cup of tea, and adds very few calories. Draining the brake fluid is highly recommended before making Stelvio powder.

  • Advance_92 Advance_92 on Jan 02, 2018

    Lucky for the US Alfas don't have clutches, then.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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