Alfa Romeo Suspension: Lower Ball Joint

Alfa Romeo is recalling about 7,912 vehicles over a problem with the suspension. In time, this could lead to noise, steering wheel vibration, and failure of the ball joint stud resulting in damage or separation of the suspension arm.

Campaign
09V001000
Manufacturer
MASERATI NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Reported
6 January 2009
Vehicles
7,912
Built between
Until Jun 2008
Models
4
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
13 February 2009
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between an unspecified date and June 2008. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2008 Alfa Romeo 8CBuilt unknown to June 2008
  • 2008 Maserati GranturismoBuilt unknown to June 2008
  • 2006-2008 Maserati QuattroporteBuilt unknown to June 2008
  • 2005 Maserati QuattroportesBuilt unknown to June 2008

What the defect is

Maserati is recalling 7,912 my 2008 gran turismo, quattroporte, and alfa romeo vehicles. Incorrectly torqued upper and lower ball joint nuts may cause the ball joint nuts to loosen.

What could happen

In time, this could lead to noise, steering wheel vibration, and failure of the ball joint stud resulting in damage or separation of the suspension arm. This could result in a loss of steering capability, increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE TORQUE OF THE FRONT/REAR UPPER AND LOWER BALL JOINT NUTS AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE SUSPENSION ARMS AND HUB CARRIER. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING FEBRUARY 2009.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtunknown to June 2008
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA6 January 2009
  3. Owners notified13 February 2009

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 6 January 2009.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Maserati customer service at 1-877-696-2737.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
183
Recalling manufacturer
MASERATI NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Maserati recall no. 183.CUSTOMERS may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to <a href=http://www.safercar.gov>http://www.safercar.gov</a> .

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand