Photo: Maserati
Have you spent $71,600 on a Ghibli? Or $103,400 on a Quattroporte? I salute your exquisite taste in cars, but I’m afraid Maserati sedans have their fair share of quirks. Beyond them, the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group announced that Ghiblis and Quattroportes manufactured for the 2017 model year are being recalled over an improperly torqued rear differential pinion nut.
NHTSA campaign number 16V-856 tells it as it is: vehicles made from July 1, 2016, to October 12, 2016, may have been improperly assembled by the proud workforce over at the Avv. Giovanni Agnelli plant in Italy. The potential number of Ghibli and Quattroporte units affected? 326 of them, thank you!
Maserati says that the rear differential's pinion nut “may not have been properly tightened, allowing the pinion nut to loosen.” A loose pinion can be identified by aural faculty or, more catastrophically, a differential fluid leak at the seal. In the most severe of cases, the loose pinion nut could bind the vehicle’s diff, blocking the rotation of the ring gear.
So to speak, the rear wheels may lock without notice, a condition that increases the risk of a crash. Maserati USA instructed dealers to check how well the pinion nut is torqued and, if the situation calls for it, replace the rear differential unit altogether. At no cost to the owner, of course.
Maserati underlines that “out of an overabundance of caution, Maserati issued an immediate stop sale order to our dealer network.” For those people who are waiting for their Ghibli or Quattroporte luxury sedans to be delivered, I’m afraid I have bad news for you as well. A U.S. port hold for all the potentially affected vehicles from the 2017 model year, that is.
The manufacturer discovered this fault on September 1, 2016, when the quality assurance team identified a weird noise coming from the diff on two cars during standard on-road testing before delivery. GKN plc, the British company that designed the rear differential of the Ghibli and Quattroporte, performed a risk assessment on all stock parts available at that moment in time, identifying a 10 percent failure rate within the batch.
Maserati says that the rear differential's pinion nut “may not have been properly tightened, allowing the pinion nut to loosen.” A loose pinion can be identified by aural faculty or, more catastrophically, a differential fluid leak at the seal. In the most severe of cases, the loose pinion nut could bind the vehicle’s diff, blocking the rotation of the ring gear.
So to speak, the rear wheels may lock without notice, a condition that increases the risk of a crash. Maserati USA instructed dealers to check how well the pinion nut is torqued and, if the situation calls for it, replace the rear differential unit altogether. At no cost to the owner, of course.
Maserati underlines that “out of an overabundance of caution, Maserati issued an immediate stop sale order to our dealer network.” For those people who are waiting for their Ghibli or Quattroporte luxury sedans to be delivered, I’m afraid I have bad news for you as well. A U.S. port hold for all the potentially affected vehicles from the 2017 model year, that is.
The manufacturer discovered this fault on September 1, 2016, when the quality assurance team identified a weird noise coming from the diff on two cars during standard on-road testing before delivery. GKN plc, the British company that designed the rear differential of the Ghibli and Quattroporte, performed a risk assessment on all stock parts available at that moment in time, identifying a 10 percent failure rate within the batch.
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