The 2009 Ferrari California has 5 recalls, the most serious being a passenger-side frontal airbag inflator that can rupture and send metal fragments into the cabin, posing a risk of serious injury or death.
The airbag concern covers multiple filings that all point to the same problem. Over time, heat and humidity degrade the propellant inside the passenger frontal airbag inflator, which can cause it to explode with far more force than intended, turning the inflator housing into shrapnel directed at anyone in the front seat. This risk applies to the original inflators as well as certain replacement inflators installed during earlier repair attempts, as those interim parts were also found to carry the same hazard. Prior repair attempts did not fully resolve the issue for all affected vehicles, which is why multiple campaigns address the same core defect.
Separately from the airbag issue, there is a hydraulic brake recall in which brake function can be lost entirely, leaving the driver without reliable stopping power and raising the risk of a crash.
