Maserati recalls 50,000 cars and crossovers for fire risks
There are two separate recalls for distinctly different issues, but both can increase the chance of a fire.
Fire is rarely good in a car, unless you paid for the option of a wood-burning stove. Maserati's vehicles lack such an option, which means fire risks have the company issuing two new recalls.
Recall the first: Fire risks from the front seats
A simple part swap will clean this issue up.
Maserati's first recall affects 39,381 examples of the 2014-2017 Quattroporte and Ghibli sedans, as well as the 2017 Levante SUV. These vehicles feature manufacturing dates between June 1, 2013 and December 31, 2016.
NHTSA's defect report pins the issue on an incorrect seat wiring harness layout, which might cause the wiring harness to rub against metal on the seat or seat frame assembly. During normal use of the power front seats, the harness may be damaged.
Most likely, a damaged cable will cause a seat adjustment malfunction, but in a worst case scenario, it could cause a short to ground, which would increase the risk of a fire.
Maserati will notify owners via first class mail. Fixing the issue involves inspecting the vehicles in question and replacing the wiring harness as necessary. The recall should begin on March 21, 2017, according to the defect report.
Recall the second: Fire risks from weeping fuel lines
This Ghibli is from 2017, but considering there's only one generation, you may not have noticed without me telling you. I almost pulled a fast one on ya.
Maserati's second recall covers 10,879 examples of the 2014-2015 Quattroporte and Ghibli sedans.
In this recall, the issue relates to fuel lines. Maserati's defect report blames the fuel line supplier for lines that may weep or leak fuel, which is very clearly a fire hazard. There may be fuel leaks at the fuel lines' quick connectors, due to excessive peeling during the assembly process. Insufficient cleaning of the lines during assembly might cause leakage at other points in the line, as well.
This recall is expected to begin at the end of February. Owners can bring their cars to the dealer, which will replace the affected fuel lines free of charge.