Owners have filed 9 complaints on the Ferrari 488 GTB, covering 2016–2019. The system named most often is Service Brakes (4 reports). Worst years by volume: 2017, 2018, 2016; cleanest: 2019, 2016, 2018. 2 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 3.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ferrari 488 GTB
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 9 488 GTB complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 4 Read
On 6/4/21, my 2018 ferrari 488 gtb displayed a message in my left dash instrument panel prior to complete brake failure in my driveway that read "brake fluid low-drive to dealer slowly", that resulted in my ferrari being totaled by state farm after I jumped out of the running and moving ferrari onto my rear lawn…
On Sunday Sept 4th, while attending an Edge Addicts track day event at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, My 2017 488 Was parts of the run group, 2 laps were completed prior to the brake pedal failing completely to the floor and causing my driver to loose all braking capability and slamming into a wall. We have in car…
The contact owns a 2019 Ferrari 488 GTB. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V833000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called the local dealer and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the…
Air Bags 3 Read
In april of this year we received notice of an airbag recall. The noticed mentions parts are available. We tried to make an appointment with our dealer but they mentioned the parts were not available. We have followed up with the dealer several times to no avail. We contact ferrari usa customer service an they only…
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2016 ferrari 488 gtb. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 19V006000 (air bags). The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Ferrari beverly hills (9372 wilshire blvd, beverly hills, ca 90212) was…
Rpm Royalty a rental car company located at [XXX] has been renting out a rebuilt 488 Ferrari with no functional airbags. This is a serious safety risk INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Visibility/wiper 1 Read
Headliner is sagging and this is causing sun visor to come down thus affecting visibility of the driver. This problem is very common on this model and causing a safety issue
488 GTB years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | — | — | |
| 2018 | Service Brakes | 1 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 8 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.1 |
| Worst single series | 2 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 3.4 years |
A model average of 1.1 hides a worst series at 2. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the 488 GTB?
By complaint volume, 2017, 2018, 2016 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which 488 GTB years are the cleanest?
2019, 2016, 2018 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ferrari 488 GTB have?
9 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2016–2019. Of those, 2 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.