Porsche 918 Spyder gets tiny recall for rear control arms

Tue, 09 Sep 2014

As the recent US recall of a single Koenigsegg Agera shows, even low-production supercars aren't immune from safety campaigns. Now, there's another example that even the fastest cars can have their faults. The Porsche 918 Spyder is a pretty fantastic vehicle for its ability to mix hybrid fuel economy and incredible amounts of power, but Porsche has a problem on a few units of its halo model.

According to the recall document from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Porsche needs to inspect and possibly repair five 918s in the US because the rear axle control arms may break, which could cause a loss of control while driving. In the full defect notice, Porsche says that it first noticed the problem on June 26 when the parts failed during "heavy duty durability testing (extreme race conditions)" at the Nardo test track in Italy. It transported the components back to the company's lab for inspection, and on July 18 it issued a stop-sale to inspect the suspension parts on the supercar. The automaker also contacted owners by phone to warn them not to use the car on track, until repaired.

The affected 918s will be inspected, and if the cars have the bad parts, the control arms are will be replaced. Obviously, this will be done at no cost to owners. According to a Porsche spokesperson speaking to Autoblog, in addition to the five US cars potentially affected, there were 45 worldwide. All of the cars have now been checked. Scroll down to read the report from the regulator or download the full defect notice as a PDF, here.

RECALL Subject : Rear Axle Control Arms may Break

Report Receipt Date: JUL 28, 2014
NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V457000
Component(s):
Potential Number of Units Affected: 5
All Products Associated with this Recall close
Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s)

PORSCHE 918 SPYDER 2015

Details
Manufacturer: Porsche Cars North America, Inc.

SUMMARY:
Porsche Cars of North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain model year 2015 918 Spyder vehicles manufactured May 7, 2014, to June 18, 2014. The affected vehicles may have been manufactured with rear-axle control arms that may break, causing difficulty controlling the vehicle.

CONSEQUENCE:
If the control arms break, the driver may lose control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

REMEDY:
Porsche will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the control arms, as necessary, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Porsche customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is AE03.

NOTES:
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

By Chris Bruce