Oh, the misery Alfa Romeo owners face. Looking at forums and then hearing about this latest brake issue makes buying into the Alfa mystique a huge mistake. And that’s too bad because every enthusiast can easily buy into it. It had an illustrious racing history, beautiful design, and the exotic pull of Italian craftsmanship. But not anymore, and fracturing brake discs is only the latest Alfa Romeo Giulia disaster. 

This latest gaffe is not totally Alfa’s fault. But piled onto all of the other issues Alfa owners face you have to ask, “What’s going to go wrong today?” The brakes are Brembo items, and it seems that it changed its manufacturing process starting in 2020. So without warning the discs can literally shatter according to Carscoops. 

A recall has been put into effect for Giulia sedans

A recall has been put into effect for Giulias built between February and July of this year according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “The suspect population period for vehicles in this recall began February 17, 2020, when rear brake discs with a new finish and new material mixing machine were introduced into production, through July 27, 2020, when the suspect parts were no longer used in the production of vehicles included in this recall,” the safety agency says. 

Of course, if the brake discs shatter it would naturally take a longer time and distance to stop. That would put affected owners in a bad position. Fiat Chrysler was first informed of the situation by Brembo at the end of October. By mid-November Fiat Chrysler’s Vehicle Regulations Committee initiated the recall. 

Some of the Alfa problems stem not so much from bad quality or faulty parts

But this adds to the issues and disappointments expressed by Alfa owners, especially when roaming the online forums. And some of the problems stem not so much from bad quality or faulty parts. It has to do with how customers get treated during the repair process. 

One Redditt poster in just the first couple of days of ownership experienced numerous problems with his new Giulia sedan. Seat adjust, remote start, and then blower motor failure began the bad that was to follow. Once at the dealer the owner was told “the remote-start issue doesn’t exist, there’s nothing that can be done further, and my buyback is denied.” This, after two other attempts at fixing the remote-start issue. And the time spent at the dealer chasing down problems with the Giulia meant it qualified for Lemon Law restitution. Now the owner refuses to retrieve the Giulia from the dealer and has rejected paying the $130 a day storage costs. The dealer says that Fiat Chrysler will no longer “approve further warranty repairs.” 

Since first experiencing issues with his Alfa more have surfaced

Since first experiencing issues more have surfaced. The presets for the radio don’t work. Highway driving assist only works sporadically, sometimes taking numerous cycles to engage. Front parking sensors “freak out.” Turning them off sometimes causes them to turn on automatically.  

It’s hard to think this Alfa doesn’t qualify as a Lemon. But now even if Fiat Chrysler replaces the sedan I doubt the owner wants it. If problems start surfacing he’ll have to deal with his local dealer again. In all, it is a lot to deal with for an $80,000 car.