Lamborghini USA Recalls Every Aventador And Veneno Because Of Potential Rev-Battle Fires

If you own a Lamborghini Aventador, especially one with an aftermarket exhaust (we all own one, right?), you might want to read this.

Lamborghini has recalled the Aventador in the USA over fears that certain types of, err, Lamborghini-ish behaviour could set the car on fire. All standard Aventadors and Aventador Roadsters going back to 2012 are affected, as well as Anniversario, Miura Homage, Super Veloce and Pirelli Edition specials. The Veneno has been recalled, too, because it shares the affected parts.

The problem stems from over-filling the fuel tank and ‘certain driving conditions,’ according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Lamborghini’s own report back to the NHTSA found that driving the car hard on a very full tank could cause fuel to escape to the carbon canister of the catalytic converter. In turn that could stop the unit’s purge valves from working, allowing fuel vapour into the exhaust.

According to Lamborghini, revving the car hard from idle, like we always see in YouTube rev battles, could result in an explosive meeting of excess fuel vapour and heat. That exact train of events could be the cause behind a number of Aventador fires caught on camera, like this one in Dubai.

The company says that non-approved aftermarket exhausts make the problem more likely to occur. In its report the company wrote:

“EVAP system components faults could cause fuel vapors not treated properly. With not properly treated fuel vapor, particular maneuvers, as example engine over revving at idle, could imply contact between fuel vapor and hot gasses.

“Especially if combined with a not approved aftermarket exhaust system this could lead to risk of fire.”

It first learned of the symptoms of the problem in 2015, before the first officially-acknowledged incident of bodywork melting in March 2016.