NHTSA Complaint #11623112 — 2017 ALFA ROMEO GIULIA

On September 1, 2024, I was driving my Giulia over a busy 4-lane overpass. An error code related to the fuel system flashed on the dashboard, and the car stopped nearly instantly in the lane where I was driving. Upon seeing the error code, I was not able to pull over into the breakdown lane - it was that sudden. Attempts to restart the vehicle failed. My wife (who was a passenger) and I quickly walked off the overpass to relative safety and called for a towing service. The police initially thought that the car was left in the way of traffic in the middle of a travel lane, rather than being pulled over into the breakdown lane. I had to explain that my Giulia stopped too quickly for me to be able to pull into the breakdown lane. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic that same day (September 1st, 2024) who confirmed the failure to restart the vehicle but declined to perform any work, referring me instead to Alfa Romeo service. The vehicle was towed to an Alfa Romeo dealership on September 23rd, 2024, where it sits to this day (November 1st, 2024). The dealership reports that the failure is due to a known issue - a defective fuel pump and associated control module. The dealership reports that they have the new fuel pump on hand, but that the associated control module is still unavailable. The dealership is unable to provide a date when the control module will become available. Looking back, I shudder at the thought that my wife and I were less than 1 minute from getting onto the I495 interstate.