BMW is recalling vehicles from several model series worldwide. Overall, it’s a mid-six-digit number, according to the Munich manufacturer. In Germany 28,582 vehicles are affected. The “kfz-betrieb” had previously reported that there were a total of 575,000 vehicles. BMW did not confirm this.
According to BMW, product checks revealed that increased wear could occur in the magnetic switch after a high number of starts. This makes it harder for the car to start, or even impossible to start at all. In addition, a short circuit cannot be ruled out, which could lead to local overheating of the starter.
“In the worst case scenario, this will result in a vehicle fire during operation. In this case, smoke may be seen or smelled while driving or exiting the vehicle.” BMW therefore recommends not leaving the vehicle unattended with the engine running.
Numerous series affected
Specifically, it concerns vehicles from the 2 Series Coupé series, several variants of the 3 Series, 4 Series and 5 Series, the 6 Series Gran Tourismo, the 7 Series Sedan, X4, X5, X6 and Z4.
Vehicles with a starter from the production period July 2020 to July 2022 are potentially affected. However, the production period of the vehicles cannot be clearly defined. Vehicles in which a faulty starter was subsequently installed during a repair are also affected.
BMW recalled hundreds of thousands of cars last fall, because in the worst case a starter problem could lead to fires. At that time, however, the cause was not wear, but rather water that could penetrate the starter and lead to corrosion. Here too, a short circuit and, in the worst case scenario, a fire were possible. Unlike now, back then this was also possible when switched off.