The starter motor may be defective, which could cause a fire in the vehicle in the worst case scenario.
The German manufacturer BMW is recall hundreds of thousands of vehicles due to a fire risk, A company spokesperson announced this Wednesday to AFP, confirming the news reported by the specialized magazine Kfz-Betrieb.
“Product controls and customer complaints showed that, in the identified vehicles, the starter motor may be defective“, which could cause “in the worst case scenario, a fire in the vehicle”, indicated the automotive group in a statement sent to AFP.
According to Kfz-Betrieb magazine, 575.000 vehicles will be affected worldwide, a number that the BMW spokeswoman declined to confirm, referring only to a number in the “six digits”.
Not totally, 16 models equipped with a starter relay and produced between July 2020 and July 2022 present the risk, according to BMW.
Vehicles in which a defective starter motor was subsequently installed during a repair are also affected.
Specifically, BMW has found that wear can occur in a component two starter motor after a large number of starts, preventing the vehicle engine from starting correctly.
In some cases, this can lead to a “short circuit”.
“This could result in local overheating of the starter motor” which, “in the worst case scenario, could cause a fire in the vehicle”, according to BMW.
For these reasons, the company recommends Do not leave the vehicle unattended after starting the engine.
“In all potentially affected vehicles, the motor starter must be substituted”, as well as the battery in some models “to adapt to the new starter motor”, indicated BMW.
At the end of 2024, BMW recalled 1.5 million vehicles due to a defect in the braking system, which forced it to reduce its annual targets.
A spokesperson for the group told AFP that the current recall will have little or no impact on the group’s results.
