Earlier this week, BMW issued a global recall for up to hundreds of thousands of vehicles due to a potential fire hazard that is related to a faulty starter system. After a bit of probing, kfz-betrieb, a German news outlet, determined that the automaker is planning to recall up to 575,000 vehicles across multiple model series.
A German BMW representative noted that, after some time and a substantial number of engine starts, the starter system could cause excessive wear to the magnetic switch. At best, the affected cars are harder to start or will not start at all, but the issue can escalate to a fire risk.
Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC), an automobile association based in Germany, mentions that the metal abrasion in the magnetic switch can lead to overheating. At worst, the vehicle can catch fire while on the road.
The affected models include the 2 Series Coupé (model code: G42), 3 Series Sedan (G20), 3 Series Touring (G21), 3 Series Long Wheelbase (G28), 4 Series Coupé (G22), 4 Series Convertible (G23), 4 Series Gran Coupé (G26), 5 Series Sedan (G30), 5 Series Touring (G31), 6 Series Gran Turismo (G32), 7 Series Sedan (G11, G12), X3 (G01), X4 (G02), X5 (G05), X6 (G06), and Z4 (G29, including the mechanically identical Toyota Supra). The representative said that these models in particular may experience increased wear in the magnetic switch after a high number of start cycles.
The same representative added that the potentially affected vehicles were retrofitted with a starter relay manufactured between July 2020 and July 2022. The company cannot determine the vehicles’ production period exactly because transport distances between the starter production plant and the vehicle assembly plants differ and therefore need to identify each vehicle by its vehicle identification number (VIN).
We’ve reached out to BMW Malaysia, and a local representative tells us, “Only a selection of vehicles produced from July 2020 to July 2022 are affected by this recall campaign. We at BMW Group Malaysia together with our Authorised Dealer Partners are currently ascertaining the actual number of vehicles affected in Malaysia. Our Dealer Partners will be in touch directly with our customers who [are] affected once identified.”
(Source: kfz-betrieb, via BMW Blog)
