BMW to recall vehicles worldwide due to fire risk

​​​​​​​By Bahattin Gonultas

BERLIN (AA) - BMW will recall hundreds of thousands of vehicles produced from July 2020 - ⁠2022 due to a technical fault in the starter system that is likely to cause a fire, according to an announcement.

The Munich-based luxury car maker said 28,582 vehicles will be recalled in Germany, but it has yet to disclose the number of units to be recalled worldwide or the costs of the recall.

BMW warned that some excessive wear may occur in the starter motor solenoid after heavy use, which would make it difficult or outright impossible to start the vehicle, while bringing with it a risk of short circuit capable of triggering a localized overheating in the starter motor.

In the worst-case scenario, it could start a fire in the vehicle while it is in motion.

BMW advised owners of vehicles produced in the affected timeframe not to leave their vehicles unattended while the engine is running.

The recall covers variants of the 2 Series Coupe, 3, 4, 5, and 7 Series sedans, as well as the 6 Series Gran Turismo, X4, X5, X6 and Z4 models.

Vehicles with starter relays produced between July 2020 and July 2022 are at particular risk, while vehicles with faulty starter motors installed during repairs are also included in the recall.

The automaker announced a large-scale recall in September for vehicles produced from September 2015 - 2021 due to a fault in the starter system capable of starting a fire.

That recall was due to water leaks causing corrosion, but in the current recall, the problem is linked to physical wear and tear. Fire risk was still there even when the engine is not running in the previous recall, but the current recall is reportedly due to a fire risk that is more likely to occur when the engine is running.⁠​​​​​​​

* Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul