BMW recalls 1.3 million cars

BMW has recalled 1.3 million cars worldwide, including 10,000 in Australia, in one of the prestigious German brand’s largest recalls in recent years.

Previous-generation 5 Series and 6 Series models built between 2003 and 2010 have been recalled to check the battery cable cover inside the boot, which may be incorrectly mounted.

BMW AG has advised that in some cases this can result in the electrical system malfunctioning, the vehicle failing to start and, in some cases, to charring or fire.

Head office in Munich – which described the recall as a “quality measure” – said it was not aware of any accidents or injury due to the fault. According to The Wall Street Journal, only nine cases of related defects have been reported.

The recall comes just seven weeks after BMW agreed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US to pay $US3 million in civil penalties for failing to report defects quickly enough.

This followed an NHTSA investigation into 16 BMW car and motorcycle recalls issued in 2010 that found “a number of instances” where the company failed to meet a federal requirement on all car-makers to notify authorities of a safety defect within five business days and then promptly issue a recall to correct the problem.

Left: 2007 model BMW 650i Convertible.



“It’s critical to the safety of the driving public that defects and recalls are reported in short order,” said NHTSA administrator David Strickland on February 10, adding that BMW had agreed to ensure timely reporting in future.

BMW Australia today advised that there had been local no reports of problems as described in the recall, but would nevertheless write to owners advising them to take their cars to an authorised BMW service centre for inspection and rectification.

The company estimates this free inspection process will take about 30 minutes.

This is BMW Australia’s second recall this year, after more than 3500 Minis were recalled in January due to a possible fault with an electric water pump.

In November, BMW Australia also recalled up to 900 high-end late-model X5, X6, 5 Series and 7 Series vehicles to replace water pumps after overseas reports of a fire risk, but classed that as a technical campaign rather than a safety recall.