BMW Recalls More Than One Million Vehicles
Is your BMW at risk of Spontaneous Bimmer Combustion?
Earlier this year, we published a story about an ABC News investigation into a phenomenon we dubbed “Spontaneous Bimmer Combustion.” Now, five months later, BMW is doing something about it.
On November 3, BMW announced a recall of over one million vehicles. According to the company, there are two separate issues that put owners at risk of fire. One is an overheating air conditioning system. The other is a valve pre-heater that can rust closed and overheat, causing a fire to break out in the engine bay.
While BMWs with failing HVAC systems have long been known as a fire risk – especially to E34 5 Series owners – this recent pair of issues is serious enough for BMW to issue a recall.
The recall affects around one million vehicles in the US and about 15,000 in Canada. BMW says the recall may be expanded to other countries – and vehicles – soon.
Vehicles affected include the E90 3 Series, with 670,000 vehicles recalled. The E90 is affected by a blower motor issue stemming from the wiring harness. The recall will cover replacement of the wiring harness with an improved part.
While the harness was improved in 2011 for production models, BMW had not been aware of any issues with the part until recently.
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Some of these same cars are affected by the second recall too. This also includes 1 Series, 5 Series, X3, X5, and Z4 models up to 2011. Some 740,000 vehicles are covered by this recall, which affects the valve heater and has contributed to heat damage underhood.
BMW has known about this issue in some form since 2009, but the issues at the time were not widespread.
No injuries or crashes have been reported due to these issues, but BMW intends to inspect the returned parts. Unfortunately, it’s small consolation to the dozens of owners that knew about these issues prior and experienced property loss.
