Recall of BMW over fire risk also in Europe

Following fires in several BMW vehicles in South Korea, the German brand will launch a recall campaign covering a total of 324,000 cars, with affected models also in Europe.

The alarm went off in South Korea, where a technical problem has caused a fire in around thirty vehicles of the brand BMW, prompting the German manufacturer to react. Initially a recall was launched affecting 106,000 vehicles in that country. However, investigations carried out in parallel have led BMW to extend this recall campaign over a possible fire risk to Europe as well. In total, around 324,000 vehicles could be affected.

In the following video, we can see one of the cases that have occurred in South Korea, in which the vehicle owner was unable to do anything to save his car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA-JCeFMRRc

Which BMW models are affected by the fire risk?

In principle, the BMW models in the 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 Series, as well as the BMW X3, X4, X5 and X6 SUVs, equipped with the 4-cylinder diesel engine and built between April 2015 and September 2016, or those fitted with the six-cylinder diesel engine, built between July 2012 and June 2015. If your car is one of these cases, you will need to wait for the brand’s recall notice, which will arrange an appointment at the dealership for the necessary work, at no cost to the customer.

A faulty EGR could be the cause

The fault that can cause the fire in the vehicle originates in the exhaust gas recirculation system (EGR) found in diesel engines. This system is responsible for feeding part of the exhaust gases back into the intake circuit, reducing the oxygen level in the combustion chamber and producing fewer nitrogen oxide emissions.

The problem lies in the EGR cooling system, which in some cases can cause leaks of the coolant (glycol). When this mixes with ash residues and exhaust gas particles, and with the high temperatures in the EGR, it could cause a fire in the engine. Although according to BMW the chances of this happening are slim, owners of these vehicles should be careful if they see smoke coming from their engine, as the fault does not trigger any prior warning on the instrument cluster.

BMW’s problems with fire

This is not the first time BMW has had problems causing fire risk in its vehicles. In 2012 a recall was already carried out for MINI and BMW vehicles over fire risk, which could be caused by a fault in the auxiliary coolant water pump of the turbocharger. In March of that same year, more than 1.3 million vehicles worldwide were recalled, mainly from the 5 Series and 6 Series, also due to a possible fire risk caused by incorrect routing of the battery system cable. And in May 2012, the German manufacturer had to carry out a recall campaign in the United Kingdom affecting nearly 400,000 vehicles, due to a problem detected in the engine ignition that could cause the vehicle to stop suddenly.

More recently, in November 2017, BMW recalled 1.4 million vehicles in North America over fire risk problems. Specifically, 670,000 units of the 3 Series, with a problem detected in the wiring of the heating and air conditioning system, and 740,000 units of the 1, 5, X3, X5 and Z4 Series, due to a valve at risk of oxidation, whose malfunction could also cause the car to catch fire.