BMW was forced to recall more than 87,000 vehicles in the United States earlier this year because of an issue with its starter motors. Executives at the company had probably hoped this recall and the subsequent repairs would have ended the issues. It hasn’t.
A new recall issued by BMW in the US reveals that a further 318,495 vehicles need to be recalled for the same issue, even though fewer than 0.1 percent of them are suspected of having the faulty starter motor.
Read: Over Half A Million BMWs Recalled For Fire Risk, And Toyota’s Caught In It Too
The starter motor in question is sourced from Valeo and, over time, metallic material in the electrical relay chamber could build up due to excessive abrasion. Not only does this mean the starter motor may fail to fire up the engine, but it could also trigger a fire, either when starting the engine or when the vehicle is running.
BMW says that subsequent investigations to the recall issued in late January revealed starter motors produced at a different production facility may also suffer from the same fault, hence this new and broader recall.
Among the models included in this new recall are the 2023-2024 Toyota Supra, 2022-2025 BMW 2-Series Coupe, 2021-2023 BMW 5-Series, 2022-2026 BMW Z4, 2023-2024 BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe, 2023-2024 BMW 4-Series Convertible, 2023-2024 BMW 4-Series Coupe, 2023-2024 BMW 3-Series, 2021-2025 BMW X4, and the 2021-2024 BMW X3.
Replacements Are Coming
Although BMW says it has not been made aware of any accidents or injuries related to the issue, it is aware of two related incidents outside of the US, involving a 4-Series Convertible and an X3, as well as one related incident impacting an X3 in the United States.
Owners of affected vehicles will be alerted to the recall from August 28. BMW will replace the engine starter motor of every car listed, even if they do not show signs of any issues.
Recalled Models
| Vehicle | Model Year(s) | Production Dates |
| Toyota Supra | 2023–2024 | Sep 01, 2022 – May 21, 2024 |
| BMW 2 Series Coupe (230i, 230i xDrive) | 2022–2025 | Jul 14, 2021 – Apr 29, 2025 |
| BMW 5 Series (530i, 530i xDrive) | 2021–2023 | Jun 24, 2021 – Jun 29, 2023 |
| BMW Z4 (Z4 sDrive30i) | 2022–2026 | Sep 01, 2022 – Apr 16, 2025 |
| BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe (430i, 430i xDrive) | 2023–2024 | Oct 01, 2022 – Jun 01, 2024 |
| BMW 4 Series Convertible (430i, 430i xDrive) | 2023–2024 | Sep 02, 2022 – Feb 28, 2024 |
| BMW 4 Series Coupe (430i, 430i xDrive) | 2023–2024 | Sep 01, 2022 – Feb 28, 2024 |
| BMW 3 Series (330i, 330i xDrive) | 2023–2024 | Oct 10, 2022 – Jul 24, 2024 |
| BMW X4 (xDrive30i) | 2021–2025 | Dec 14, 2020 – Apr 13, 2025 |
| BMW X3 (sDrive30i, xDrive30i) | 2021–2024 | Dec 14, 2020 – Aug 27, 2024 |
SWIPE

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