BMW has recalled more than a million cars across several countries according to U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recalls affects multiple models built over a decade ago.
According to the documents, the vehicles are vulnerable due to ‘an electrical short in their positive crankcase ventilation valve heater.’ The issue is in the engine ventilation system which, over the cause of time, can lead to over heating and even cause a fire while the vehicle is being driven or even parked.
The documents go further to warn that if the driver sees or smells smoke or burning plastic, they should pull up to a safe location, shut off the engine and leave the vehicle.
The automaker is still developing a fix and will notify affected car owners starting April 25. The recalls covers many 3 Series, 5 Series, 1 Series, X5, X3, and Z4 vehicles from the year 2006 through to 2013.
A BMW spokesperson stated that approximately 917,000 sedans and SUVs in the US are being recalled, along with an additional 98,000 cars in Canada and 18,000 in South Korea.
Apparently, most of these cars were already recalled in 2017 and 2019 for the same issue, this will be their third recall. BMW insists that owners who had previous repairs done on the mentioned recalls will still need to get their vehicles fixed again.
So far, 8 incidents of fire have been reported. The first one was in 2019 and by early 2021, six more had been documented. However, the automaker says the incidents are rare and that it has started voluntary recalls.
If you are concerned about your BMW being amongst the affected vehicles, you can go to https :/ /www . nhtsa . gov / and key in your 17-digit vehicle identification number.