If you thought your day couldn’t get any worse, think again. The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has issued a notice to recall 12,491 BMW cars across SA, citing an issue with the starter motor. If you’re one of the owners of the cars mentioned below, head to the nearest BMW dealership to replace the starter motor, free of charge.
You may be driving a fire hazard
The recall affects several of the German motoring company’s vehicles, including the BMW 3 Series (G20 model), 4 Series (G22 model), 5 Series (G30 model), Z4 (G29 model), X3 (G01 model), and X4 (G02 model).
BMW has discovered — through customer complaints and “product controls” — that water can enter the starter motor in the affected vehicles, unbeknownst to owners, and could eventually lead to corrosion. “This can lead to a short circuit and, subsequently, local overheating of the starter. In the worst case, this may result in a vehicle fire, which can occur even when the vehicle is parked,” the NCC said.
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If you’d rather not look like a 12-year-old’s GTA character who’s playing with his eyes closed, heed the NCC’s advice and avoid driving your vehicle through water that may result in the starter motor being totally submerged, “particularly with a chance of the vehicle remaining submerged for an extended period.”
Personally, we’d just avoid all bodies of water until you can make your way to the nearest authorised BMW dealership. If you’re still unsure whether you’re vehicle is on the recall list, you can click here (keep that VIN at the ready) or “monitor in-car communications” to find out more.
