A new and dangerous flaw has sent a fresh shockwave through the German auto giant BMW AG, forcing it to recall at least 331,000 vehicles in the latest chapter of a deepening and costly quality control crisis.
The move, prompted by a defect in the starter motor that can lead to a vehicle fire, is another bruising setback for a company still reeling from a separate, billion-dollar recall that has shattered its reputation for engineering excellence.
The latest fault, which can cause the engine starter to catch fire due to potential corrosion, affects a wide swath of the company’s lineup, including most model lines built between 2015 and 2021.
The German manufacturer confirmed on Friday that it will need to repair 195,000 vehicles in the US and a further 136,000 in Germany, though it did not provide a global figure for the recall or an estimate of the repair costs.
A chilling warning: park your car outdoors
The nature of the defect is particularly alarming. BMW explained that water can leak into the starter motor of the affected vehicles, leading to corrosion.
This can eventually result in a short circuit, which could, “in the worst case,” lead to a vehicle fire.
The risk is so significant that the company has issued a chilling warning to its customers, advising them to park their vehicles outdoors, at a safe distance from any buildings, until the free repair can be carried out.
The ghost of recalls past: a billion-euro debacle
This new crisis is not an isolated event; it is the second major blow to the company in as many years.
It comes on the heels of a massive and humiliating recall of 1.5 million cars last year due to a defective braking system made by the parts supplier Continental AG.
The spiraling cost of fixing that flaw has already forced the company to issue a profit warning and has wiped billions off its market value.
A recall document seen by Bloomberg News reveals a troubling timeline for that previous debacle. Customers and dealers first began complaining about the faulty brakes in June 2022.
But it took BMW more than two years to discover the full, catastrophic extent of the problem, a delay that has raised serious questions about the company’s internal processes.
The faulty part was found in some of the company’s most prestigious and expensive models, including 420,000 dollar Rolls-Royce Spectres and its flagship 7-Series sedans.
“This isn’t just an ordinary recall, this is a significant shock,” said Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director at the Center for Automotive Research in Bochum.
What’s also noteworthy is that BMW has been stepping up quality control among suppliers with a taskforce, indicating they see risks more broadly.
For a premium carmaker that has built its brand on the promise of being a “driving-tech leader,” these back-to-back crises represent a profound and damaging blow.
With its shares already down around 28 percent this year, the company now faces the daunting task of not just fixing its cars, but rebuilding the trust of its customers.
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