BMW New Zealand has recalled several motor vehicle models, with the reasons including starter motor faults that it warns could increase the risk of overheating, smoke or a vehicle fire.
Issued on July 24, the four recall notices affected selected BMW 3 Series, 4 Series, 5 Series and X1 vehicles across a range of model years.
The older recalls covered 3 Series models built between 2015 and 2018 and 5 Series models built between 2016 and 2018.
BMW warned water could penetrate parts of the starter motor for those models, causing damage that could prevent the motor from starting.
The fault could also result in a short circuit or cause the starter motor to remain permanently activated, leading to "localised overheating of the starter motor or thermal overload of surrounding components".
"At worst, this may result in a vehicle fire. This can also occur when the vehicle is parked," the recall notice said.
"BMW AG strongly recommends that you park your vehicle outdoors but not in the immediate vicinity of buildings until the repair is carried out."
Other recall notices affected select 2022-2025 BMW 3 Series, 4 Series and X1 model, as well as some 2022-2023 5 Series vehicles.
Those notices advised that a production issue could lead to increased wear in the starter motor's solenoid switch after repeated starting operations, affecting the engine's ability to start and potentially causing a short circiut.
"In this case, smoke may be visible or noticeable while driving or when exiting the vehicle. BMW AG therefore recommends that the vehicle should not be left unattended following engine start," it said.
Owners of newer models were also advised not to use the remote engine start function through the My BMW App until repairs were carried out.
In all recalls, BMW said the issue could be resolved by replacing the starter motor at a BMW dealership.
Affected owners were urged to contact their nearest authorised BMW dealer to arrange repairs as soon as possible.
Further information could be found at BMW New Zealand’s online recall portal.
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