BMW recalls more than 100,000 vehicles in the U.S.

According to foreign media reports, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on August 8 that German automaker BMW will recall 105,558 crossover vehicles and sedans in the United States and will release a software update to fix a problem in which the starter may overheat.

The recall involves several models, including some X5, X7, 3 Series, and 7 Series models. NHTSA said:

If the starter motor is faulty, repeated attempts to start the vehicle may cause the starter to overheat due to electrical overload.

The recall is due to BMW factories using a different design of starter on some vehicles. BMW said:

In certain circumstances, the engine may not start if there is some mechanical damage to the engine starter. If the driver repeatedly tries to start the engine and the cranking time is too long, this may lead to an electrical overload of the starter.

Theoretically, this electrical overload could cause a thermal event due to the proximity of the starter to the sound insulation. However, BMW stressed that the company has not received any reports of fires caused by this problem. Dealers will fix the problem by installing a software update to prevent starter overload. After receiving the notification, car owners are requested to go to their local dealer for the necessary software upgrade to check if their car is affected. NHTSA said that dealers will update the car software for car owners free of charge, and the owner notification letter is expected to be mailed out at the end of September this year.

A month ago, BMW just recalled 390,000 vehicles in the United States because of defects in the airbags, which posed a risk of explosion when deployed, causing serious injuries to people in the car.