BMW has recalled 105,588 vehicles because their starter motors can overheat, leaving their engines unable to start.
Recalled models include some, but not all, examples of the:
The company tells the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that factories briefly used a starter of a different design on some cars.
“In certain cases in which the engine starter has some mechanical damage, the engine may not be able to be started,” the company says. “If the driver repeatedly attempts to start the engine using excessively long starting attempts, this may cause an electrical overload of the starter.”
That will leave the engine unable to start. Theoretically, BMW says, “the proximity of the starter to the acoustic protection material could lead to a thermal event.” But BMW is not aware of any fires blamed on the problem.
Dealers will fix the issue by installing a software update to prevent the starter from overloading.
By law, dealers never charge for recall repairs.
Automakers recall many cars to fix safety defects, sometimes more than once. While automakers try to reach every owner to ask them to bring the vehicle in for repair, they rarely reach them all. Millions of vehicles on American roads need free recall repairs. To find out if your car is one of them, check the easy VIN tool at our recall center.