BMW recalls 312,000 UK models at risk of electrical fault
Video report by ITV News Consumer Editor Chris Choi
BMW will recall 312,000 UK vehicles at risk of an electrical fault that has been linked to a fatal crash.
The manufacturer will contact owners of the affected models – BMW 1 Series, 3 Series, Z4 and X1 petrol and diesel models manufactured between March 2007 and August 2011 – in the next three weeks, a spokesman said.
It is understood the electrical fault causes vehicles to come to a halt whilst being driven.
The company initially recalled 36,410 vehicles after former Gurkha soldier Narayan Gurung died on Christmas Day 2016 in Hampshire when he crashed his car into a tree while swerving to avoid a BMW car which had cut out due to an electrical fault.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said last week BMW had failed to alert UK authorities to 19 cases of electrical faults in one of its models.
The company deny that - saying the latest recall is just a precaution.
But an investigation by BBC Watchdog Live found the issue could be in a wider number of vehicles than those covered by the original recall of 36,410 cars in 2017.
A BMW spokesman said: “We recognise the need to widen the recall to capture a larger cohort of cars. We are widening the net as a precaution."
The fault can be fixed within two hours and involves replacing a plug, according to the company.
BMW has not advised customers to stop driving the vehicles.