BMW recalls over 150,000 vehicles in China over starter-motor fire risk

BMW's China import arm and its Brilliance joint venture have filed recall plans covering more than 150,000 vehicles, with three separate campaigns that all trace back to starter-motor defects that can overheat and pose a fire risk, according to China's State Administration for Market Regulation.

The largest batch covers 93,071 imported 2 Series, 4 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, X4, X5, X6 and Z4 models built between February 22, 2021 and April 29, 2025, whose starter motors can wear abnormally after repeated starts, and in extreme cases short-circuit and overheat, so the company will replace them with improved units free of charge.

A second campaign covers 57,423 locally built 5 Series models made between December 11, 2017 and August 28, 2020, plus 364 imported 7 Series cars built between June 29, 2016 and January 18, 2018, whose starter-motor relays have poor waterproofing and can let water in during wading, causing corrosion, short circuits and local overheating, with the starters replaced free as well.

A smaller campaign covers 157 locally built X1, X5 and 5 Series cars and 61 imported X2, X6, X7, 5 Series, 7 Series and MINI JCW Countryman models, where a software update was not applied correctly during earlier recalls, leaving the integrated braking system DSCi unable to warn drivers, so BMW will reinstall the diagnostic software to flag the risk and prompt a free part replacement.

Two of the three recalls expand earlier campaigns and one is a redo, totaling more than 150,000 vehicles, and the fact that starter short circuits and relay waterproofing all point to the same fire risk suggests the underlying part problem is wider than BMW first disclosed.