BMW recalls 324,000 cars in Europe after engine fires in S. Korea

[Law]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

Update August 14, 2018, via CNN

August 14, 2018

https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/14/new...all/index.html

South Korea is banning thousands of BMWs after engine fires.

The South Korean government says thousands of BMWs will be banned from the country's roads after some vehicles caught fire.

The German automaker is facing a public relations crisis in South Korea over the fires, which it has blamed on a problem with the cars' exhaust systems.

BMW recalled more than 100,000 vehicles in South Korea last month and has been carrying out emergency inspections. It expanded the checks to Europe last week.

As of late Monday, more than 27,000 of the affected BMWs in South Korea still hadn't been checked, according to the South Korean government.

"Our citizens are deeply concerned," Transportation Minister Kim Hyun-mee said Tuesday. She ordered local authorities to ban people from driving any of the potentially fire-prone BMWs that haven't been brought in for checks.

BMW owners who receive the notices ordering them to take their cars in for inspection will only be allowed to drive the vehicles for the purpose of the safety check.

"We are taking to heart our citizens' criticism that the basic duty of government is to guard its citizens' safety," Kim said. If a fire breaks out in a car defying the ban, the person responsible will be reported to police, according to the ministry.

As many as 39 BMW vehicles have caught fire so far this year, according to South Korean media. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

BMW has linked the problem to defects with the vehicles' exhaust gas recirculation module, part of a system that channels some fumes back into the engine to reduce pollution.

The South Korean government has launched its own investigation into the cause of the fires.

BMW was the second most popular brand of imported cars in South Korea last year, selling nearly 60,000 vehicles, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association. The German company sold more than 2 million vehicles worldwide last year.

The head of BMW in South Korea held a news conference last week in which he bowed deeply before the cameras and offered the company's "sincere apology" for the problems.

Following the government's announcement of the ban Tuesday, BMW said in a statement that it would "actively cooperate with the government, take responsibility and carry out inspections until the last customer."

Original post: August 8, 2018

BMW Korea CEO Kim Hyo-joon bows in an official apology during a press conference at a hotel in Seoul, South Korea, August 6, 2018.
(Photo: JEON HEON-KYUN, EPA-EFE)

Originally Posted by Reuters

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German luxury carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE) is recalling about 324,000 diesel vehicles in Europe to fix a technical fault that has caused engine fires in South Korea, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) said.

A faulty exhaust gas recirculation module in BMW diesel cars caused 27 engine fires in South Korea this year, prompting the company to recall 106,000 vehicles there and issue an apology.

BMW is now widening the recall to Europe, with 96,300 vehicles affected in Germany, to replace the module if the fault is confirmed, FAZ said on Tuesday, citing BMW.

BMW officials were not immediately reachable for comment.

Source

[jhall1957]

Any news on US diesel cars be involved?

[BimmerMat135]

https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/globa...83855EN/412816

We will have to wait to see if any north american cars are involved.

[ArturPL]

My car was already in for EGR earlier this year but they only updated firmware. Wonder if it's related and I'll be asked to show up again.

[BimmerMat135]

*Repost*

[Saphirschwarz]

Is M2 Competition involved ? No ? What do you mean it's not a diesel ? I just heard an exhaust clip ...

[jeddo45]

Dang most unfortunate. That's a lot of lost money right there. Hopefully no one was hurt or injured.

[uniqueMR]

Diesel having a bad luck nowadays

[italyix]

I wonder if this will make major headline news, considering Tesla fires are a world event /s

[ftally]

I can confirm that here in the UK, BMW F36 (420D Gran coupé) is subject to this recall.

I made a post previously about my car servicing and mentioned that BMW told me back in early July 2018 that when I bring my car for a service, they will also perform an update to the exhaust gas recirculation valve which has been flagged on my car by BMW.

All the information i got so far is that this is just a firmware update and not physical part change.

This will be interesting to hear from BMW exactly what the fault is and how this has happened.

[bakaneul]

Originally Posted by ArturPL

My car was already in for EGR earlier this year but they only updated firmware. Wonder if it's related and I'll be asked to show up again.

I heard it is hardware issue, not just software.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by bakaneul

I heard it is hardware issue, not just software.

The attached quoted part of the BMW press release seems to confirm a weakness seen in EGR coolers here in the UK. Also appears to explain a cause of recent fires starting in BMW diesel engine bays.

Part of this EGR module is the EGR cooler. In some cases, small quantities of the glycol coolant can escape and build up in the EGR module. When combined with carbon and oil sediments, this deposit can become combustible. With the high temperatures of the exhaust gases in this unit, these deposits can ignite. In rare cases this may cause melting of the intake manifold and in extreme cases a fire may result.

[raysspl]

Yikes

[MartinS]

We make then every day if its the egr-valve. I s a recall the same as what BMW call a technical campaign?

[ftally]

Originally Posted by MartinS

We make then every day if its the egr-valve. I s a recall the same as what BMW call a technical campaign?

Yes, technical campaign is what they call it.

[ftally]

Originally Posted by bakaneul

I heard it is hardware issue, not just software.

No its a firmware update, I am having this done on Friday 17th Aug as part of my service. BMW said that when they check the car regarding this update they will do whatever necessary to fix the EGR, it could just be a firmware update, it could be parts being replaced also, just depends on each cars situation really. If I were you, I would book yours in to have it updated ASAP.

[ftally]

Originally Posted by bakaneul

I heard it is hardware issue, not just software.

No its a firmware update, I am having this done on Friday 17th Aug as part of my service. BMW said that when they check the car regarding this update they will do whatever necessary to fix the EGR, it could just be a firmware update, it could be parts being replaced also, just depends on each cars situation really. If I were you, I would book yours in to have it updated ASAP.

[TurboKoo]

Originally Posted by ftally

I can confirm that here in the UK, BMW F36 (420D Gran coupé) is subject to this recall.

I made a post previously about my car servicing and mentioned that BMW told me back in early July 2018 that when I bring my car for a service, they will also perform an update to the exhaust gas recirculation valve which has been flagged on my car by BMW.

All the information i got so far is that this is just a firmware update and not physical part change.

This will be interesting to hear from BMW exactly what the fault is and how this has happened.

What engine you have? B47?

[ftally]

Originally Posted by TurboKoo

What engine you have? B47?

Yeah this one has a B47 engine.

[adambmw]

Originally Posted by ftally

Yeah this one has a B47 engine.

Not sure this is the recall due to fire. My B47 had this update a good few months back. It just made the MPG worse

[ftally]

Originally Posted by adambmw

Not sure this is the recall due to fire. My B47 had this update a good few months back. It just made the MPG worse

Oh man, bloody hell. Yes this is what caused the fires. If you scroll up someone posted a link to BMW press release confirming this.

MPG worse ffs!

[ArturPL]

Originally Posted by ftally

No its a firmware update, I am having this done on Friday 17th Aug as part of my service. BMW said that when they check the car regarding this update they will do whatever necessary to fix the EGR, it could just be a firmware update, it could be parts being replaced also, just depends on each cars situation really. If I were you, I would book yours in to have it updated ASAP.

Told me exactly same thing. I got only FW update so far but some guys on Polish forums did get EGR replaced. And yes, my l/100km got worse as well.