BMW recalls 300,000 UK cars over safety issues

Follows investigation into reported safety issues with various BMW models

BMW has extended a recall of UK cars to cover 312,000 vehicles, which are at risk of stalling completely while being driven.

The carmaker had recalled more than 36,000 cars last year, but a BBC Watchdog investigation found there may be similar problems in cars not covered by the initial action.

The vehicles included are the BMW 1 Series, the 3 Series, the Z4 and X1 petrol and diesel models made between March 2007 and August 2011. These cars may be affected by an electrical fault which could cause the engine to cut out completely while on the road.

The motor company first issued a recall after the death of Narayan Gurung, a former Gurkha soldier who was killed when his car crashed into a tree after he swerved to avoid a broken down BMW.

A spokesperson for BMW said: “BMW is expanding the existing B+ battery connector UK recall. This relates to predecessor generations of the 1 Series, 3 Series, Z4 and X1 built between March 2007 and September 2011.

“BMW will be contacting all affected customers by post advising them of how they can book their car in to have the work carried out. We will commence contacting affected customers in the next three weeks.”

The car manufacturer said the work should take no more than two hours, and there will be no cost to the customer.

Alex Neill, Which? managing director of home products and services, said the recall raised “serious questions about the adequacy of the car recall system in this country”.

“Drivers will be asking why it took so long for BMW to fully recall these potentially dangerous cars in the UK, several years later than recalls around the same fault in a number of other countries,” Mr Neill said.

“The government must ensure that the DVSA has the powers that it needs to hold manufacturers to account and protect road-users from the dangers of unsafe vehicles.”

Mwape Kambafwile said he stopped driving his BMW 3 Series car after it cut out completely while he was driving in December 2016.

He said: “I just thought to myself if I was driving on the motorway with my family in the car, that could have been very dangerous.

“I took it to BMW. The next day they called me to say they had found a fault, it looks like the cable had burnt out and no current was passing through the fuse box. I felt so uncomfortable driving it that we took taxis, I walked to work every day. It was a nightmare, it wasn’t safe enough to drive.”

Watchdog Live will air on Wednesday at 8pm on BBC1.