BMW, VW expand recall of vehicles

BMW and Volkswagen are expanding their global safety recalls on hundreds of thousands of vehicles, including many in SA.

BMW originally began a recall in 2013 relating to a battery connection that could lead to a loss of power in its previous generation 1 Series, 3 Series, X1 and Z4 models. Over 750,000 models built between March 2007 and September 2011 were affected worldwide, with the majority in the US and over 50,000 in SA.

The company has expanded the recall by an additional 400,000 worldwide, bringing the total to 1.15-million vehicles. A further 15,933 models are included in the wider recall in SA.

BMW took the decision to expand its recall campaign after investigations by consumer organisations in the UK following the death of a driver who collided with a stricken BMW in December 2016.

So far BMW SA says it has attended to 90% of the vehicles involved in the original recall and it will be contacting owners affected by the recall expansion in the next few weeks.

BMW is not the only company undergoing a large recall campaign. Volkswagen this week issued a safety recall on its 2018 Polo model.

Christian Buhlmann, product communications manager at the Volkswagen head office in Wolfsburg, Germany, confirmed to Business Day that 220,000 vehicles were affected worldwide, including those manufactured for export markets at the company’s plant in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape.

Siyanga Madikizela, Volkswagen SA public relations manager, said that 8,367 vehicles were affected in SA and that owners would be contacted to arrange for a repair.

Volkswagen has advised that it is awaiting final validation of the repair solution before implementing it for existing models and future production.