BMW Recalls 80,000 Cars In China After Regulators Find Fault

Almost 80,000 vehicles are being recalled by BMW in China after regulators there found fault in several of the German automaker’s models, with affected cars stretching from 2011 up until early 2014. 

BMW has had to run a recall campaign that affects over 53,000 X3s in China due to an alleged engine wiring and fuel supply fault. China’s quality regulator, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (ASDIQ), said that the 53,310 BMW X3 SUVs (the xDrive20i, xDrive28i, xDrive35i) produced between October 2011 and December 2013 are the vehicles in question. They said the fault could cause an interruption to the electrical power supply, possibly causing the engine to slow, shake, or turn off completely.

A separate recall was announced and is scheduled to begin on July 8 concerns 26,418 units of BMW vehicles of mixed models and variants produced between June 2012 and March 2014 over a possible fire hazard due to a feed pump issue.

The Government of China has been rigorous in its implementation of vehicular safety inspections, and is particularly critical of imported models. Without any other way to access the lucrative Chinese market, automakers have to comply with every concern the regulators raise, usually with problematic and costly results.

In March, Jaguar Land Rover recalled more than 36,000 vehicles after being criticised by the local media in China of selling cars with faulty gearboxes that affected Range Rover Evoques made between 2014 and 2015 that exhibited software-related issues within the TCU (Transmission Control Unit).

It’s unclear why these imported models are only being recalled in China whereas in other markets the issues that triggered these recalls do not seem to be a cause for concern.