BMW recalls electric cars over battery fires — including two sold in South Africa
BMW has announced a recall of a handful of iX and i4 electric vehicles (EVs) over defective battery cells, including two units sold in South Africa.
The recall comes after the German automaker became aware of three incidents in the past few months during which an i4 eDrive40, iX xDrive50, and iX M60 had caught fire.
BMW said as part of its quality controls it found that, in very rare cases, a manufacturing defect occurred in the production process of battery cells.
These defects only occurred in batteries manufactured during a limited period.
“This manufacturing defect may lead to malfunctions in the high-voltage battery,” BMW said. “In rare cases, these can lead to the discharge of the cell and, in a worst case scenario, to a fire.”
Samsung SDI manufactured the cells impacted by the defect.
Although BMW was unaware of any incidents in which people were injured or involved in an accident related to the problem, it has issued a voluntary recall to replace the cells.
The models included were the following:
- iX xDrive50 — Manufactured between 2 December 2021 and 30 June 2022
- iX M60 — Manufactured between 2 December 2021 and 30 June 2022
- i4 eDrive40 — Manufactured between 22 November 2021 and 13 June 2022
- i4 M50 — Manufactured between 22 November 2021 and 13 June 2022
The battery packs with the suspect cells carry part numbers 8846469 and 884646 on the iX models and 8847350 and 8847342 in the i4.
BMW i4 M50
BMW has notified dealers of the problem and instructed them to replace the impacted cells.
It also recommended that motorists with impacted cars not drive or charge their vehicles while advising them to park away from structures.
In total, 83 vehicles were recalled — 56 iX models and 27 from the i4 range. In South Africa, two BMW iX models were identified for inspection.
“The affected owners have been contacted individually, and the affected cell modules on their vehicles will be replaced,” BMW South Africa said.
The iX xDrive50 has been available in the country since December 2021, while the i4 M50 rolled out locally towards the end of last month.
BMW offers the widest range of EVs in South Africa, with the company’s i3 and iX3 also available in the country.
It is also launching the luxurious i7 in the country later this year.
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