Germany luxury carmaker BMW has issued a recall notice for a number of electric vehicles the automobile manufacturer built between 2021 and 2022.
The notice was posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall campaign database on July 27.
The voluntary recall was in response to battery defects in a number of BMW manufactured electric vehicles built between November 22, 2021, and June 30, 2022, the notice said.
Around 83 units of 2022-2023 iX xDrive50, iX M60, 2022 i4 eDrive40 and i4 M50 vehicles are estimated to be affected by the defect, which comes with the risk of an electrical short-circuit that could trigger a fire, the company estimated in its recall report.
The vehicles were manufactured with a high-voltage battery “that may not have been produced by the supplier according to specifications,” the carmaker wrote in the recall report.
BMW said that it determined the number of potentially affected vehicles by reviewing “[v]ehicle manufacturing information and supplier production records.”
“During battery cell production at the supplier, a cathode plate may have been damaged which could have allowed pieces/debris to enter a battery cell,” BMW said in the defect description section of the report. “As a result, this could lead to a short-circuit.”
The company advised vehicle owners not to drive or charge the vehicles that were facing the defect. Owners were also told to park their vehicles outside and away from buildings until the repairs are completed.
“Dealers will replace the high voltage battery, free of charge,” BMW said.
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The company said that notification letters are expected to be mailed to owners Sept. 19. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
“Owners will also be contacted by phone,” the notice said.
The recalls come after BMW was made aware of an incident relating to a 2022 iX xDrive50 in the U.S. and a 2022 iX M60 overseas, Motortrend reported.
Fires caused by electric vehicle battery defects can be spontaneous and difficult to put out.
In June, an electric Jaguar I-Pace spontaneously caught fire inside the garage of a Florida man’s house.
Fortunately, the car’s owner managed to drive the smoking vehicle out of his garage before flames spurted out of the vehicle, engulfing and destroying it.
Firefighters had to use retardant to douse the flames. “After the fire department poured a special foam fire suppressant for what seemed a long time, the car was still making a humming sound coming from the front of the car,” the car owner said.
