BMW Recalls 136K Vehicles Over Stalling Issues

Image courtesy of (Kenny Lannert)

You can’t go anywhere — or at least get far — if the engine in your car stalls. For that reason, BMW recalled more than 135,000 vehicles that could contain a wiring issue. 

The recall, announced this week, involves 136,188 5-Series, X5, 6-Series, and X6 vehicles from model years 2007 through 2012.

According to a notice [PDF] posted with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, wiring to fuel pumps inside the gas tank may not have been properly crimped.

If this is the case, the wires could come loose and melt a connector, causing a gas leak. That can stop the fuel pump from working and make engines stall. Over time, this condition could cause the fuel pump to become inoperative.

BMW says it became aware of the issue back in 2011 through customer complaints involving fuel odor. The carmaker performed an analysis and concluded that the issue would also be detected by the evaporative fuel tank leak diagnostic system.

Three years later, in Sept. 2014, as a result of increasing warranty claims, BMW issued an extended warranty program involving the fuel delivery module of affected vehicles.

Between June and Oct. 2016, BMW reevaluated the warranty information that indicated the issue was still prevalent. At that point, the company decided to conduct a voluntary recall.

In all, the recall covers the following models:
2007-2011 X5 3.0si, X5 4.8i, X5 M, X5 xDrive30i, X5 xDrive35i, X5 xDrive48i and X5 xDrive50i, 2008-2011 X6 x Drive35i, X6 xDrive50i and X6 M; 2010-2011 X6 ActiveHybrid, 535i xDrive Gran Turismo, 535i Gran Turismo, 550i xDrive Gran Turismo and 550i Gran Turismo; and 2011-2012 528i, 535i, 535i xDrive, 550i and 550i xDrive and 2012 535i ActiveHybrid, 640i Convertible, 650i Convertible, 650i xDrive Convertible, 650i Coupe and 650i Coupe xDrive.

So far, the company says it is not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the issue. BMW will notify owners beginning in December, and dealers will replace the fuel pump module.

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