BMW reportedly received a number of complaints in China about malfunctioning vehicles, all of them showing similar issues, causing the Germans to start a ‘full investigation’.
Apparently there might be a problem with a defective part in its VANOS engine control system. The news was posted by BMW through a Chinese blog also saying that the company will file a recall application with China’s equivalent of NHTSA, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
At the moment, the extent of the damages isn’t known and it all depends on which units are affected. With today’s engines, the recall might very well extend to other countries too, outside Asia.
This all raises another interesting question: with the new modular engines, just how big would a recall be in the future if something goes wrong? Think about it.
According to the Bavarians, the future belongs to modular platforms and engines but the problems that might show up due to all these engines sharing parts could be way bigger than anyone might expect.
Furthermore, since MINI and BMW will be sharing powerplants, the recalls would expand to both brands causing even more headaches. That means we’ll be seeing either 2 possible scenarios: either there will be massive recalls from now on or the quality assurance tests will be more thorough, causing delays in launching new models. We’ll just have to wait and see.
At the moment, the extent of the damages isn’t known and it all depends on which units are affected. With today’s engines, the recall might very well extend to other countries too, outside Asia.
This all raises another interesting question: with the new modular engines, just how big would a recall be in the future if something goes wrong? Think about it.
According to the Bavarians, the future belongs to modular platforms and engines but the problems that might show up due to all these engines sharing parts could be way bigger than anyone might expect.
Furthermore, since MINI and BMW will be sharing powerplants, the recalls would expand to both brands causing even more headaches. That means we’ll be seeing either 2 possible scenarios: either there will be massive recalls from now on or the quality assurance tests will be more thorough, causing delays in launching new models. We’ll just have to wait and see.