BMW of North America has recalled a handful of 430i Convertible vehicles due to a cylinder head cover that may not have been produced to specifications by the supplier. The supplier's name is Mahle Componente de Motor SRL, a Romanian subsidiary of German auto parts colossus Mahle GmbH.
Long ago, the 30i suffix used to mean 3.0-liter six in BMW vernacular. But advancements in all things internal combustion and increasingly hellish emission and fuel economy requirements led to the replacement of the previous-gen free-breathing inline-six with a four-cylinder turbo.
The potentially affected 430i Convertible vehicles, therefore, pack the B48 engine introduced by the Bavarian automaker back in 2014 with a displacement of 2.0 liters in the F56-generation MINI Hatch. The open-top Bimmer is rated at 255 horsepower between 5,000 and 6,500 revolutions per minute, whereas torque peaks at 1,550 to 4,400 rpm to the tune of 295 pound-feet (make that 400 Nm).
Rated at 34 miles per gallon (6.9 liters per 100 kilometers) with rear-wheel drive or 33 (7.1) with xDrive all-wheel-drive, said powerplant is much obliged to propel the car to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers) in as little as 5.8 seconds with xDrive or 5.9 if the ZF-supplied 8HP drives only the rears.
According to documents published on the federal watchdog's website, a BMW engine plant worker noticed an oil leak during a quality assurance test back in October 2023. The leak had occurred at the cylinder head cover, which prompted the automaker to get in touch with Mahle Componente de Motor.
Photo: BMW
The Timisoara, Romania-based supplier admitted to a production process issue that had occurred in July 2023, which prompted a containment action for potentially suspect cylinder head covers. Regrettably, some covers may have been shipped to the Dingolfing assembly plant where BMW produces the 4 Series Coupe and 4 Series Convertible. The 4 Series Gran Coupe is made at BMW Group Plant Munich.
After simulating the possible effects of an oil leak from the cylinder head cover, BMW decided to issue a stop-ship order as a precautionary measure. A few tests later, the automaker eventually determined that vehicles produced with covers that are prone to leaking need to be recalled due to a high risk of a thermal event. After all, oil getting on a hot component is the perfect recipe for a vehicle fire.
Dealers have already been instructed to inspect and – if anything seems off – replace the cylinder head cover with a properly manufactured component. Owners will be informed no later than February 9 via first-class mail. The part numbers of the suspect and remedy covers do not differ (9452895) because this is a manufacturing rather than a design problem.
The affected vehicles were assembled between October 10, 2023 and October 11, 2023 for the 2024 model year. BMW of North America didn't put out a VIN list, but owners can easily determine whether their 430i Convertible vehicles are recalled or not by running the VIN on the NHTSA's web portal.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News