autoevolution
 

BMW Recalls 917,000 Vehicles Over PCV Valve Heater That May Short Circuit

Once BMW started using plastic liberally, the Bavarian automaker’s reliability went downhill faster than the U.S. housing market during the subprime mortgage crisis. Instead of getting their act straight, the bean counters made things worse by using even more plastic in the engine bay.
BMW Z4 7 photos
Photo: BMW
BMW Z4BMW Z4BMW Z4BMW Z4BMW Z4BMW Z4
Obviously, the company now foots the bill for this engineering decision.

Last month, BMW determined that supplier issues may cause unwanted production variation to the PCV valve heater, which is why this component may fail in due time. But instead of blaming Mahle International GmbH for this monster blunder, BMW should take a good look at itself in the mirror.

“In an abundance of caution,”
the Munich-based automaker decided to issue a recall that supersedes and expands two previous recalls. A whopping 917,106 vehicles are affected, and the remedy is currently being developed according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Owner notifications will be mailed by April 25th, letters that highlight a worrying issue: the heater for the positive crankshaft ventilation system’s valve may short circuit, increasing the risk of an engine bay fire.

Vehicles equipped with the N52 and N51 engines are called back, including the E60 5 Series sedan and E61 5 Series wagon. The list further includes the E70 X5, the E81 1 Series coupe and E88 1 Series convertible, E83 X3, E85 Z4 roadster and E86 Z4 coupe, E90 3 Series sedan, E91 3 Series wagon, E92 3 Series coupe, and the E93 3 Series convertible. The production dates for these cars range from January 2005 all the way through October 2013.

In the manufacturer’s notice to U.S. dealers, there’s a Q&A document that recommends whoever is seated behind the steering wheel to stop driving “if you smell a plastic burning odor.” As mentioned beforehand, BMWs would be tremendously more reliable had the automaker stopped using cheap materials for parts and subassemblies that are exposed to the engine’s heat.

Better engineering would also go a long way...
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)

 Download: BMW PCV valve heater recall (PDF)

About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

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?

You will only receive our top stories