BMW announced the recall of hundreds of thousands of vehicles worldwide after detecting a technical problem that could potentially cause a fire.
The German luxury carmaker announced the matter on Wednesday, as reported by the German News Agency (dpa).
In Germany alone, 28,582 units were identified as affected.
Although BMW did not officially state a global number, industry media outlet kfz-Betrieb reported that around 575,000 vehicles may be involved in the recall campaign.
The inspection found damage to the solenoid switch that controls the flow of electricity in the engine starter system circuit.
The component can suffer excessive wear after frequent use, making it difficult to start the engine or in certain cases completely failing.
More worryingly, the damage can cause a short circuit that causes the starter to overheat.
In the worst case, the situation risks starting a fire while the vehicle is in use.
Drivers may notice the presence of smoke while driving or after leaving the vehicle.
BMW also advises against leaving engines running unattended as a precaution.
Among the models affected are the BMW 2 Series Coupe, some variants of the 3 Series, 4 Series and 5 Series, the 6 Series Gran Turismo, the 7 Series sedan, as well as the X4, X5, X6 and Z4 models.
Vehicles equipped with starter relays manufactured between July 2020 and July 2022 are potentially affected, including units that had a new starter installed during repair work.
Previously, BMW also carried out a large-scale recall in September over a similar issue, when water was found to have seeped into the starter motor and caused corrosion on certain components.
