Overview
- BMW issued a voluntary recall on July 1 for 29,119 plug-in hybrid sedans built roughly 2016–2020 after agency filings showed a starter relay defect.
- Water can enter the starter motor’s electrical relay and cause corrosion that may break connections, trigger a short circuit, overheat the starter, and in rare cases cause a thermal event or fire.
- Dealers will replace the affected starters at no cost and BMW will reimburse owners who already paid for out‑of‑pocket replacements.
- The expansion followed continued monitoring of an earlier 2025 starter-relay campaign and laboratory checks of about 150 field-return starters plus additional field incidents in November 2025 and May 2026.
- BMW says there are no known injuries and it estimates the failure rate is very low but urges owners to park recalled cars outdoors and away from structures until the repair is completed and VIN lookup tools go live on Aug. 28.