BMW will begin a recall campaign next month that will encompass more than 14,000 i4, i7 and iX models in the United States alone. The affected electric vehicles can suddenly lose power and skid to a halt, leading to accidents.
The culprit is a faulty high-voltage battery pack control unit. If a malfunction occurs in the unit, it may temporarily switch off, leading to a complete power loss for the powertrain.
According to the manufacturer, the deficiency was first discovered while servicing an electric car in China. The model is not specified. The study that the company conducted following the incident did not reveal a single case of cars failing completely on public roads, but brought up a few warranty claims made earlier. Having examined those, BMW concluded that the problem existed and more incidents could happen if it were not addressed.
For whatever reason the recall will only begin next month and only in the United States so far. It will concern around 5,400 iX SUVs and 8,600 i4 models manufactured between February 2021 and October 2022. Aside from that, owners of just 38 i7 sedans produced in February–October 2022 will need a visit to the dealership. In all cases, the solution will arrive in the form of a free software upgrade.