BMW said Friday it is recalling 720,796 vehicles due to a risk of fire while cars are parked and turned off. The vehicles were previously recalled in 2024 for a water pump issue and must be repaired again, NHTSA said, adding that owners “should park your vehicle outside and away from buildings and other vehicles until the vehicle is repaired.”
NHTSA said the following vehicles should be parked outside until repairs can be made:
-
2012-2016 BMW 3 Series
-
2012-2016 BMW 5 Series
-
2012–2015 BMW X1
-
2012-2016 BMW Z4
-
2013-2017 BMW X3
-
2014-2016 BMW 2 Series coupe
-
2014–2016 BMW 3 Series sportswagon
-
2014-2016 BMW 328xi Gran Turismo
-
2014-2016 BMW 4 Series convertible
-
2014-2016 BMW 4 Series coupe
I have never worked on a car that had any kind of ‘electronically actuated/controlled’ water pump. The hell? And they’re all ‘older’ cars now…
When I sold my 2011 BMW, one of the reasons I was happy to see it go was a lack of an oil dipstick. Zero dipstick.
Yes, you can check the oil level on the dashboard (engine running and warm, level ground, at idle, parking brake on). However, that relies on the oil level sensor working and actually sending the correct level to the computer. Sometimes you just want to see and smell the oil yourself and not being able to do that easily didn’t sit right with me.
Oh and as a home DIYer I also didn’t like that after changing the oil, I had to start the car, get it warm, then use the bleep bloop to check the oil level. Like if I somehow fucked up and put way too much or way too little I’d love to know that before starting the engine and letting it run 10 minutes! Sure, an oil pressure light might trip, but it might not…
Last, yes, mine also had an electric water pump. No pulley. They have lots of failures of them. I was lucky and never had an issue with mine.
Edit: one cool thing about the water pump: if you did coolant system work and had to drain some/all coolant, there’s a procedure to have the cooling system self-bleed with the engine off. I forget how, but you like mash the throttle 10 times, say a prayer to Bavaria, and flash the high beams 4 times or whatever. Then you hear the water pump doing it’s thing for like 15 minutes (best to have a battery tender hooked up). That part did feel like the future.
Lol, fun read. I agree, no dipstick is completely mental. Weird to think “burping” air out of the coolant can involve more than a funnel and a breather. I think my car ('24 Civic) is one of the last almost completely analog cars left. 2 liter with a 6 speed.