By Park Jae-hyuk
BMW Korea will recall 106,317 cars over a possible defect in their engines that may cause fires, the German luxury carmaker's local subsidiary said Thursday.
The cars include the BMW 520d and 41 types of diesel vehicles produced between March 2011 and November 2016.
An investigation is still underway on the 520d sedans that caught fire, but the company said it made the decision to dispel customer worries over the safety of BMW vehicles.
According to BMW's vehicle inspections, an exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR) module was found to be the possible cause of recent engine fires. The auto part in gasoline and diesel engines recirculates exhaust to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.
The recall will start Aug. 20 at BMW service centers nationwide. The company will offer the services throughout the week and on weekends for customers who cannot visit service centers on weekdays. It will also run a special call center for the recalls to minimize customer inconvenience.
BMW said customers wishing to get a safety check before the official recall can take their to its four service centers in Seoul, Incheon and Busan from Friday. The safety checks will be available at all 61 service centers nationwide starting July 31. The company will also send engineers to customers' homes.
The company plans to give cash compensation to customers whose cars caught fire, if they had regularly brought their cars in for maintenance at its official service centers. The company will also compensate customers for their losses, if their cars caught fire due to the EGR module failure.
Those who have already repaired their BMWs can demand compensation for the expenses.
“We voluntarily decided to recall the cars, after discussions with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport,” BMW Korea Chairman Kim Hyo-joon said. “We will take active follow-up measures to reassure customers driving our cars.”
The ministry said it will continue to monitor BMW's recall. It will also call on BMW for additional measures, if it deems the company's recall plans are inappropriate.