BMW has announced a new recall that affects 145,102 vehicles in the USA due to a starter motor cleaver, which could possibly lead to overheating and in rare cases. The recall was released on September 25th on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website.
A consequence of the recall of last year
This latest campaign is only one week after BMW from North America has called back almost 200,000 cars-a few Toyota GR Supra models that share mechanics with BMW-a separate starter risk. While the two recalls share similarities, they come from various topics and contain different suppliers.
The earlier recall, which was published in August 2024, found that the starters were susceptible to water interventions and possibly led to short circuits and overheating. This campaign even included instructions that the owners park their vehicles outside as a precaution. In contrast, the new recall that Starter is a significantly lower fire risk, without recommendation for outdoor parking spaces.
The root of the problem
According to the BMW, the defect occurs if the starter successfully addresses the engine successfully. Several restarting attempts can overload the electrical system within the starter, which overheated it. When surrounding protective materials achieve zünd temperatures, there is a small risk of fire.
The recall documentation notes that some vehicles that were previously repaired as part of the 2024 campaign are again affected. At that time, BMW tried to tackle the problem with a software update, but continued to appear in March 2025. Fortunately, BMW confirmed that there were no crashes, injuries or deaths with this defect – just like the former Starter call.
Models affected
The recall affects several BMW models that are driven by the brand’s inline-Six engines, with the mass being large SUVs. The complete list of the vehicles concerned includes:
- 2019–2020 BMW X5 – 82.153 units
- 2019–2020 BMW X7 – 24,979 units
- 2020–2025 BMW 840i – 12,456 units
- 2020–2022 BMW 740LI – 11,893 units
- 2020 BMW 340i – 10,867 units
- 2020 BMW X6 – 2,754 units
The fix
In contrast to last year’s campaign, which was based on a software patch, BMW now replaces the starter engine with a redesigned unit that eliminates the risk of overheating. The repair is carried out free of charge. The dealers were notified on September 25, 2025, and the customer notification letters are to be sent on November 17th. From the same day, the owners can also check their vehicle identification numbers on nhtsa.gov. The recall is officially submitted under NHTSA number 25V644.
What the owners should do
Owners of affected vehicles are asked to contact questions under 1-800-525-7417 to receive questions or to make a service appointment. You can also contact the NHTSA vehicle security under number 1-888-327-4236 to obtain further information.
