BMW said that it doesn’t believe a safety defect exists but is recalling the cars anyway. While such language is likely lawyer dictated, the Bavarians have a precarious relationship with U.S. safety regulators.
BMW is recalling more than 134,000 model year 2008-2010 528i, 535i, 550i, and M5 cars because the rear lights can fail.
In a required NHTSA filing, BMW said that increased resistance at the taillight electrical contact points may cause damage to the ground terminal and housing of the connector, resulting in an intermittent operation or permanent failure of one or more rear lights, including tail, brake, turn-signal, and backup lights.
Intermittent lights reduce warnings to other motorists of the driver’s intentions, increasing the risk of a crash. BMW says it has not received any reports, nor is it aware, of any accidents or injuries related to the safety defect. The recall mirrors an earlier one on for Model Year 2002-2005 3 Series taillights – NHTSA 11V-438.
The problem started with 2008 models on Hella supplied light assembles for a mid-cycle freshening of the 5 Series. Shortly after the introduction of the 5 Series sedan, BMW had warranty claims for bulb failures of the rear lights in the U.S. market. BMW said it started an engineering process to improve the quality of the lights.
In April 2008, BMW updated the rear lamp’s connector with a lengthened the ground pin within the rear lamp’s bulb carrier connector housing to improve the contact between it and the wiring harness mating socket connector.
During the first half of 2013, BMW decided that a redesigned bulb carrier, released as a spare part, not a recall, would be improve longevity. In July 2013, a modified rear lamp carrier, consisting of an integrated secondary ground cable, was introduced as a spare part. Discussions also took place then about possible additional actions within the U.S. market.
BMW said that while it does not believe a safety defect exists, it is recalling the cars anyway. While such language is likely lawyer dictated, the Bavarians have a precarious relationship with U.S. safety regulators. Previously BMW was fined by NHTSA for covering up safety defects.
Under U.S. regulations, an automaker has five working days to recall a vehicle once a safety defect is discovered. NHTSA’s examination of 16 BMW recalls issued in 2010 found evidence of a number of instances where the automaker failed to report safety defects to the agency in keeping with federal law. About 340,000 defective BMW motorcycles, cars and sport utility vehicles were involved in the cover-ups. (Read AutoInformed.com on: BMW Follows Toyota by Paying $3 Million Fine for not Reporting Known Safety Defects within Five Days to NHTSA)
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear light carriers free of charge, as is required by U.S. safety regulations. The BMW 5 Series recall will begin during October 2013. Owners may contact BMW customer relations at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or go to www.safercar.gov.
