BMW Mini Cooper

2024: Recall of 140,000 defective Mini Cooper SE cars due to fire risk

At the end of August 2024, the German concern BMW announced the recall of all-electric Mini Cooper SE cars due to the risk of fire. The problem affects more than 140 thousand vehicles sold around the world.

As reported on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration USA (NHTSA), the recall is due to possible malfunctions in the high-voltage battery or electrical system of cars. The defect leads to a short circuit and subsequent overheating of the battery pack. This can provoke a car fire. Moreover, the vehicle can catch fire both while driving and in the parking lot.

BMW

The problem, as stated in the notification, affects Mini Cooper SE electric vehicles manufactured in Europe between November 2018 and January 2024. In the total mass of recalled cars, about 12.5 thousand units were sold in the United States and about 39 thousand in Germany. The rest were shipped to other regions around the world.

As part of the recall campaign, special software with diagnostic functions will be installed on cars. This software detects insulation violations in the high-voltage system, and then discharges the battery to less than 30% to avoid ignition. On those machines that have malfunctions, the manufacturer will perform an additional inspection and, if necessary, replace the battery pack. All work will be carried out free of charge for owners.

As of September 2024, at least two cases of ignition of Mini Cooper SE electric vehicles were recorded: one of these incidents occurred in October 2023 in the United States, the second in January 2024 in Germany. There is no information about the victims.^[1]

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