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BMW Blames Drivers for Fires in S. Korea
BMW AG suggests to the Xinhua News Agency that fires involving its cars in South Korea are a result of local traffic conditions and the “driving style” of their owners.
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BMW AG suggests to the Xinhua News Agency that fires involving its cars in South Korea are a result of local traffic conditions and the “driving style” of their owners.
BMW says the comments of its spokesman, which were made in German, were mistranslated into English, The Korea Herald reports. But the report immediately prompted a lawyer representing BMW owners to say the carmaker’s comment shows “arrogance.”
About 40 BMW vehicles, most of them diesels, have caught fire in Korea so far this year, the Herald says. BMW has recalled 106,300 vehicles in Korea and another 324,000 in Europe to fix the problem. Two groups of owners have sued.
BMW blames a flaw in engine exhaust gas recirculation modules that could allow coolant to leak onto the exhaust valves and form sooty deposit that cause the EGR to overheat. Critics in Korea say the carmaker identified the problem a year ago but did nothing about it until last month.
It hasn’t been clear why the fires appear to occur in significant numbers only in Korea. The Herald says some local experts speculate that BMW used special software to meet Korean emission standards that overstressed the device.
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