BMW recalls ‘small number’ of i4 and iX electric vehicles over potential battery fires

Photo by Roberto Baldwin for The Verge

There is a risk of battery fires in a small number of the i4 and iX SUVs. A short circuit can be caused by internal damage to the battery.

The recall only covers 83 vehicles that have been sold in the US, but BMW is telling owners not to drive them, to park them away from other vehicles and structures that could catch on fire, and not to charge them. The batteries will be replaced free of charge.

A non-US field incident involving a 2022 BMW i4 eDrive40 led to the recall. There were pieces of the battery cell that were coming into it. There were two more "incidents" in June, one in the US and the other outside of the country. Both of them had debris in the battery cell.

No accidents or injuries have been reported because of the battery defect. Jay Hanson, a spokesman for BMW, said in an email that the recall affects a small number of cars. The Customer Relations team reached out to all of the owners of the affected vehicles.

The iX and i4 are the latest vehicles to be recalled. The 49,000 mustang mach-e SUVs were recalled by Ford due to a safety defect that could cause the vehicle to be immobile. The Toyota bZ4X was recalled due to loose hub bolts. Various software bugs and other minor issues have led to the recall of other EV's.

EV makers still worry about battery fires. More data is needed, but researchers have found that the majority of electric vehicles are not at high risk for fires. Some towns retrain their emergency responders for when fires occur due to the fact that electric vehicles with Li-ion batteries burn hotter and need more water.

The Chevrolet Bolt was recalled after GM reported at least 19 battery fires due to faulty cells from the supplier. The software fix that was supposed to prevent more fires failed to do so. Chevy resumed production after installing new batteries.