More Than 50% Percent of BMW X5s Recalled
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| The X5 is one of BMW's strongest sellers in North America. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Yesterday BMW AG announced a worldwide recall affecting 164,000 X5 SUVs due to a brake hose fault. The campaign will cost the German luxury automaker in the neighborhood of five million euros (CAD$8,233,000).
"We have written to customers asking them to bring their cars to the garage. It could affect 164,000 cars, 19,900 of them in Germany," a BMW spokesman commented, adding that the necessary fix would only be matter of minutes.
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| While recalls are part of the automotive business they aren't regular occurrences for BMW, making this incident with the X5 an embarrassment the German company would like to rectify quickly and put behind them. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
He also said that if unchecked the brake hose in some of the X5s could loosen over the front axle which could cause damage and a potential loss of brake fluid in the worst case scenario. Only X5s built between August 1999 and April 2002 are affected.
The recall campaign's 164,000 vehicles represent a significant portion of the 240,000 total X5s built since the model's inception. The SUV is one of BMW's strongest North American sellers, reason enough for the German automaker to want to rectify the problem quickly and put it behind them.
Fortunately there are not yet any accidents directly associated with the faulty brake hose, at least none brought to the attention of BMW.