BMW recalls models with wrong emissions software installed

27 February 2018

German vehicle manufacturer BMW has said it will issue a recall of 11,700 vehicles in order to fix engine management software.

The news comes following reports that the company has been involved in fitting some models with emissions cheating software, similar to that used by Volkswagen (VW) during the Dieselgate scandal, which was uncovered in 2015. The recall relates to the carmaker’s 5-series and 7-series models.

′In the course of internal tests, the BMW Group has discovered that a correctly developed software update was mistakenly assigned to certain unsuitable model-versions,’ the company said in a statement. ′The BMW Group informed the relevant authorities immediately.’

BMW said the models affected were 5- and 7-series cars made between 2012 and 2017 containing high-performance diesel engines and three turbochargers. The automaker did not say where the cars were but said it would cooperate with the relevant authorities on further steps.

The recall is officially to remove incorrect software installed in the engine management system. According to the company, this software was developed for the X5 and X6 SUV models and should not have been used for the manufacturer’s luxury models. This software is related to the exhaust system, and could, therefore, mean the cars are emitting higher levels of pollutants than they should be.

In December, BMW was forced to deny any knowledge of emissions manipulation. In response to reports, BMW said its vehicles complied with the legal requirements and had not been manipulated. ′There are no activities of technical provisions to affect the test mode used to measure emissions – that means that our exhaust systems are active both on the test bed and in practice,’ the group said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a manager at VW has had their apartment searched in the latest investigation against the manufacturer over the Dieselgate scandal.

A VW spokesman told the German press agency there had been appropriate investigation: “It is correct that officials of the prosecutor Munich II have spotted documents at Volkswagen and secured.” However, the company itself did not want to comment on the allegations themselves and the investigations of the prosecutors due to the ongoing proceedings.

This follows searches at the homes of current and former management employees at Audi. According to German publication Wirtschaftswoche, former development heads Ulrich Hackenberg and Stefan Knirsch were involved, although the manufacturer has not confirmed or denied it, instead announcing that they were cooperating with the investigation.

Current Audi executives are still not among the suspects in emissions manipulations, with 17 in total under investigation. The searches highlight that despite best efforts, the Volkswagen Group, to which Audi belongs, cannot shake off the stigma of Dieselgate, the scandal which it started in 2015.