BMW’s latest recall prompted a California car owner to file a class action lawsuit. In the document, the plaintiff stated that after he learned of the recall involving a BMW hybrid battery problem, he took his vehicle to a dealership. However, the car was not repaired and remains “unrepaired and unrepairable.”
The recall, which was announced in 2020, impacted vehicle models that were fitted with hybrid batteries produced by Samsung that may contain debris. Because this issue can lead to short circuits, there is a risk the vehicles will catch fire. Impacted units include the 2020 and 2021 BMW 530e, 530e xDrive, 530e iPerformance, X3 xDrive30e, and MINI Cooper Countryman All4 SE, as well as the 2020 BMW i8, and the 2021 BMW 330e, 330e xDrive, 745Le xDrive, and X5 xDrive45e vehicles.
Unfortunately, many of the recalled vehicles remain unrepaired, according to the class action lawsuit.
According to the legal documents, after BMW couldn’t fix the man’s car, he asked the automaker to repurchase the defective vehicle, but the manufacturer refused. Eventually, he had to buy another car to replace the vehicle he couldn’t charge or drive.
In the original recall report, the firm asked car owners to stop driving the vehicle and get out of the car as soon as they see warning lights indicating a battery issue. However, the plaintiff claims that the defective battery isn’t safe and is putting families at risk.
BMW Was Aware Of Issues Long Before Recall, Lawsuit Alleges
Before the vehicles were sold, the class action lawsuit alleges, the automaker was aware of the issue.
The lawsuit stated that BMW “knew of the battery system defect through internal sources, testing, and consumer complaints, including specific instances of potential Class Members bringing Class Vehicles to BMW for inspection and repair.”
Due to the issue and the fact BMW has been unable to ensure all vehicles are properly repaired, the lawsuit alleges that car owners were left with a real lemon in their hands, as impacted customers were stuck with vehicles that are losing their values due to the open recall.
It is unfortunate that a company such as BMW would put the lives of their customers in danger. We hope this lawsuit will help other automakers become aware of the grave danger they expose their customers to when they decide to ignore equipment issues.
To read more about the recall and lawsuit, follow this link.
