Don’t Park One Of These 50,000 BMWs, Minis, Or Rolls-Royces Indoors Until The Water Pump’s Replaced

The BMW Group is having trouble with the water pumps overheating on a wide variety of vehicles. Not only BMWs, but Minis and Rolls-Royces, too. So it’s recalling nearly 50,000 of them in the United States. And probably even more in other markets.

The problem affects certain 5 Series sedans and Gran Turismos, 6 Series coupes and convertibles, 7 Series sedans, and X5 and X6 crossovers. Also included are a variety of Mini coupes, roadsters, convertibles, Clubman wagons, and Countryman crossovers. And the Rolls-Royce Ghost as well.

Between all the various bodystyles and powertrain combinations, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lists no fewer than 69 different models affected. They range from the 2007 through 2012 model years, depending on the model in question. And they include hybrids and JCW and M performance models as well as more conventional versions.

That’s a heck of a variety of vehicles, with a whole heck of a lot of different engines. Vehicles as small and (relatively) inexpensive as the Mini coupe with its little four-cylinder engine and as large and costly as the Ghost with its big twin-turbo V12.

Fixing the problem will necessitate replacing the troublesome electric auxiliary water pumps. If they’re not replaced, they could overheat and potentially start a fire. Apparently the manufacturer doesn’t have the parts it needs to recall all the vehicles just yet, so the recall process isn’t expected to get underway until next month. In the meantime, BMW is advising owners against parking their vehicles indoors. Apparently the fire risk is that real, and nobody wants their garages and houses to catch fire if their vehicles do.