Jaguar, Land Rover, BMW recall 8000 cars over fire risk

Jaguar and Land Rover have issued a set of recalls that affect 5121 diesel and 124 petrol vehicles, with BMW recalling 3143 diesels, primarily on defects that could cause fires. The Land Rover and Jaguar recall affects 2995 Range Rover Evoque, 1485 Freelander 2 and 641 Jaguar XF vehicles fitted with the 2.2-litre engine. The defect identified that fuel leaking from the engine-mounted injector spill rail spigot could spill onto the he exhaust system and turbo charger where there is an increased risk of an under bonnet fire.

The company has also recalled 124 of the Jaguar XF 2.0L petrol 2013 vehicles for a defect that could cause the engine to cut out. The recall notice says the charge air cooler (CAC) hose can detach from the charge air cooler resonator, resulting in the engine stopping while the car is driving. Jaguar Australia said there have been no incidents in Australia related to the recall.

"The company's Technical Field Reporting team was made aware of only a limited number of incidents elsewhere globally, and no reports of any accidents or injuries as a result of this issue," spokesman Mark Eedle said, adding that the rectification is expected to take no longer than an hour.

A letter will be sent to affected owners, who are advised to contact their authorised Land Rover Jaguar dealerships for inspections and a fix.

The BMW recall affects six diesel models: BMW 5 Series E60, BMW X5 Series E70, BMW X6 Series E71, BMW X3 Series E83, BMW 1 Series E87 and BMW 7 Series F01 & F02 – relating to vehicles built between August 1 and November 30, 2009.

The recall notice cites a defect that means the electric contacts of the diesel fuel filter heating unit could short-circuit, leading to the risk of the vehicle catching fire -- although there have been no occurrences so far of fires in the local market. "There have been no reported incidences on this current recall in Australia," BMW spokesperson Lenore Fletcher said.

However the notice also explains that the diesel fuel filter heater unit only operates at temperatures below -1° Celsius. BMW says owners should contact an authorised BMW motor vehicle service centre, or call the BMW Group Australia Customer Interaction Centre on freecall: 1800 813 299.