It would seem nobody is immune from recalls these days, as BMW files documents with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announcing a recall of Rolls-Royce Ghosts luxury models and top-of-the-line V* and V12-powered BMW's.
It seems all the cars share an electric auxiliary water pump with a dodgy circuit board that can overheat, causing the waterpump to “smoulder” (BMW's word) or in a worst-case scenario, cause an engine-compartment fire.
Affected are 69 Rolls Royce Ghost and almost 3000 BMW models with eight or 12-cylinder turbocharged engines, including the 2011 5 Series sedan, 2011 5 Series Gran Turismo, 2012 6 Series Convertible, 2012 7 Series, 2012 X5 and 2012 X6.
BMW North America has assured the NHTSA it will replace all the water pumps free of charge, starting before the end of April.
According to BMW SA, a total of 40 BMW and 28 Mini Cooper S and John Cooper S models (which use the same auxiliary waterpump) in South Africa are affected. Their owners will be contacted and asked to bring their cars in repair, free of charge.