Recall · 21V046000
BMW of North America recalled 3 models over power train
28
Vehicles covered
3
Models
5
Model years
February 3, 2021
Filed with NHTSA
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
- The defect
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020-2021 530i xDrive, 540i xDrive and 2021 740Li xDrive vehicles. The output shafts (left/right) which transfer power from the driveshaft to the rear wheels may break due to a heat treatment error during supplier production.
- What it can cause
- A broken output shaft can lead to a loss of drive power or a rollaway condition in a parked vehicle (if the parking brake is not engaged), increasing the risk of a crash.
- What the dealer does
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the output shaft(s), free of charge. The recall began March 24, 2021. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
- NHTSA's note
- Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup .
How this campaign compares
At 28 vehicles this is a small campaign: 84% of the 19,818 vehicle recalls filed since 1995 whose size NHTSA published are as large or larger. The middle campaign on file covers 472. It covers model years 2020 to 2021, so the oldest vehicles on it were one model year old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
BMW vehicles have been recalled over the power train 33 times before this, most recently in August 2020 as 20V465000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
This site holds the complaint record for 3 of the 5 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 34 complaints with NHTSA. 2 of those name the power train, the system this recall is about — a count of complaints, not of this defect.
The vehicles on this campaign carry 12 other recalls published here, the newest being: 26V525000 (power train), 26V438000 (electrical system), 26V056000 (electrical system), 25V644000 (electrical system).
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by BMW of North America, LLC with NHTSA on February 3, 2021 as campaign 21V046000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2021-02-03.
Independent developer and analyst