BMW urgently recalls 70,000 electric vehicles in the United States due to drive software defects

01 July 2025

BMW EV

The latest announcement from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that the BMW Group will recall 70,852 electric vehicles in the United States, involving the 2022-2025 i4, 2022-2024 iX, 2023-2024 i7 and 2024 i5 models. This recall is mainly due to software defects in the electric drive motor, which may cause the vehicle's high-voltage system to shut down unexpectedly, causing a safety hazard of power interruption during driving.

Technical defect details

According to the NHTSA safety recall report, the motor control software of the vehicle involved has the risk of "misjudgment of double insulation status". When the system mistakenly detects this state, it will cut off the power supply to the high-voltage system within 15-20 seconds after the red warning is displayed on the dashboard. Note:

The steering/brake system remains operational when power is interrupted;

43 related warranty claims have been received before the recall, and no accidents have been caused;

The investigation began in 2021, and it was initially misjudged as a foreign object entering the motor;

List of affected models

Model Series

Production year range

Recall Quantity

Power version notes

i4

2022-2025

Including eDrive35/eDrive40 version

All-wheel drive / four-wheel drive configuration

iX

2022-2024

All systems affected

Including xDrive40/xDrive50 version

i7

2023-2024

Flagship sedan series

All-wheel drive system as standard

i5

2024 Model

Latest models

Including eDrive40/M60 version

Solutions and owner guidance

BMW announced that it will fix the defect in two ways:

OTA remote upgrade: applicable to vehicles that support wireless updates;

Dealer flashing: an appointment is required to complete the software update in the store;

Owners can confirm the recall status through the following channels:

NHTSA official website recall query system (https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls);

BMW official customer service hotline (US region);

Written notices are expected to be sent in early August;

Industry impact and brand strategy

This recall exposes the challenges of BMW's current electrification strategy:

Currently using the CLAR oil-electric shared platform architecture;

Switch to Neue Klasse pure electric exclusive platform;

The new 800V high-voltage architecture is expected to improve system stability;

The relevant person in charge of BMW China told our website that this recall does not involve models sold in the Chinese market for the time being, but it is recommended that owners of imported cars check the vehicle VIN code through official channels.

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