A series of fires in six BMW vehicles between October and November were found to have nothing to do with faulty engine exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, which was a problem last year.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) on Dec. 3 announced the interim results of its investigation into the cause of BMW's car fires that it has occurred so far.
Starting with the 328i on Oct. 27, the ministry said its investigation found that the fires broke out on different models sold by BMW in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province until Nov. 3 and that all six had different causes of the fires and were also unrelated to EGR defects that were concentrated at 520d last year.
Last summer, a BMW diesel vehicle caught fire due to an EGR defect. The results of the investigation were noteworthy because the three (640d, 525d, and 320d) fires were subject to the EGR recall.
The ministry confirmed that 328i, which caught fire in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, had caught fire at a three-way catalyst device that runs at high temperatures with gasoline vehicles, and that vehicles subject to EGR recall were not affected by the EGR leak test and the state of the intake air.
The 640d and 320d were found to be fuel oil leaks and the 525d was found to be the cause of the rupture of the fine dust-reducing Diesel Particle Filter (DPF) device.
Although the exact cause of the 5GT was not analyzed due to the owner's refusal to investigate, it is presumed that the fire broke out due to the rupture of the DPF and the surrounding fevers during the field investigation. The DPF rupture of the X6, which broke out fire in Yongin on Nov. 6, is believed to be the cause.
"We will investigate the causes of the fires of the three vehicles subject to recall through a thorough investigation," a ministry official said, stressing that cars should be inspected well to prevent fires.
