BMW Recalls 720,796 Cars Again and Says Park Outside Until a Fix Exists

• BMW of North America has recalled 720,796 vehicles from model years 2012 to 2018 over a water pump connector that can short circuit and raise the risk of a fire, and owners are told to park them outside and away from structures.
• The recall replaces campaign 24V608 from 2024, so cars already repaired under that campaign need the new remedy as well.
• Owner letters are expected in December, VINs become searchable on NHTSA.gov on Dec. 25, and BMW customer service takes calls at 1-800-525-7417.

Fixed in 2024 Does Not Mean Fixed Now

NHTSA received BMW’s report on Nov. 4 and logged it as campaign 26V733. It covers 720,796 vehicles. Owners are told to park outside, away from structures, until the repair is finished, and the repair does not exist yet: the filing lists it as under development.

The same count of 720,796 vehicles went through an earlier recall, 24V608, in August 2024. That repair does not settle anything. NHTSA’s record for the new campaign says cars fixed under the previous recall still need the new remedy. An owner who spent a morning at a BMW dealer in 2025 is back on the list with everyone who never answered the first letter.

Until the repair is ready, owners have three tools: the model and year list in the recall text, a phone call to BMW at 1-800-525-7417, and the VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls, which will show this campaign beginning Dec. 25.

What the Recall Says Is Wrong With the Water Pump

NHTSA describes the defect as a poorly sealed electrical connector on the water pump. Water can reach it and cause a short circuit, and the listed consequence is a higher risk of fire. The component is filed under electrical system, wiring, connectors, plugs and receptacles.

The 3 Series sedan is on the list for 2012 to 2016, and so are the 3 Series Coupe, Sportswagon and 328xi Gran Turismo for 2014 to 2016. The 5 Series and Z4 run from 2012 to 2016, the X1 from 2012 to 2015, the X3 from 2013 to 2017, the X4 from 2015 to 2018 and the X5 xDrive40e from 2016 to 2018. The 2 Series Coupe (2014 to 2016), 2 Series Convertible (2015 to 2016), 4 Series Convertible (2014 to 2016) and 4 Series Gran Coupe (2015 to 2016) complete the list. NHTSA’s database breaks that into 13 model names: the 228i, 228xi, 328i, 328xi, 428i, 428xi, 528i, 528xi, X1, X3, X4, X5 and Z4.

NHTSA’s record marks this as a park-outside recall and not as a park-it order. The text covers where the car is kept and does not tell owners to stop driving. The 2024 record for 24V608 carried no park-outside marking, so the instruction is new with this campaign.

The 2024 filings explain the mechanism. BMW’s chronology for NHTSA, dated Aug. 13, 2024, says laboratory work suggested that in certain rare operating conditions the seal on the electric plug connector could fail when blow-by fluid dripped from the intake air hose. BMW’s dealer bulletin for the repair traces the liquid to the crankcase ventilation system, with droplets reaching the pump’s electrical socket and plug. Left alone, the bulletin says, that can end in a short circuit over time and, in rare cases, a thermal event. “This could increase the risk of a thermal event and, in rare cases, a fire,” BMW wrote in its 2024 safety recall report to NHTSA.

The trail began in Korea. On March 19, 2024, South Korea’s transport ministry raised a thermal event with BMW AG, and an engineering investigation began. Early field data showed one US incident from January, and three more US incidents became known by August. BMW decided on a voluntary recall on Aug. 6, 2024, “in an abundance of caution,” and told NHTSA it knew of about 18 US complaints, concerns or field instances that might be linked to the problem. BMW said it knew of no accidents or injuries tied to it as of August 2024.

What Owners Can Do Before a Fix Exists

Start with the car itself. Check the model and year against the list above. Letters are expected in December, and BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 is the number NHTSA’s record gives for questions in the meantime.

Park outside and away from structures. The filing gives no distance and no definition beyond those words, so owners without a driveway or a spot clear of buildings face a real problem. Call BMW and ask what it recommends for a car kept in a shared lot or a garage-only home. The recall text does not cover that case.

Keep the paperwork from any 2024 or 2025 visit. The new recall covers those cars too, and the dealer’s record shows what work was done on the car.

The NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline, listed in the 2024 recall notice, is 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153). The VIN search at nhtsa.gov/recalls will show campaign 26V733 beginning Dec. 25, 2026. The record does not say whether the new repair is free. The 2024 repair was free of charge, and owners should ask BMW to confirm the same for this one when the letter arrives.

How a Recall Ends Up Replacing Itself

The first recall began slowly. NHTSA received the 24V608 report on Aug. 14, 2024. Owner letters went out on Mar. 28, 2025, 226 days later. The repair was an inspection and, where needed, a new water pump and plug connector, plus a protective shield, all free of charge.

The shield was not the same job on every car. BMW’s service bulletin, revision 7 dated June 24, 2025, says cars with a 400-watt electric water pump get a splash protection cap on the connector. Cars with a 200-watt pump need no shield and no connector repair, and the technician refits the parts removed for the inspection. Owners of cars with the 200-watt pump went home from the first recall with an inspection and no shield.

BMW’s quarterly reports to NHTSA show how far the first recall got. The recall population is 720,796 vehicles. The count of vehicles remedied was 13,501 at the end of the first quarter of 2025, 61,111 after the second, 144,624 after the third and 211,553 after the fourth, in a report filed Jan. 30, 2026. The quarterly gains were 47,610, then 83,513, then 66,929, so the pace slowed in the last three months of 2025.

Divide 211,553 by 720,796 and the answer is 29.3 percent. NHTSA’s definition of “remedied” includes cars that were inspected and needed no remedy, so some of that total never received a shield. Another 15,744 vehicles were removed from the population as scrapped, stolen or exported, and none were counted unreachable. Take the removed cars out as well and 493,499 vehicles were not yet counted as remedied at the end of 2025. Those figures are the latest quarterly report in NHTSA’s file for 24V608, and they are dated Jan. 30, 2026.

Low completion is common across the industry, and a third of recalled vehicles stay unrepaired. For BMW the open question is different: the public listing for the new campaign gives no reason the first repair needed replacing, and the 2024 paperwork on file does not supply one.

Park-Outside Orders Have Multiplied in 2026

BMW’s recall joins a fast-growing list. A tally of NHTSA data counted 17 recalls with a park-outside instruction in the first seven months of 2026. The 2024 total was 10, and the average ran about one a year from 2015 to 2019. June and July alone brought eight of the 2026 campaigns. Those 17 campaigns cover about 1.7 million vehicles, and Carfax estimates roughly 3.2 million vehicles now carry an open recall of that kind. Stellantis recalled 1,076,999 Jeep Gladiators and Wranglers with park-outside advice in June. US vehicle recalls hit a five-year high this year, and park-outside notices sit inside that total.

Frank Borris, a former NHTSA investigator, gave the explanation for the trend in general terms. “The engine is off, but the circuits are still hot, and they stay hot all the time,” Borris said. “There is a lot more electronics in vehicles today, and that means more stuff can go wrong.”

Borris was describing park-outside recalls as a group. The BMW filings do not say whether the water pump circuit stays powered with the ignition off, and they do not report a fire tied to the connector, only the short circuit and the risk of one.

What Happens Next

BMW’s letters are expected in December 2026, and the VIN search on NHTSA.gov opens Dec. 25. The remedy itself is under development, and the public record gives no date for it, no description of the repair and no statement on cost. The 2024 campaign took 226 days from report to letter. This time the letters are expected in December, with the fix still to come. Owners who miss the mail have a second net in the works, with NHTSA offering states $1.5 million to flag open recalls at registration.

For an owner of a 2012 to 2018 BMW on the model list, the plan is short. Park outside and away from buildings today. Call 1-800-525-7417 to confirm the car is covered and ask when the repair will be available. Check nhtsa.gov/recalls on or after Dec. 25 by entering the VIN. Hold on to every 2024 and 2025 service record, and book the appointment when BMW says the remedy is ready.

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Sources

• NHTSA: Recall data for campaign 26V733 (BMW water pump connector)
• NHTSA: Recall Quarterly Report 24V608
• BMW of North America: Water Pump Connector Chronology filed with NHTSA, Aug. 13, 2024
• Carscoops: 3.2 Million Cars In America Are Under Orders To Park Outside Before They Catch Fire

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar