BMW Z4, 3 Series, and Toyota Supra to be recalled for faulty headlights

MANILA: A report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the U.S. has requested for over 245 units of three model lineups from automakers BMW and Toyota to be recalled due to faulty headlights.

According to BMW, they themselves have discovered issues in their headlights that cause one or both to abruptly die out. The NHTSA stated in their Description of the Defect a similar phenomenon, saying how “certain left and/or right headlamp[s> may experience a loss of function.”

The models affected are the BMW Z4, 3 Series, and Toyota Supra. Over 37 BMW Z4s, 31 BMW 3 Series, and 177 Toyota Supras will be pulled out. BMW has identified the production cycle most affected by the issue and suspect the units manufactured around July 2019. This is not the first time the Toyota Supra has been issued a recall.

In an announcement addressing the recall, BMW pointed out that they suspect the problem to be caused by production issues in their printed circuit boards (PCB). They explained how a centering pin could most likely have carried foreign debris during the alignment procedure. They expressed how something as simple as this can potentially result in malfunctioning parts.

According to BMW, their headlight supplier informed them back in August that there could possible be technical issues with the PCB. The automaker themselves submitted a voluntary recall notification to the NHTSA in November to address the problem before the Z4 hit the streets.

To determine if the headlights have this malfunction, drivers should be alerted via message from their instrument clusters. Another sign is when the turn signal’s clicking sounds are significantly louder than normal when activated from the control lever.

Those who have already purchased any of the three vehicles will be notified by First Class mail regarding the defect and will be advised to bring their car to an authorized dealer for inspection and repair. BMW has ensured that those who are affected by the defect will receive a full circuit board replacement for free. They added that those who have already had their headlights repaired will not be reimbursed as the issue is covered by the warranty.

The company will begin sending notifications by January 17, 2020.

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