Westwood, NJ — January 22, 2016 — BMW of North America is recalling just two vehicles for steering gearbox concerns, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration noted. As the official recall acknowledgement states, one of these is a MINI Cooper and the other is a BMW X1.

While both of these were produced in 2015, the MINI Cooper has the model year 2016. The gearbox in these vehicles could contain incorrect parts and lead to a dangerous malfunction, launching the recall effort proper on December 28, 2015.

The solution for this error involves replacing the gearbox entirely, which the manufacturer will do for free. In a pair of manufacturer notices to dealers BMW of Anchorage and MINI of Manhattan, the company urged these locations to not “sell, lease or deliver any vehicle covered by this notification until the recall repair has been performed. This means that centers may not legally deliver new motor vehicles to a consumer until it is fixed or use/sell replacement equipment/parts subject to a Recall.”

Back in October, BMW recalls began to address air bag module concerns in 2016 MINI Cooper two-door and four-door vehicles. This recall included more than 6,070 vehicles and the NHTSA notice stated that the air bag defect violated the Occupant Crash Protection requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.

The particular air bags cited in this recall were located in the frontal side passenger of the vehicle. Because of manufacturing problems, the vehicles may not deploy airbags correctly when a crash occurs, specifically during what the statement called “a low speed crash.” That recall was originally scheduled for November 20.

Woodcliff Lake, NJ — January 11, 2016 — Just more than a dozen Rolls-Royce Phantom vehicles are part of a recall action launching January 11. Just 1 percent of this population is expected to carry improperly manufactured side curtain airbags, but the risk from these models is possibly dangerous, as it could leave occupants open to a greater chance of injury after impact.

The airbags are reportedly improperly positioned in these affected vehicles, making it less likely that they will deploy correctly. This issue could affect the front and rear passengers and be found in both the left and right sections of the vehicle. These systems will be inspected and replaced following a delivery stop.

According to the Part 573 report listed on the NHTSA site, this issue was first detected this October and led to a visual inspection: out of 924 parts included in the investigation, nine were found defective.

“In early November 2015, further analyses revealed that a manufacturing process error could lead to an inappropriate assembly of the side curtain air bag at the sub-supplier,” the report states. “The sub-supplier and supplier subsequently determined from their component production records the specific start date of side curtain air bags that may not have been produced to specification.”

This isn’t the first Rolls-Royce recall this year with a small target population: earlier this year, a single 2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost for airbag issues in the front seats. It was manufactured in January 2014 and found to possibly violate the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. The Phantoms in this latest recall have the model years 2015 and 2016.

Woodcliff Lake, NJ — November 23, 2015 — BMW owners with children should be wary of a new recall action from the manufacturer centered around a series of vehicles made for model year 2016. These cars may reportedly violate the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard by making it impossible for child seats to engage with lower child seat restraint anchors. This would leave children more vulnerable if an accident occurred, as a recall acknowledgement on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) site states.

According to the Part 573 Safety Recall Report, 70 percent of a group of 7,162 vehicles were considered potentially defective. Affected models include the 528i, 535i, 535d and 550i sedans, as well as their xDrive counterparts. Of these, the 528i group has the highest number of autos at possible risk (2,377).

“During vehicle assembly, the inboard lower anchor on the left rear seat may have been bent downwards,” the report states. “It may not be possible to securely attach a child restraint system to the lower anchors on the vehicle’s left rear seat, which would increase the risk of injury to a child in an accident.”

The problem was discovered earlier this year and the recall is currently scheduled for December 24. A service information bulletin shows where to find the faulty bracket and instructs dealers to make the repair without any additional parts.

While these vehicles are still awaiting repair, owners are required to cease selling new models under the threat of “substantial civil penalties.” They also can’t deliver vehicles covered by the BMW recalls under any agreement, including a lease.

Woodcliff Lake, NJ — November 16, 2015 — A new recall impacts just one Rolls-Royce vehicle, according to documents available through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This source reports that a recall action identified late last month will involve a single 2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost, built in January 24 and possibly vulnerable to front air bag problems that may put occupants at high side impact risk during a crash.

In addition to posing an occupant risk, the vulnerability could mean that this affected vehicle doesn’t meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard regulations. The official launch date of the recall was October 22, and the dealer remedy was specifically focused on the thorax air-bag modules.

An aftersales bulletin from the manufacturer describes the actions taken to address the non-compliance issue. Recipients of this bulletin included Rolls-Royce dealer service managers, parts managers and service technicians.

“A delivery stop has been implemented for one vehicle that has the incorrect thorax airbag fitted to both front seats causing a possible non-compliance with NHTSA regulations,” the bulletin reads. “Rolls-Royce Motor Cars took immediate action on discovering this issue and have stopped deliveries of affected vehicles and has authorized the replacement of the affected thorax airbag modules.”

The Ghost has been recalled before in recent years: Hundreds were part of a 2011 action concerning overheating circuit boards. While this latest issue is not connected with the Takata airbag recalls, Rolls-Royce parent company BMW Group is one of the 12 major manufacturers involved in that ongoing situation, which has already involved 19 million vehicles and a fine as high as $200 million for Takata.

More than 30,000 MINI Coopers will potentially be affected by a recent recall.

[marker] Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration discovered that some MINI Coopers do not meet government structural regulations established by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. Specifically, the low side impact rating in these cars would put rear seat passengers in danger. The recall will officially start on September 12.

[marker] The affected vehicles have model years between 2014 and 2015. Fixing this problem will involve installing special material into the exterior of the vehicle to absorb the shock of collision. According to the NHTSA, some vehicles will also receive a small foam patch as part of the update.

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