– A recall of BMW starter motors has led to four customers filing a class action lawsuit claiming their vehicles are worthless because of the recall.
BMW starter recall
The class action lawsuit includes the same 145,000 BMW vehicles that were named in a September engine starter recall.
2020BMW340I
2020 BMW X6
BMW 840I from 2020-2025
2020-2022 BMW 740LI
2019-2020 BMW X7
2019-2020 BMW X5
The starters are supplied by DENSO and BMW estimates that 0.1% of the 145,000 vehicles may be equipped with defective starters.
A BMW vehicle may not start properly, causing the driver to repeatedly attempt to start the vehicle. Repeated attempts to start the vehicle may cause the starter to overheat and ignite the engine’s acoustic protective material.
BMW says dealers will replace the starters with newly designed starters. The automaker also says a customer can request a refund if they paid their own money for starter repairs or replacements.
BMW expects to send starter recall letters to owners starting November 17, 2025, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
This means that the BMW starter class action lawsuit was filed before owners were notified of the recall and before the starters were replaced. Yet the lawsuit claims the repairs are “inadequate” and the recalled vehicles are “worthless.”
However, the September 2025 recall follows an earlier recall of BMW starters announced in August 2024 due to the same overheating problem. Unlike the starter replacement recall repairs for the last recall, the 2024 recall repairs involved only software updates.
Some owners who had their cars ‘repaired’ during the 2024 BMW starter recall still had problems with overheating starters, so the software updates clearly failed. This caused BMW to issue the recall in September to replace the starters with newly designed starters.
Lawsuit for the recall of BMW starters
According to the class action, any recall repairs are “futile” because replacing the starters will allegedly lower the vehicle value.
None of the four vehicle owners who filed the class action claim their cars had starting problems, but they do complain that they have been “damaged” and “inconvenienced” by BMW’s recall.
“Assuming the recall was effective and provided a real remedy, plaintiffs and class members will still be burdened with the time and costs associated with returning their cars to the dealer for repairs.” — Lawsuit for the recall of BMW starters
Although the starters are replaced free of charge, the plaintiffs claim that BMW has “still not revealed the truth about the full extent” of the starter problems.
“Plaintiffs suffered injuries because they purchased a vehicle that is worthless. For all intents and purposes, Plaintiffs’ vehicles are now an unsafe vehicle with a notoriously defective electric starter system.” — BMW starter class promotion
The plaintiffs further complain that BMW should have warned them about the defective starters when they purchased their vehicles or through the owner’s manuals.
The BMW starter class action lawsuit was filed by these four customers who complain that they will “spend hours upon hours trying to get a BMW recall.”
Robert Register / Florida / BMW 840i
Jerry Gibbs / South Carolina / BMW 740Li
Hamidah Waldron / Arizona / BMW 740Li
Edward Arnold / California / BMW 740Li
The BMW starter recall was filed in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey: Gibbs, et al., v. BMW of North America, LLC.
The plaintiffs are represented by Furia Law LLC and Poulin | Willey | Anastopoulo, LLC.
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