— A BMW engine starter recall has caused a class action lawsuit to be filed by four customers who claim their vehicles are worthless because of the starter recall.
BMW Starter Recall
The class action lawsuit includes the same 145,000 BMW vehicles that were named in a September engine starter recall.
- 2020 BMW 340I
- 2020 BMW X6
- 2020-2025 BMW 840I
- 2020-2022 BMW 740LI
- 2019-2020 BMW X7
- 2019-2020 BMW X5
The starters are supplied by DENSO, and BMW estimates 0.1% of the 145,000 vehicles may be equipped with defective starters.
A BMW vehicle may fail to properly start which will cause a driver to make repeated attempts to start the vehicle. The repeated attempts to start the vehicle can cause the starter to overheat and possibly cause the engine acoustic protection material to ignite.
BMW says dealerships will replace the starters with newly designed starters. The automaker also says a customer can apply for reimbursement if they paid their own money for starter repairs or replacements.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, BMW expects to mail starter recall letters to owners beginning November 17, 2025.
This means the BMW starter class action lawsuit was filed before owners have been notified of the recall and before the starters have been replaced. Yet the lawsuit claims the repairs are "inadequate" and the recalled vehicles are "worthless."
However, the September 2025 recall follows a previous BMW starter recall announced in August 2024 for the same overheating problem. Unlike the starter replacement recall repairs for the latest recall, the 2024 recall repairs involved only software updates.
Some owners who had their vehicles "repaired" during the 2024 BMW starter recall still had problems with overheated starters, so the software updates obviously failed. This caused BMW to issue the September recall to replace the starters with newly designed starters.
BMW Starter Recall Lawsuit
According to the class action, any recall repairs are "futile" because replacing the starters will allegedly cause diminished vehicle values.
None of the four vehicle owners who filed the class action claim their vehicles had any starter problems, but they complain they have "suffered damages" and "have been inconvenienced" by BMW’s starter recall.
"Assuming that the Recall was effective and offered a true fix, Plaintiffs and Class members will still be burdened with the time an expense of having to return their car to the dealership for the repair." — BMW starter recall lawsuit
Even though the starters are being replaced for free, the plaintiffs assert BMW "still has not disclosed the truth about the full scope" of the starter problems.
"Plaintiffs suffered injury in that they purchased a Vehicle that is worthless. For all intents and purposes, Plaintiffs’ vehicles are now an unsafe vehicle with a notoriously defective electrical starter system." — BMW starter class action
The plaintiffs further complain 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 they "will spend hours upon hours tending to BMW’s 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 lawsuit was filed in the U.S. 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.