Another BMW Catches Fire

Another BMW car caught fire and burned out on an expressway in Incheon around Monday noon.

The driver and two passengers escaped unharmed. It was the 27th BMW to catch fire this year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

On July 26, BMW already announced a recall of 100,000 of its 3, 5 and 7 Series and another plan on Monday to conduct safety checks around the clock and compensate customers with a new car if their car still catches fire afterwards.

BMW blames a coolant leak in the exhaust recirculation module in diesel engines for the spontaneous fires, but the ministry has yet to identify the exact cause.

Korea takes up 30 percent of worldwide sales of the 5 Series.

BMW said, "All BMW models sold here are equipped with the same EGR systems and components designed by Germany as those of BMWs sold around the world. No fires of the BMW models caused by faulty EGR systems have been reported elsewhere."

Meanwhile, four owners of BMW 520ds filed suit on Monday against the carmaker over the fires, demanding compensation of W5 million, and more consumers are expected to join in a class action suit (US$1=W1,120).