Here’s Why Nearly 200,000 BMW and Supra Owners Should Probably Park Their Cars Outside Tonight

If you’re one of the few people who managed to snag a four-cylinder Supra before Toyota ended production last year, lucky you! While I don’t think it’s any more fun to drive than the six-cylinder, the four-pot Supra is a lot rarer, which means it’s a lot more special (even if you couldn’t get it with a stick shift).

When you get home tonight from enjoying your better fuel economy and lighter front end, you should probably park your car outside tonight. BMW—the company that builds the Supra on behalf of Toyota—just recalled nearly 200,000 cars equipped with that car’s 2.0-liter turbocharged engine over an issue with the starter that could start a fire.

According to the NHTSA, a relay on the engine starter might corrode. In rare cases, it can result in an overheating scenario and a short-circuit, which could cause a fire. That’s pretty scary! The starter in question was supplied to BMW by a French company called Valeo, and going by pictures of used models on eBay, it looks to be pretty normal-looking, as far as starters go.

In addition to the 2020-2022 Toyota Supra, the recall also affects a host of BMW models that use the same four-cylinder engine. The 2019-2021 BMW 330i, the 2019-2022 BMW Z4, the 2020-2022 BMW 530i, X3, and X4, the 2021-2022 BMW 430i and 430i Convertible, and the 2022 BMW 230i are all affected. In all, BMW is recalling a whopping 196,355 vehicles that are potentially at risk.

Interestingly, when BMW first discovered the fires were happening, the company chalked it up to damage caused by prior accidents. From the recall timeline:

On July 2, 2024, an engineering investigation was initiated based upon continuous field monitoring, and field cases involving vehicles that had experienced a thermal event, which included a Model Year 2021 BMW 5 Series on November 1, 2023, and a Model Year 2020 BMW 3 Series on March 10, 2024. Preliminary information noted that these vehicles were equipped with the same engine type. The information also indicated that the positive battery cable connection to the engine starter was either damaged or not connected.

Between September and November, additional analyses indicated that noticeable damage to the vehicles was likely to have occurred prior to the thermal event, either by an accident, or an improper repair. It was suggested that external influences that damaged the engine starter could be a root cause, although it had yet to be determined.

But “thermal events” kept happening, which eventually led investigators to discover that water was making its way into the starter, corroding one of its connections and causing the issue.

Despite the wide-reaching recall campaign, BMW suspects that just 0.1% (fewer than 200 cars) are actually affected. The company’s just being overly cautious, which, in this case, is probably the right course of action. If your car is subject to the recall, BMW (or Toyota, if you have a Supra) will replace your starter free of charge with an updated unit. Until then, BMW is advising owners to park outside. This way, in case your car self-immolates the next time you go to start it, you won’t accidentally burn your house or garage down.

There’s no warning on the recall notice not to drive your car, though I’d advise keeping a fire extinguisher handy just in case. You never know.

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