BMW has announced a recall covering roughly 70,800 electric vehicles in the United States for an issue with its electric drive motor software glitch that has been found to sometimes misinterpret a small fault as a major issue. This erroneous assessment causes the high-voltage system of the car to fail-safe shut down, hence resulting in a quick loss of propulsion while the car is moving.
The fundamental software glitch arises from misidentifying a so-called ‘double-isolation condition,’ a safety alert meant to guard against major electrical faults. The system displays a red warning for 15 to 20 seconds after this false alarm before shutting off the motor. Regrettably, the sudden lack of speed raises the risk of a collision even though braking and steering assistance remain in use.
Models Impacted and Range
Not long ago NHTSA recalled Ford, Volkswagen, Ram vehicles and recently BMW’s current electric vehicle recall lineup across various years and models, which comprises the eDrive35 and eDrive40 trims, i4 (2022–2025).
Model breakdown estimates, i4: roughly 35,400 units, iX: about 25,300 units, i7: around 5,500 units and i5: almost 4,700 units. Though the numbers are high, BMW and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have reported only around 43 warranty claims, without any proven accidents or injuries connected to this problem.
Through a careful examination spanning 2023 and into early 2025, BMW found the reason for the drive motor software glitch and chose to conduct a voluntary recall, officially registered with NHTSA under 25V395on June 6, 2025.
Starting August 5, 2025, U. S. mail will send notifications to owners. Those who desire to check earlier, however, can phone BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 or look up the NHTSA recall number. Either over the air (OTA) or through licensed dealerships, a free software upgrade will be offered. BMW stresses that this update targets an uncommon yet perhaps fatal software glitches activation.
