BMW has just been hit with a civil penalty of up to USD40 million for failing to recall more than 30,000 Mini Coopers quickly enough.
BMW said it entered into a consent order with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The order resolves NHTSA’s investigation into whether BMW failed to issue a recall on 30,456 2014-15 Mini Coopers within 5 days of learning they didn’t meet safety requirements.
BMW recalled the Mini Coopers in July, several months after it said it would issue a voluntary service campaign on the vehicles in October 2014.
Now BMW must pay USD10 million in cash, in addition to spending a minimum of USD10 million to comply with the order. BMW must also pay USD20 million if it does not comply with the order or further violates U.S. safety laws. This is the second time in three years that the company has been fined by U.S. regulators. BMW was fined USD3 million in 2012.
BMW is required to “retain a NHTSA-approved independent safety consultant” to develop practices to better comply with U.S. laws and regulations.
BMW must also launch a pilot program to determine whether data analytics can detect safety trends and submit a written review to NHTSA on the company’s safety and compliance issues.
BMW is also required to deter dealerships from selling new vehicles with safety defects. That provision of the consent order stems “from the fact that during NHTSA’s investigation, a NHTSA representative purchased a new vehicle with an open safety recall from a BMW dealer,” NHTSA said in a news release.
After a failed October 2014 crash test, BMW said it listed an incorrect weight on the Mini Cooper and that it would have passed the test if it was correct. It then agreed to recall the affected vehicles to correct the weight rating on the car and to “conduct a voluntary service campaign, short of a recall, to add additional side-impact protection,” NHTSA said.
After a second failed crash test in July, NHTSA said it found BMW did not issue that service campaign. It launched an investigation into the automaker in September.
BMW also admits in the consent order to failing to notify owners and dealers of recalls in a “timely fashion” in other recalls since 2012 and for failing to provide quarterly recall completion reports on time.
