BMW catches fire on Witkoppen

08 October 2014 - 14:46 By Times LIVE
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Image: PigSpotter Cliff ‏@PigSpotter/ Twitter

A BMW E90 3-Series was pictured burning on Witkoppen road by several twitter users.

According to a tweet by @Pigspotter, @StanfromIBF claims that this is the seventh new 3-series to have gone up in flames.

BMW SA cautioned, however, against taking tweets as establishing a link as there could be a lot of reasons why a car could go up in flames without it necessarily having anything to do with the product itself.

"Until such time as a proper investigation on the vehicle in question has been conducted, it's reckless to try and establish such a link on the back of hearsay," Edward Makwana, BMW SA's Group Automotive Communications manager said.

While it is unclear why this car caught on fire, there have been several recalls on BMWs in recent years.

The Orlando Advocate reports that there is an international recall on BMW 3-series vehicles manufactured between 1999 and 2006,  but this is due to ruptured airbags - not a fire risk.

According to BMW SA this recall only applied to the E46, and not the E90 generation that was involved in the fire incident.

The UK's Independent reports that a similar recall was launched last year for owners of the  5 Series and 6 Series models built between 2003 and 2010, because some battery cables were incorrectly mounted in their boots, creating a risk of fire.

In 2010 the car was subject to a recall in the US and Canada over engine problems - the Consumerist reports that it had a problem with its fuel pump.

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