The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced a recall of 3,198 BMW and Rolls-Royce vehicles due to flaws in their auxiliary electric water pumps on Nov 14, sources reported.

The recall will affect a total of 2,892 BMWs in China, including 5 Series GTs and 7 Series imported from 2009 to 2010, as well as X5s and X6s imported from 2008 to 2010. The same problem also affected 336 imported Rolls-Royces, manufactured from May 2009 to March 2011 and carrying the RR04 model number.

According to reports, the flaw is due to the electric water pump in the 8-valve and 12-valve engines having a flaw in their circuitry which may prevent proper functionality. In some vehicles this could manifest itself in the circuit board overheating, which in extreme cases could cause it to combust, creating a safety risk. BMW and Rolls-Royce dealers will replace the circuitry for free.

BMW already issued a similar recall for its US vehicles for the same problem on October 20. Many doubts have been raised why the manufacturer waited nearly a month to make the same recall in China. According to BMW, the delay was due to discrepancies between models made specifically for the two markets, and that a certain amount of time is needed to confirm whether or not a recall is entirely necessary. BMW added that US models imported to China by unofficial means were also covered by last month's recall.