BMW is advising almost 25,000 drivers in the UK not to leave their car unattended with the engine running because of concerns that faulty starter motors could overheat and catch fire.

The company has issued a global recall notice to owners of certain models built between July 2020 and July 2022 after internal quality control tests found manufacturing defects in their starter motor switches that could cause increased wear.

The recall applies to 24,732 cars in the UK and 197 in Ireland, BMW told Autocar. The company did not confirm how many cars are affected globally, but German publication kfz-betrieb reports that up to 575,000 cars could be recalled in total.

Affected cars in the UK include the G42 2 Series, G20/G21 3 Series, G22/23 4 Series, G26 4 Series Gran Coupé, G30/31 5 Series, G11/12 7 Series, G01 X3, G02 X4, G05 X5, G06 X6 and G29 Z4. 

In a statement sent to Autocar, BMW said: "The magnetic switch in the starter establishes the electrical connection during the starting process. Due to a manufacturing defect, after a very high number of start cycles, increased wear may occur in the magnetic switch. 

"This leads to a deterioration in the ability of engine starting. As a result, the vehicle’s engine may no longer be able to start at all. In addition, a short circuit in the magnetic switch cannot be ruled out. 

"Consequently, this may cause local overheating in the starter. In the worst case, this can lead to a vehicle fire during vehicle operation. In such a case, smoke may be seen or smelled during driving or when exiting the vehicle."

The company said the affected models should not be left unattended while running and is working to contact registered keepers to advise on the next steps.

Affected cars will be fixed in dealerships, but the company has not indicated how long the repair itself will take, nor given a timeframe for addressing the entire batch of models.