M3 Sedan

Make
BMW
Segment
Sedan

BMW is currently in the midst of dealing with a massive recall of 1.6 million vehicles for a potential fire risk. Even though it was nowhere near the same level of danger, the German automaker also issued a recall for the fuel pump on 846 M5 models. Now, BMW is facing yet another recall on a few of its high-performance M models.

The problem affects 2,661 examples of the 2016 to 2017 M3 and M4 - including the rarified M4 GTS - built between March 2 and September 30, 2016. Of the 2,661 affected cars, 1,456 are M3 sedans, 936 are M4 coupes, and 269 are M4 convertibles. BMW reportedly built fewer than 800 M4 GTS coupes and no specific breakdown of how many were affected by this recall has been announced.

The recall will replace the driveshaft, which can potentially disconnect and leave the car without power. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "the connection between the driveshaft and the flange may fail, resulting in a loss of propulsion."

The issue has been pinpointed to faulty driveshaft flanges, which do not hold up in the long term as well as they should. When the flange is forced to take the brunt of a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six pumping out over 400 lb-ft of torque, it's no surprise it would fail if it isn't properly connected to the driveshaft.

Of course, fixing the issue will be done free of charge and will require BMW to replace the entire driveshaft. This cannot be cheap for BMW but thankfully the issue is contained to just a few thousand vehicles and not several million. The recall is set to begin on December 3, so owners should receive a notice by then. If you have already had the driveshaft replaced, BMW will reimburse you for the expense.