- Vehicles
- 11,000
- Built between
- Jan 1983 – Oct 1983
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- Not yet
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 1983 and October 1983. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1984 BMW 318Built January 1983 to October 1983
What the defect is
The idle control valve which controls idle speed by varying the amount of intake air that bypasses the throttle plate is subject to backfire into the intake manifold. Such backfire can damage the valve and cause the idle valve plate to remain open. Consequence of defect: this will result in abnormally high idle speed.
What gets fixed
INSTALL A REDESIGNED IDLE CONTROL VALVE WHICH CAN NOT STICK OPEN.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 1983 to October 1983
- Recall reported to NHTSA6 May 1985
No owner-notification date has been published yet. Manufacturers normally write to registered owners within 60 days of reporting a recall.
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 6 May 1985.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Vehicle description: passenger cars.system: idle control valve.
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.