German car maker BMW will recall 1.3 million cars worldwide, including Malta, after a faulty battery cable cover was incorrectly fitted in some cases.

The company said the fault concerned BMW 5 and 6 Series models and was linked to a battery cable cover in the boot.

In rare cases, the fault could cause the electrical system to malfunction, the vehicle failing to start and, in some cases, to charring or fire.

A spokesman for BMW in Malta said the company would be contacting about 130 car owners on its database to perform individual checks on the cars. If the cable cover is faulty, BMW will change the part free. However, the spokesman could not say how many second-hand BMW models affected by the fault had been imported by dealers or individuals.

“There may be up to 150 more BMWs. We urge their owners to contact us and bring along the registration document with them,” he said.

The BMW car recall affected 5 and 6 Series models built between 2003 and 2010, the company said. BMW said fewer than one per cent of those cars encountered problems and it did not know of any accidents, injuries or fires.

The recall involved about 368,000 cars in the US and about 293,000 cars in Germany, BMW said. Another 109,000 cars were subject to the recall in Britain and about 102,000 in China, BMW said.

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