BMW`s recall, which was caused by consecutive car fire incidents, is changing the perception of imported cars in Korea. Recently, imported cars have steadily increased their market share, but it is predicted that the market situation could change as imported car credibility and reliability drop as a result from the recent incident.

Design and part defect have been pointed out as the cause of successive fires in BMW diesel vehicles, but they came out with the same design and automobile parts overseas. Since, these car fires have frequently occurred in Korea, people are becoming increasingly concerned about the situation. In addition, the car fire incidents began in 2015, and three years later in 2018 BMW still hadn't announced the cause or prepare proper countermeasures. This has made Korean car owners angry. BMW started recalling cars, but its amount of service centers are far from enough when compared to the number of vehicles.

Comparing BMW vehicles, the model with the most accrued fire incidents in Korea is the 520d. In the case of 520d, it was popular in Korea for its excellent fuel economy and large car size. BMW thinks the fire was caused by EGR failure. EGR is exhaust gas reduction equipment, which refills the exhaust from the diesel engine back to the engine and reduces harmful substances in exhaust gases. Coolant leaks from the cooler of the EGR, piling up residue from the pipe and the air intake manifold. High temperature exhaust gas that has not been cooled due to a malfunction of the EGR valve gets out and causes debris to catch fire.

After BMW's recall announcement, the stigma of the burning car, BMW phobia and Ministry of Land's unprecedented motoring suspension order, etc. BMW's brand image has become fatally wounded. In addition, due to such a large recall situation consumer organizations have called for BMW to stop selling and have criticized the passive responses of the overall imported car brand.

In 2016 the Fair Trade Commission announced a 'Revision of the consumer conflict resolution standards mitigating car exchange and refund requirements’. This means if there are three or more major defects within 12 months of purchase of the car (originally four defects) or more than four breakdowns, they can be exchanged for a new car or refunded. In fact, the amount of damage to imported cars was 289 cases in 2016, 307 cases in 2017, and 160 cases were received by July in this year according to the Korea Consumer Agency under the Fair Trade Commission. However, they consistently responded to the solution with silence. The consumer protection organization has the Korea Consumer Agency calling for protecting consumer's rights by actively seeking relief from damage and collective conflict adjustment.

Consumer distrust of other imported cars is also getting higher. Recently the Ministry of Land announced that along with Audi, Ford, Cadillac and Honda, the Daimler Trucks were also found to have defects and will take corrective action voluntarily. The owners of Mantruck and Volvo Truck also filed an earlier joint lawsuit against the vehicle for defects. Domestic consumers are complaining about imported cars in general.

An automobile safety expert said that the government has responded belatedly after the incident, but they have to investigate manufacturing defects at the scene of the car accident. It is also urgent to establish a legal basis for independent and systematic investigation to be possible. Another industry official said that, governments regulation is generous to imported car companies. There is no other way to impose sanctions, even if it is directly linked to the driver's life such as Volkswagen emissions violations (Dieselgate) or the recent car fire incident. Due to this atmosphere, they criticized the companies of imported cars that think Korean consumers are dopey so they respond belatedly.

L.L.F reporter Seung-Hee Na