Mini has issued a worldwide recall of 235,000 cars, including 29,868 in the UK, due to a fault with electric water pumps that could be a fire risk in some cases.
Vehicles affected include certain Cooper S and John Cooper Works models built between 2006 and 2011. BMW, Mini's parent company, said in a statement that there have been four cases of fires as a result of the problem, including one that occurred in the UK.
Owners will receive a letter in the next few weeks inviting them to have the water pump replaced at their Mini dealership in a process that is expected to take around an hour and will be free of charge. The company said that the turbocharged engine of the models affected by the fault are equipped with an additional water pump which draws residual heat out of the turbocharger after the engine has been switched off.
"Under high operating temperatures an electro-migration can occur at the circuit board installed in the additional water pump," it added.
"This can lead to a failure of the additional water pump or smoldering and even a fire cannot be excluded."
More than 200,000 Minis are built each year at the company's Oxford plant, where production started in 2001.
BMW said last year that it would build a redesigned Mini at its Cowley factory in Oxford as part of a £500m investment in UK production over the next three years.
China was the Mini's fastest growing market last year, although the US remained the car's largest market.
by - Ben Quinn
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