Rolls-Royce Motors Inc. is recalling 589 of its entry-level Ghost sedans in the United States because a circuit board could overheat, possibly causing a fire. Such a problem would cause the vehicle to "fail to proceed." Rolls-Royces do not break down. Indeed a Rolls-Royce manual from the 1930s begins the chapter on changing a flat tire with "Instruct your man..."
The recall is similar to one covering 32,000 BMW 5, 6 and 7 Series cars and SUVs equipped with 8- or 12-cylinder turbocharged engines. The Ghost, which is mechanically similar to the BMW 7 Series sedan, is powered by a BMW-built 563 horsepower 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12. Rolls-Royce is a division of the BMW Group.
Prices for the Rolls-Royce Ghost, the least expensive model in the Rolls-Royce line-up, start about $245,000. The recall applies to some 2010 model-year Ghosts, 1,900 of which are being recalled worldwide, 589 of those in the U.S.
A circuit board that controls a water pump used to cool the turbocharger after the engine has been shut off can overheat. "This may also lead to an engine compartment or vehicle fire," Rolls-Royce said (in hushed tones, one may imagine) in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the government agency responsible for overseeing vehicle recalls.
If overheating occurs, the driver would be warned by a message light in the car's gauge cluster. As of late October there had been 102 cases of water pump failure in BMW vehicles, including two that involved engine compartment fires, according to the letter. No incidents involving Rolls-Royce cars have been reported. Rolls-Royce and BMW dealers will replace the water pumps in the affected cars, free of charge, as one might expect. —Paul Duchene
