WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. -

BMW of North America revealed late last week that it is recalling about 198,000 models to fix a potential power-breaking problem.

The company said it would be notifying the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration via letter that it planned to pull the vehicles. Included in the voluntary recall are particular V12 and V8 models of the following vehicles: BMW 5 Series, 6 Series and 7 Series, as well as the Rolls-Royce Phantoms.

The specific model year for each model recalled varies, with production dates ranging from 2002 to 2010.

"In the affected vehicles, a leak may develop in the power braking system, potentially causing a vacuum loss and consequent reduction of power
braking assistance,” BMW officials explained.

They noted that drivers can still apply mechanical braking to make the vehicles slow down or stop. The company said it no accidents or injuries have been reported.

BMW said it has an inspection and repair procedure ready and plans to send its North American dealers the replacement parts. Moreover, the company will ask owners of affected models via notifications sent in First Class mail that they arrange an appointment to have their vehicle inspected at a BMW store.

This will be done “in the coming weeks.”

As far as the specific vehicles recalled, they are as follows:

2002-08 BMW 745i/Li, 750i/Li, and 760i/Li
2007-08 BMW Alpina B7
2004-10 BMW 645i and 650i
2004-10 BMW 545i and 550i
2003-2010 Rolls-Royce Phantoms (the Rolls-Royce Ghost is not affected)

NHTSA Investigates Mini Models

This news comes less than a week after NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation began looking into several Mini models for power steering issues, as well.

ODI indicated on its website that there have been 54 complaints and “a confidential number of field reports” where the powering steering assist has stopped working without warning while the vehicle is on the road.

“When the power steering assist stops working it requires increased force to steer the vehicle. Some drivers reported experiencing difficulty while trying to steer or control the vehicle,” the office said. “The reports indicate that the loss of power steering assist may be related to a power steering pump failure.”

NHTSA is examining the following models:

2004 BMW/Mini Cooper
2004-2005 Mini Cooper
2005 Mini/Cooper Convertible
2004-2005 Mini/ Cooper S