With 2014 being officially known in the automotive world as the "year of the recalls," it is no wonder that certain carmakers are trying and steer away from being put in the same boat as those offering cars with Takata airbags. BMW is one of those brands, with the Bavarian automaker currently trying to pass a voluntary recall as a much fancier "customer care package." The recall involves just about every BMW with the N63 engine ever built, although probably not all cars will need to have the same amount of work done to them.

For those unfamiliar with BMW->ke178 engine terminology, the N63 powerplant is the twin-turbocharged, 4.4-liter V-8 with 402 horsepower that saw use in every 5 Series,->ke317 6 Series,->ke320 7 Series,->ke323 X5,->ke326 and X6->ke2396 model that have names ending with "50i" and were manufactured between 2008 and 2013. Having the service bulletin number B001314, the recall may take several days for each vehicle involved and could include replacement of the fuel injectors, mass airflow sensors, battery, crankcase vent lines, fuel pressure sensor, the engine's vacuum pump and last, but certainly not least, replacement of the timing chain.

If all that didn't sound like enough, all cars using this exact variant of the N63 engine will no longer be a part of the BMW long-life service intervals, instead requiring a service check every 12 months or 10,000 driven miles. Everything is not as grim as it sounds though, since it seems that affected BMW owners will receive a replacement car for the time that their vehicles are in the shop. Plus, the carmaker will also offer to buy-back the affected vehicle and offer a new one at a discounted price.

Click past the jump to read more about the BMW N63 Customer Care Package Campaign Program.

Why it matters

As with every other recall out there, having to return a vehicle so that its manufacturer can resolve a problem is not exactly the most entertaining thing to do with your time. This is probably why recalls are dreaded by both carmakers and car owners alike, and in essence they don't bring any marketing benefit apart from the rare "look how attentive this car brand is with its customers!" talk that some people force themselves to think.

On the other hand, masking a voluntary and rather extensive engine recall as a "Customer Care Package" shouldn't do BMW a lot of good in the long run, at least as far as its brand image in the eyes of its customers is concerned. Not to mention that certain service workers were well aware of a peculiar problem with a high number of N63 engines built between 2008 and 2013, so it took BMW quite a while to acknowledge the problem. Let's just hope that it will end well for all parties involved, and those owners with cars sporting the more powerful N63TU engine (with 445 horsepower) should momentarily rest assured that their vehicles aren't included in this massive recall.

Which BMW have N63 Engines

F01 and F02 (7 Series Sedan) produced from 3/2009 to 6/2012

F04 (Active Hybrid 7) produced from 4/2010 to 6/2012

F07 (Gran Turismo) produced from 9/2009 to 6/2012

F10 (5 Series Sedan) produced from 3/2010 to 7/2013

F12 (6 Series Convertible) produced from 3/2011 to 7/2012

F13 (6 Series Coupe) produced from 7/2011 to 7/2012

E70 (X5) produced from 3/2010 to 6/2013

E71 (X6) produced from 7/2008 to 6/2014

E72 (ActiveHybrid X6) produced from 9/2009 to 9/2011

BMW 5 Series