BMW Mini and Maxi Recalled

DETROIT Reuters reported that about half of the fashionable new Mini Cooper compact cars that have been sold in the United States will be recalled to fix a transmission problem, federal safety regulators said on Tuesday.

BMW AG, the maker of the Mini, was also hit with the eighth recall of its X5 luxury sport utility vehicle, this time for loose brake pedals.

The Mini, a retro-styled revival of the British classic, has been a hit in the United States with more than 6,000 sold since March.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that on 3,531 Mini Coopers with manual transmissions, the cable connecting the shift lever to the transmission could detach, leaving the transmission in the last gear selected and increasing the risk of a crash.

Dealers will inspect the cable and install a retaining clip if necessary. The recall is the first for the model.

BMW will also recall 34,860 X5 SUVs from the 2000 model year to inspect the brake pedal pivot arm. NHTSA said the pivot arm could become loose and eventually separate from its bracket, making the brakes inoperable.

BMW wasn't the only luxury automaker hit with recalls Tuesday. NHTSA said 2,085 Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars built between 1998 and May of this year would be recalled to fix a problem with the braking system that could allow air into the brake lines. Rolls-Royce and Bentley are owned by Volkswagen AGbut BMW will take over the Rolls-Royce name and production in January.

Among the other recalls NHTSA announced Tuesday:

-- DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler arm will recall 88,000 1996 Chrysler Sebring cars to replace a throttle cable that can stick.

-- Honda Motor Co. Ltd. will replace the passenger air bag modules in 403 2001 Acura Integra and Honda Insight cars that could fail to deploy in a collision.

-- Lotus dealers will be ordered to replace leak-prone fuel tanks on 546 1991 Lotus Elan sports cars.