Car manufacturer BMW has said that it will recall 312,000 cars in the UK over a fault with the engine.

This includes over 10,000 cars registered in Ireland. The engine issue could cause the cars to cut out completely while being driven, reports RTÉ. So far, motorists have not been told to stop driving the cars. "This recall relates to the intermittent failure of the vehicles’ electrical system, due to the main power supply cable (B+ Battery Connector) connection at the distribution box," said BMW. The recall affects the 1 Series, 3 Series, Z4 and X1 models built between March 2007 and September 2011 and both petrol and diesel cars. The issue came to light after an investigation by BBC programme Watchdog, to be aired tonight, found that some cars could cut out while being driven. The fault has been linked with the death of a motorist in the UK, whose car crashed when he tried to avoid a stalled BMW car. BMW initially recalled 36,410 petrol cars over safety issues last year but it is now feared that many more could be affected. In response to the BBC, the manufacturer said; "We now recognise that there may have been some cases of similar power supply issues in vehicles not covered by the original recall. "In order to reassure customers with concerns about the safety of their vehicles, we are voluntarily extending the recall."