Almost 70 Garda cars removed from service over engine defect warning linked to vehicle fire [Video]

GARDAÍ HAVE BEEN forced to immediately remove almost 70 cars from service, including those used by the Armed Support Unit (ASU), due to fears over a potential defect in the cars’ engines.

Sources have said that the issue has links to a fatal crash involving a police vehicle in the UK. 

The BMW cars that have been grounded are various different models, but all use the same N57 diesel engine. 

The decision was made to remove them from service after senior gardaí were contacted by the manufacturer. 

Less than 70 cars – out of a total garda fleet of over 3,500 – are affected. 

The difficulty for the organisation is that some of those vehicles are used by specialist armed gardaí who respond to the most serious of incidents. 

Sources said efforts were made urgently this week to find replacement vehicles for the ASU and stressed that they will be …