BMW of North America, LLC: Air Bags › Frontal
BMW of North America, LLC reported this defect to federal regulators on Aug 5, 2008 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 200,000. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
BMW IS RECALLING 200,000 MY 2006 3 SERIES SPORT SEAT, MY 2004-2006 5 SERIES STANDARD AND SPORT SEAT, AND MY 2004-2006 X3 PASSENGER VEHICLES. DEPENDING ON THE MANNER AND FREQUENCY OF THE FRONT PASSENGER'S ENTRY AND EXIT, SMALL CRACKS HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE MAT. IF THIS OCCURS, THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAGS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE HEAD PROTECTION SYSTEM, WILL BE DEACTIVATED AND THE AIR BAG WARNING LAMP AS WELL AS THE PASSENGER AIR BAG "ON-OFF" LAMP WILL BE ILLUMINATED.
The risk
IN THIS SITUATION THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY EVEN IF A SUFFICIENTLY SEVERE ACCIDENT WOULD OCCUR AND OCCUPANT PROTECTION PROVIDED BY THE SYSTEM WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REWORK THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR MAT SO THAT EXTERNAL FORCE APPLICATION TO THE SEAT DOES NOT CAUSE A CRACK TO THE MAT. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 6, 2008. BMW WILL ALSO EXTEND THE WARRANTY ON THESE VEHICLES TO 10 YEARS FROM FIRST REGISTRATION WITHOUT ANY MILEAGE LIMIT. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BMW AT 1-800-525-7417.
7 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 BMW 3 Series | 202 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 2006 BMW 5 Series | 85 | 8 | 2 | 4 |
| 2006 BMW X3 | 143 | 2 | 16 | 7 |
| 2005 BMW 5 Series | 21 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 2005 BMW X3 | 103 | 2 | 18 | 4 |
| 2004 BMW 5 Series | 64 | 8 | 9 | 1 |
| 2004 BMW X3 | 138 | 1 | 13 | 13 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 08V384000.
Full record for the 2006 BMW 3 Series → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →