BMW of North America, LLC: Air Bags › Frontal › Driver Side › Inflator Module
BMW of North America, LLC reported this defect to federal regulators on Jan 14, 2019 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 157,549. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
Do not drive
NHTSA attached a do-not-drive advisory to this campaign. It applies to specific production runs, so check your own VIN with the manufacturer or at nhtsa.gov/recalls before driving the vehicle.
The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2000-2003 525i Sedan, 530i Sedan, 540i Sedan, 2001-2003 525i Sports Wagon and 540i Sports Wagon vehicles, and 2000-2004 X5 SAV 3.0i, X5 SAV 4.4i, and X5 SAV 4.6is vehicles. This recall affects certain vehicles where the original steering wheel has been replaced with the optional sports steering wheel. The sports steering wheel has a frontal air bag inflator that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the vehicle has been remedied. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle for an optional sports steering wheel with an affected inflator. Dealers will replace the air bag module as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 14, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
17 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 BMW X5 Sav | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 BMW 525i | 32 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2003 BMW 530i | 46 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 2003 BMW 540i | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 BMW X5 Sav | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 BMW 525i | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2002 BMW 530i | 29 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 2002 BMW 540i | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2002 BMW X5 Sav | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 BMW 525i | 22 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 2001 BMW 530i | 25 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 2001 BMW 540i | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 2001 BMW X5 Sav | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 BMW 525i | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 BMW 530i | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 BMW 540i | 31 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2000 BMW X5 Sav | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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 19V015000.
Full record for the 2004 BMW X5 Sav → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →