BMW of North America, LLC: Air Bags › Frontal › Driver Side › Inflator Module
BMW of North America, LLC reported this defect to federal regulators on Oct 2, 2019 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 3,924. 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 2000-2002 325i and 325xi Sedan, and 323Ci, 325Ci, and 330Ci Convertible vehicles. This recall affects certain vehicles that may have had a driver-side air bag module installed as replacement equipment such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bag, or as a remedy part for a prior recall. The frontal air bag inflator 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 and, as necessary, replace the driver's air bag module, free of charge. The recall began November 7, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Note: This recall is an expansion of previous recalls, numbers 17V-047 and 19V-015.
9 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 BMW 323 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 BMW 325 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2002 BMW 330 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 BMW 323 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 BMW 325 | 31 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| 2001 BMW 330 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 BMW 323 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 BMW 325 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 BMW 330 | 0 | 2 | 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 19V698000.
Full record for the 2002 BMW 323 → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →