NHTSA Campaign 08V384000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

Issued by BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC · Reported Aug 5, 2008 · 200,000 vehicles affected

What's wrong

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.

Consequence

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.

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.

Vehicles affected by this recall

Make Model Year Units
BMW 3 SERIES 2006 200,000
BMW 5 SERIES 2004 200,000
BMW 5 SERIES 2005 200,000
BMW 5 SERIES 2006 200,000
BMW X3 2004 200,000
BMW X3 2005 200,000
BMW X3 2006 200,000

Source: NHTSA Campaign 08V384000 on nhtsa.gov. To check the current repair status for a specific vehicle, use our free VIN decoder.