Passenger airbag light

[enamoured]

It freaked me out totally. Me and my wife decided to go for a short drive considering the beautiful evening out there. I was about a km away from home and noticed that the passenger airbag light is on. It should not have been while my wife was sitting in passenger seat. Pulled off road, turned the ignition off and turned it back on; the light came on, went off, came back on and went off permanently. I thought it must have been a temporary glitch in electronics but on our way back I saw it on again and then it went off after 2-3 seconds. What's happening here? I read about the recalls on X3 for passenger airbag, is it for Canadian models too? My main airbag light did not come up with it.

[sfca-325i]

I believe the air bag recall covers all North American models, IIRC.

[TED13B]

Ususally the problem is the sensor mat in the seat. Don't wait for the recall, bring it in to the dealership. Generally, if it's the sesnor mat, the system recognizes the fault, and the airbag on the passenger side defaults to on. The system will not fire accidentally.

[onodon]

It happened to my 2004. Just bring it in and they will replace the sensor mat. It is a whole day job, ask for a loaner

[bettnugs]

It happened to my 2004. Just bring it in and they will replace the sensor mat. It is a whole day job, ask for a loaner

Happened to me as well. Noticed the airbag light on the dashboard as well as the overhead light ON when a passenger was in the seat. Not all the time, and not every time though...

I have not received a recall letter, and my dealer said my VIN was not included in their recall list. However, I had them call BMW directly, and they said they'd repair anyway.

Had the X3 in the dealer today -- they verified that I indeed did have the same issue as the recall. Parts are on order. Yay!

Interesting side note: after reading about the recall on this board for the past several months, I paid close attention to see if I noticed the issue. I did not -- until just a few days ago. So all you x3 owners out there, pay attention to those lights!

[AzNMpower32]

Mine has been doing that since years ago, but I haven't really cared. There is no dash light, rather just the overhead console light that intermittently comes on then off with a passenger in the seat.

I've called BMW NA twice, and they said the letters for the X3 just went out last week. The other models (3er) went out a few weeks earlier. I will call back should the letter not come. It's not so much that I'm worried that it'll malfunction, but I'm afraid a friend is going to literally sue me should the airbag not deploy in a collision. :eeps: (I don't want the liability)

[stream41]

This happened to us last night during a 7-hour drive. It stayed on for about 30 minutes while my wife was sitting in the seat. Looks like a trip to the dealer on Monday.

[Sonoman707]

Mine did this about two years ago... they replaced the entire lower seat on the passenger side.

Just started doing it again intermittently this past week - the passenger airbag light stays illuminated with a passenger and the red airbag dash light illuminates. Guess the first replacment was "pre-repair" of the seat mat issue outlined in the recall.

2004 3.0 with 71K. With the recall - I believe it will still be repaired/replaced at no cost.

[Andrew*Debbie]

2004 3.0 with 71K. With the recall - I believe it will still be repaired/replaced at no cost.


Correct. BMW extended the warranty on the seat mat to 10 years.

[x3r]

have just been through it with BMW dealer and Munich HQs. i'm with the Army in Germany, and have a US spec 2005 X3 that i bought new back then. after experiencing problems with the pass. airbag light identical to those described elsewhere here, i addressed issue with local dealer who said they checked with BMW Munich and determined that my vehicle IS NOT affected by the recall because the failure code is different (i don't care what the failure code is, i have problems identical to those described in the recall). BMW Munich rep went stated that the BMWNA recall involves only programming or coding, not mat replacement, which is obviously not the case. throughout the last week, i've been sending emails in several directions, framing the issue in terms of BMW not wanting to face up to problems of having used sensor mats with latent defects, which potentially result in the compromise of their vehicle safety systems, putting our families at risk. initially, the dealer said that the vehicle warranty had expired (you get just 2 yrs over here) and i'd have to pay the full cost of repair/replacement. i didn't see this as a warranty issue but a safety defect. how many car makers - BMW included - have been using sensor mats w/o problem for years? it ain't rocket science! BMW Munich subsequently offerred to pay 70% parts with me paying the remaining 30% and all labor costs - unacceptable. today they called - they'll pay the full cost as a "goodwill gesture" because i've had to car to all required services at the dealer. i would have taken this to court and made it ugly if i had to. i also belong to a German automobile club (ADAC) which is similar to AAA there in the States: i might still advise them of the US recall for them to take up the issue with BMW to see if European spec vehicles are affected - i'd bet there are, but Europeans don't understand customer service, nor do consumers over here understand what power they have. anyway, i'm glad it'll be done and i'll have to pay nothing out of pocket however, this has left me with a sour taste in my mouth - was contemplating a diesel X3 when they come out but this experience has me reconsidering buying BMW again. concerning the replacement, i asked my dealer if i could see what they'de be replacing. it was a white foam seat cushion with the sensor mat on top: the mat itself is a thin piece of fabric with wires inside. they'll keep the same leather seat cover and simply replace the seat cushion underneath. by the way, i sent a query to BMWNA in the middle of all of this - never heard a peep from them - thanks a lot BMWNA!

[AzNMpower32]

As mentioned in another thread, the fault does not necessarily necessitate a complete seat mat replacement. Sometimes the sensor is simply adjusted, other times it may require replacement.

Only NA models are affected. European and International vehicles are not affected because they are not equipped with an automatic sensor. Standard vehicles have no sensor at all and will probabaly deploy both airbags in a collision; there also is a ***8364;50 option that allows you to have an on/off switch for the passenger airbag.

[X3-terrestrial]

As mentioned in another thread, the fault does not necessarily necessitate a complete seat mat replacement. Sometimes the sensor is simply adjusted, other times it may require replacement.

Only NA models are affected. European and International vehicles are not affected because they are not equipped with an automatic sensor. Standard vehicles have no sensor at all and will probabaly deploy both airbags in a collision; there also is a €50 option that allows you to have an on/off switch for the passenger airbag.


His seems to be US specs X3...

[AzNMpower32]

His seems to be US specs X3...
He wants to advise the ADAC; "i might still advise them of the US recall for them to take up the issue with BMW to see if European spec vehicles are affected - i'd bet there are"

[ARX3]

This is not a new issue with E83 model... My '96 E36 328is as well as my '98 E36 M3 had the same issue - repaired under some sort of BMW recall campaign.

One word of advice, if anyone has this performed by BMW (sensor mat replaced, not just re-programming) always check the operation of the seat heaters before you drive off. I had an unpleasant experience of noticing couple of weeks later and had to threaten legal action before they agreed to repair the broken seat warmer. (car was out of warranty) :mad:

--Rob

[enamoured]

Well, I did report this to dealer when the car was last serviced. Of-course they could not reproduce the problem and said they checked and everything looked fine. I took their word for it since I never saw that light coming on again while someone was on passenger seat. And yet, I got a recall letter yesterday for exactly this issue. The car is now booked for service on 29th.