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BMW to Replace Passenger-side Front Airbags in 2000-06 3 Series, As a Precaution

212K views 313 replies 108 participants last post by  Doug Huffman 
#1 · (Edited)
(E46) BMW airbag inflator recall

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/06/23/airbag-recall-widens-include-bmw-chrysler-ford-and-toyota/

"BMW is recalling an undisclosed number of 325i, 325Xi, 330i and 330Xi models from the 2001 through 2005 model years and the 2001-2006 model year versions of the 325Ci and 330Ci for the driver side and passenger side inflators. Only vehicles currently registered in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands are covered under this recall."
FULL PRESS RELEASE:

BMW
RECALL Subject : Frontal Air Bag Inflators may Rupture
Report Receipt Date: JUN 20, 2014
NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V348000
Component(s): AIR BAGS
Potential Number of Units Affected: 0
All Products Associated with this Recall
Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s)
BMW 325CI 2001-2006
BMW325I 2001-2005
BMW325XI 2001-2005
BMW330CI 2001-2006
BMW330I 2001-2005
BMW330XI 2001-2005

Details
Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC

SUMMARY:
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is conducting a limited regional recall for certain model year 2001-2005 325i, 325xi, 330i, and 330xi, and 2001-2006 325Ci and 330Ci vehicles currently registered in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and equipped with Takata-brand air bag inflators. Upon deployment of the driver side and/or passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

CONSEQUENCE:
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of either of the frontal air bags, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking and potentially seriously injuring the vehicle occupants.

REMEDY:
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the frontal air bag(s) free of charge. This recall is expected to begin during August 2014. Owners may contact BMW Customer Relations at 1-800-525-7417.

NOTES:
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
 
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#9 ·
Lol yea I just read up on the humidity stats online comparing Florida and NC and yeah we're safe up here in NC.

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I'm in Atlanta now and it makes me laugh when people whine about it being hot and humid. It was low 90's this week, but felt like mid 80's in soflo. Come winter you folks will get you laughs at me, if it goes below 70 down there it's time to break out the jackets, I got here in December and it was a huge adjustment, the only things that get cold down there are beverages.
 
#7 ·
We have overage 90% or higher humidity here in ne alabama. Its 96% outside right now at 72 degrees. So yeah I know what humidity is like :)

Luckily my 2000 isnt in the year ranges nor my wifes 97 528i.
 
#8 ·
The numbers don't tell the whole story, in south floriduh there's the atlantic ocean, 10 miles of developed land, 65 miles of everglades swamp, 10 miles of land, and then the gulf. You sweat, but it doesn't cool at all, you just get soaked because it can't evaporate. In the morning it feels like you have to swim to your car and from there it just gets worse. But 9 months a year it rains briefly at 3 in the afternoon, you can set your watch by it.
 
#11 ·
Lived in Looziana for a brief spell....outside of Southeast Asia, that was the most brutal humidity I`ve ever experienced....in the morning, it can be 60 degrees, but you work up a sweat just walking across the street....
 
#12 ·
Back when I had a bounty hunting company I spent time in some interesting (swampy) parts of florida and have visited louisiana and mississippi. Humidity wise for some screwball reason north east alabama around cheaha mountain here has super bad humidity. Birmingham is pretty dry and montgomery is super low humidity. The humidity here stays summer and winter which makes summer miserable and winter brutal.

Wifes got relatives from minnesota that visit sometimes that tell us they go out in short sleeve shirts in the 40's there and they bundle up like its a blizzard when they are here at 60 degrees. The humidity and the cold is unbearable to them when they come down to visit.

Im kinda of used to it now I guess.
 
#15 ·
airbag

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. - July 16, 2014 - … BMW announced today that it has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the company's intent to voluntarily recall all model year 2000 - 2006 BMW 3 Series vehicles, produced between May 1999 and August 2006, to replace the passenger-side front airbag as part of a worldwide recall. Potential problems with the airbag inflator which may rupture in vehicles produced by other manufacturers using similar systems from the same supplier have become evident in rare cases. BMW is not aware of a case involving a BMW vehicle. The replacement campaign is a voluntary precautionary measure that aims at minimizing the risk of faulty airbag activation. The number of potentially affected vehicles in the US is approximately 574,000.

This is a voluntary extension of the recall campaign announced in May 2013. At that time, the supplier stated a production period during which potentially faulty airbag inflators were installed in passenger-side front airbags. Following this, BMW recalled 42,000 3 Series vehicles in the US. The supplier has now extended the production period.

In order to ensure maximum safety of our customers, BMW has decided to replace the passenger-side front airbags in the vehicles from the suggested production period, and additionally as a voluntary precautionary measure, the passenger-side front airbags in all model year 2000 - 2006 BMW 3 Series vehicles equipped with this airbag module. The 42,000 units recalled in May 2013 are excluded from the current replacement campaign.

BMW will notify customers with potentially affected vehicles will be informed by mail. Customers with questions should contact BMW Customer Relations at 1-800-525-7417 or email customer.relations@bmwna.com.
 

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#17 ·
I'm not much closer to a dealer than you; it would be a precious half-day off work to get it done, and that's if they are able to do it while I wait as you said.

On a side note, did anyone else notice that the driver's door in the picture isn't lined up perfectly with the front quarter panel? It caught my eye...
 
#18 ·
Well, how long will the dealer take doing the job?

My dealer isn't that far (30 minute drive). I can go today as long as they get it done while I drink all their coffee. :D

You have an eye for detail, 1972.

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#24 · (Edited)
anyone get the letter yet?
It took a few weeks for me to receive the letter after BMW NA announced the tail light recall.

Anyone know , or where i can check what other safety free fixes I might have outstanding?
First, you can find a list of recalls (titles only, no text) somewhere on alldata.com.

Second, your local BMW dealer service advisor should be able to look up your car's VIN to find out which recall services the dealer network has performed, and which recalls or service bulletins are outstanding.

If your car has received recall service(s), you may find BMW NA recall campaign stickers applied somewhere in the engine bay or in the driver's door jamb. The sticker lists the recall campaign number and identifies the dealer that performed the service. They were (and may still be) used to mark cars that had been serviced as part of a particular recall campaign. The idea was for the dealer technician to apply the sticker after finishing the work, but I don't think every dealership bothered to use the stickers.
 
#22 ·
#26 ·
I checked with my local dealer... they have no active recalls showing for my car. So, either it hasn't hit their system yet, or it's not EVERY e46. They confirmed that letters will go out and are tracked by VIN, so it goes to the current owner.
 
#27 ·
Go to a BMW dealer. Ask an advisor to do a key-read. That will show any open campaigns. Any decent dealer will do this key-read willingly and politely. The dealer gets paid to do recalls, the advisor is paid commission, and they also get to recommend other services while the car is in.
Stop guessing.
 
#32 ·
So I called my dealership and they told me my 2003 325i's VIN didn't qualify for the recall or need it. Which is odd.

They also told me, that this recall is only for 06-09 models. So THAT'S INTERESTING.

They are also backed up to early September because because BMW NA is only letting them do 3 repairs per week, (her words were that BMW NA only are giving them enough parts to do 3 per week) and can only be done during mon-friday, since the repair can take up to six hours. I work during their service hours so we'll see.

I called BMW NA Cust relations, they know less than whats been released on the press.
 
#34 ·
I called the dealership here and they told me that we should recieve a letter by first class mail around the first week in august.

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#36 · (Edited)
Apparently the Takata airbag sprays shrapnel into the cabin, at least according to this reference:
- BMW Recalls 1.6 Million Cars Over Air Bag Problems
The passenger airbag doesn't inflate properly. That can lead to metal fragments shooting out of the airbag compartment, essentially spraying the interior of the vehicle with shrapnel.
For the record, here are some related recall links:
- How to report a BMW safety problem to the National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration for a product recall (1) and what E39 safety repair problems have already been reported to the NHTSA (1) & the safercar.gov recall search engine (1) & how to find out if your BMW is involved in a recall (1) (2) (3) (4)

See also:
- BMW to recall 1.6 million cars on concerns over Takata air bags
- BMW Joins Other Auto Makers in Replacing Defective Takata Part
- BMW recalling all 2000-06 3 Series models over airbags in US, 1.6M globally
- BMW Recalls 1.6 Million Cars Over Air Bag Problems
- BMW Recalls 156,000 Vehicles With 6-Cylinder Engines
 
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