Table 1 shows one common seat belt related problems of the 2004 BMW 325.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Seat Belt problems |
Vehicle was impacted from rear to front and failed to protect body neck and head from impacting drivers side door. Door design and failure of airbag to deploy caused significant head and neck trauma. Seat belt function tore a/c joint in right shoulder. BMW fails to acknowledge any fault corporate offices non-responsive to inquiries and now be threatened by BMW attorney to have vehicle removed from their lot.
The driver's side seat belt repeatedly stops when extending. It can take 10 to 15 attempts to get it to extend long enough. These failures cause drivers to "give up" and not bother to use the seat belt. I have spoken with BMW and they want $500 to replace the seat belt. I believe this is dangerous and a flaw in the design.
The driver's side seat belt does not extend from the housing. It stops repeatedly and only after several tries will it extend long enough to be latched. The situation may cause a driver to not use seat belts as this can take a long time to finally extend. I contacted the dealer and they suggest it might be a mechanical problem which they are willing to diagnose for $150 and then fix for an unknown amount. It would this is a potentially serious safety issue. There has been recalls for a similar problem in other Bmws but not this model. For example, refer to NHTSA item number: 10041411 and NHTSA item number: 10037487.