Side/window Air Bag Problems of BMW 3 Series

Passenger airbag restraint failure - BMW's, in particular 3 Series and e90 models, have a known and common failure where the seat based electrical mat fails in the passenger seats. This is not related to wear and tear as the seats often go unused but simply fail after a certain period of time. The error causes the passenger side airbag to default to always on, which can cause injury or death to children or small passengers in that seat. The cost to repair this is usually $200 for parts and $400 for labor which means many drivers simply don't fix it creating a vulnerability. The issue has been recurring with Bmws for several generations and across model types and should be addressed by the manufacturer as its a poorly made part and set up. There are numerous documented cases on BMW forums and a partial recall for some models was implemented. A full recall is needed on all cars affected, including 2007 3 Series models. The issue does not appear fixed until the f model 3 Series came out. . Read more...

See all problems of the 2007 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Received notice 11/14/2016 regarding recall # 15v-318 driver's side airbag. Contacted the local dealer 11/18 who said parts were unavailable until year end. BMW's 800 number confirmed there was a shortage of parts in the region. This is at least a 6 week delay based on part availability. Unacceptable.

See all problems of the 2006 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Takata recall. After waiting 9 months for replacement of passenger side air bag I received another recall notice for the drivers side airbag. It has now been nearly 15 months and no remedy in sight . Received a " final remedy available " letter dated sept. 2016 asking that I call dealer for repair. Called local dealer October 10/16 and was told no parts are available. I have not had full use of my vehicle for nearly 2 years and see no remedy coming anytime soon.

See all problems of the 2003 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

I received a printed notification from BMW of north America, llc dated July 2015 under the subject matter: "recall campaign no. 15v-318: driver-side front air bag module. " since I received the notification, 13 months have passed and still I have not received any letter from catonsville BMW in maryland regarding replacement of the airbag. Since I am the original owner of the car and still owns it, I am driving it risking my life and limb for myself and other members of my family. It is therefore requested that necessary actions be taken for replacement of the driver-side airbag of my 2005 BMW 325i by catonsville BMW as soon as possible to avert potential destruction of life and limb of myself and my family. Thank you.

See all problems of the 2005 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Takata recall - driver side airbag has been recalled for over 12 months - today I received the second notification from BMW. I have been unable to have BMW make the repair in over a year due to unavailability. What is "within a reasonable amount of time" that this complaint should be made?.

Dear sirs: I received a recall notice (15v-318) in July 2015, for the front, driver's side airbag recall for my 2003 BMW 330i. Since that time I have not received any additional correspondence from BMW or anyone, to provide status. I called Bmwusa, customer service on August 2, 2016 - I first talked to anthony smith, who recited prescribed verbage, that I would be contacted once replacement airbags were received. I asked when - he could only say 'probably before the end of 2016'. I told him BMW's handling of this was less than acceptable, and asked to talk to a supervisor - I was connected to a person named cole, who refused the courtesy of providing a last name, only his extension of x8917. I asked cole when I could expect to receive a replacement airbag; he could not answer that. I told cole I was deeply upset for not receiving any information (at all) from BMW since July 2015, and was deeply concerned for my safety and that of my passengers. He would only say that 'no one had died' of an airbag incident in a BMW - yet, and could offer no other options or comfort for me. I wrote an email letter to Bmwusa that same day, detailing what I wrote in this note, receiving a note back from Bmwusa (correspondence 1-7149508707), thanking me for my writing them, and that they had forwarded my email to cole for review - and of course I have not heard from them since. Its obvious that Bmwusa customer relations group is less than compassionate for their customers. My friends that work at Honda are telling me to 'get out my car', regardless of what BMW is saying - this is a dangerous, unacceptable risk. Please let me know what you think - I think at the very least that BMW should put me in a safe car until they can replace this defective airbag. Thanks for your time.

Takata recall: in July 2015 received notice of recall due to driver's side air bag deficit. Have called 2 dealers several times in attempt to obtain replacement during the past year. Have consistently been told that I'm on a wait list and that replacement parts are not available. Although there has been no incident or failure, one year seems an excessively long time to wait given the safety risk. Complaint issued by phone but VIN not available at the time.

Takata recall: in July, 2015 I received a letter from BMW (recall notice 15v-318) stating that my driver side air bag should be replaced, but that there was no remedy available and I would be contacted when one is. I've had a couple of service appointments at my local dealership (perillo BMW in chicago) and each time asked if there was any update on resolution and each time I was either referred to BMW's corporate customer service or politely told that there was no update. I have also called the 1-800-525-7417 BMW service center multiple times over the course of the last year, most recently today (7/1/16), and they have not been able to resolve the issue. At this point, I am frustrated by the lack of resolution and would appreciate any assistance helping me with this recall notice. Thank you.

See all problems of the 2004 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Takata recall it has been almost a year since the recall on my drivers side air bag was issued and they have still not replaced it.

Takata recall - notified July 2015 - a year ago - about driver's side airbag, still no parts available and I live in one of the most humid states in the south. It is irresponsible and ridiculous that we have to wait over a year for part replacements that if ruptured, could cause serious injury or death. BMW north America website states: remedy available but global imports atlanta is reporting they still do not have any replacement drivers side airbags.

Takata recall I received a letter dated July 2015 concerning the recall of the driver's side air bag. I called my local BMW on 11/24/15 and they said they put my name on the list and would call me when the replacement came in. I called again on 4/14/16 and clara said she would check to make sure my name is on the list and would call me back when the parts arrived. It's been a year and a half and I have not received a call back. This is so concerning to me as this car is my main mode of transportation and I am so afraid I will have a front end collision resulting in death or dismemberment. If that should happen I or my estate will most certainly sue.

I drove my car over a very minuscule crack in the road at an extremely low speed as I was making a turn and the passenger side airbag deployed. The car did not have a passenger at the time but the explosion of the airbag simultaneously blocked my view of the right side window while I was making a turn, put me into a state of shock and cut all power from my car. I was very lucky to have been the only person in the car while this happened and I was also fortunate enough to not have crashed into anything while my life was put in such severe danger from the state of chaos this airbag caused. I called BMW north America and they had stated that even though there is a recall for the passenger side airbag matching my car's VIN number, they said that the recall only covers the passenger side front airbag and not the side airbag!.

Last year we were notified by BMW us that our car was being recalled for the passenger side airbag malfunction and BMW dealers were responsible to fix the problem. Since then we have contacted BMW us numerous times and our local san francisco BMW dealer to schedule an appointment. Unfortunately, we were repeatedly told the same answer that we will have to wait until the parts are available for replacing the air bag. Finally, we were able to set up an appointment with our BMW local dealership for February 4, 2015. When we took the car there, we were told once again, by their ¿service consultant rubi huey, that there are still no parts available to fix it and they could not even give us an approximate date as to when they would take care of this serious problem. Needless to say that we are very frustrated with this situation not only that BMW is not making the necessary effort to resolve this dangerously essential and hazardous repair which is necessary to being able to sell the car, which is a huge priority for us. We hope that you can resolve this problem soon. Thank you.

I have been on hold since the fall of 2014 on a driver side airbag. The dealer has no inventory and no eta. This is unacceptable. Dodge changed my airbag (also takata) within 10 days of my recall notice. It's been over a year and a half with BMW. Penalize them like you did fca.

Was driving on a cloverleaf ramp in baton rouge, la. (hwy 61 & florida blvd. ) when passenger side air bag deployed causing me to veer to the right. I then hit a drain on the curbing and blew out both right side tires and bent rims. Outside temp was with no rain. ( not sure of exact vehicle mileage b/c car is in shop) I can get pictures if needed.

See all problems of the 2002 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

I am an owner of 2006 BMW 330i sedan with sports seat (manufacture date: 5/2005). Recently, the passenger airbag sensor became malfunction, and the passenger side airbag is indicated as 'passenger airbag off' as the result. After researching on NHTSA website, I noticed that this is a known issue, and BMW is issuing a recall on affected vehicles. However, in further reviewing the related documents on the NHTSA website, although BMW has recalled 2006 330i sedan with sport seats, the manufacture date of the affected vehicles that are included in the recall are from Dec 2005 to sept 2006, and because of this, it excludes my vehicle. With other complaints listed, it is clear that the same issue has impacted a lot of owners of 2006 330i sedan with sport seat prior to the manufacture date that BMW has specified on the recall. Due to this reason, the recall should have been considered to include earlier manufacture date of the model considered this is not an isolated issue.

I was driving northbound on sepulveda blvd in los angeles on July 29th,2013 around 10:00 pm with my brother, suddenly the passenger side airbag deployed for no reason and bruised my brother's right arm my car stopped operating and we called payless tow to tow my vehicle to rusnak BMW in westlake village were I purchased the vehicle from. I talked to the service dept in regards to my car airbag incident, they told me that the warranty was expired and I have to pay out of pocket. I contacted my insurance company state farm to see if they provide coverage, they told since this was vehicle malfunction this was not covered under my policy. I strongly believe that this should be handled by BMW corporation. They have to repair my vehicle and pay for my brother injury. Please feel free to contact me at any time should you have any further question I appreciate your assistance in this regard thank you, sincerely ms. Shahrzad babaeian.

My vehicle appears to be part of recall on mat sensor for passenger side air bags defect, but when I called dealer they said my VIN # not in recall. . However, I have had a warning message that my passenger side airbag and or my seat belt tensioner were malfunctioning since last June, 2013. . Warning is still present, so I figure my car must be one that is in fact effected and should be in the recall. . Please advise.

Passenger side airbag has same problem from a recall (13v56400) from BMW to fix but my VIN does'nt fall under BMW VIN list of cars to fix. BMW needs to expand there recall seeing all the problems I see people are having with this problem. Safety issue.

I have a 2006 BMW 330xi with sport seats. The passenger side airbag is inoperative due to a defective mat detector located inside the passenger seat. There is a recall out for this same problem on the same car but the dealer told me my car does not apply even though he hadn't seen the car or knew the VIN number. This is an active life threatening situation and I see numerous complaints about this issue here and at other safety related websites. Its hard to imagine that the NHTSA is letting BMW get away with this. I worked for BMW many years ago and their policy at the time was to deny fixing certain issues because if they fixed all of them, then it would become policy and become expensive and a blemish on their recall record. Shame on BMW. . . Reminds me of the pinto safety policy.

I ran over a curb going about 25miles a hour going while around a bend. The passenger side head airbag deployed for no reason. There was no damage to the vehicle at all. This happened once. Nothing has been done to correct failure. The car is a BMW 323ci coupe.

See all problems of the 2000 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

The contact stated the driver's side air bag deployed while driving on the highway. There was no prior warning. The contact and mechanic contacted the manufacturer, and they offered no assistance. Updated 12/14/2005.

While driving driver's side air bag deployed inadvertently. Driver sustained head injuries and was transported to the hospital.

The contact owns a 1999 BMW 3 Series. While driving, the air bag warning light illuminated. The dealer stated that a faulty seat belt clip caused the failure and they made the replacement. Approximately one year later, the air bag warning light illuminated again. The dealer replaced the seat belt clip once more. One year later, the failure recurred. The dealer stated that the wiring harness was defective. The dealer replaced the cable connector and strap, a shrink tube, and the lower belt. Four months later, the air bag warning illuminated for the fourth time. The dealer stated that the driver side door air bag had failed. They recommended that the driver side door air bag wiring harness be replaced. The replacement has not been made. The current mileage is 100,000 and failure mileage was 3,916 updated 0310/08. The consumer had a recall notice which addresses an air bag issue.

See all problems of the 1999 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Consumer was traveling about 55mph on highway and another vehicle veered into his lane, and driver's side airbag didn't deploy. Dealership was aware of problem.

See all problems of the 2001 BMW 3 Series 🔎.