Owner-reported complaints naming the airbag system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2007 BMW 3 Series submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 35 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 35, in the owner's own words
THE SEAT BAG SENSOR IS CONTINUOUSLY ON. THERE IS NO ONE IN THE SEAT. THIS STARTED AT ABOUT 65K, THE CAR NOW HAS 106K...IS THIS DANGEROUS TO A PASSENGER? OF COURSE, THIS SEEMS TO ACTIVATE THE SEATBELT LIGHT ALSO...
RECALL FOR FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT & PCV VALVE HEATER NOT COMPLETE. DEALER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO OBTAIN PARTS TO REPAIR THESE RECALLS.
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. HTTPS://WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?P=4746508#POST4746508 HTTPS://WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM/FORUMS/ARCHIVE/INDEX.PHP/T-496444.HTML
FOR OVER A YEAR NOW THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD HAS BEEN GOING ON AND OFF. ORIGINALLY, IT WAS ONLY TURNING ON WHEN I HAD A PASSENGER IN THE FRONT SEAT. NOW IT TURNS ON WITH OR WITHOUT A PERSON SO I'M STARTING TO THINK THAT THE DRIVERS SIDE IS MALFUNCTIONING TOO. IN ADDITIONAL THE SEATBELT LIGHT IS TURNING ON TOO NOW. THIS IS VERY FRUSTRATING. I TALKED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY INDICATED THAT IT IS THE AIRBAG AND SEAT SENSORS THAT HAVE MALFUNCTIONED. EACH TO FIX IS OVER $500. THEY ALSO INDICATED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR OWNERS AND TO WAIT FOR A SUPPOSABLY RECALL LETTER. HOWEVER, THAT WAS A YEAR AGO AND I NOW HAVE THE AIRBAG AND SEATBELT LIGHT GOING OFF. I'VE ALSO COME ACROSS MANY BMW FORUMS (OWNERS) TALKING ABOUT THEIR FRUSTRATION WITH THESE SAME ISSUES. IT'S SURPRISING THAT THE DEALERSHIPS ACKNOWLEDGE THE ISSUE BUT YET NOTHING IS BEING RESOLVED. THERE HAS TO BE A REMEDY FOR THIS ANNOYANCE AND LACK OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BY BMW. IF ANYTHING THERE HAS TO BE SOME REPERCUSSIONS ON BMW'S PART SINCE THE CONSUMERS ARE HAVING TO DEAL WITH THESE PROBLEM FOR WHAT SEEMS TO BE YEARS NOW.
TAKATA RECALL THE FIRST COMPLAINT IS THAT I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE OR ALLOW ANYONE TO DRIVE A CAR WITH THIS AIRBAG RECALL WHICH HAS IN SOME CASES RESULTED IN SERIOUS INJURIES OR DEATH. THE CAR IS THUS PARKED IN THE GARAGE WHILE THE DEALER TELLS ME THEY CAN'T GET THE CAR IN FOR REPAIRS FOR 6 WEEKS AT LEAST WHICH IS UNACCEPTABLE. SECONDLY, THERE ARE TWO ADDITIONA RECALLS THAT HAVE NO "FIX" AT THIS POINT WHICH COULD ALSO RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. I AM AT A LOSS FOR WHAT TO DO WITH THIS VEHICLE. IT IS A HAZARD AND COMPLETELY USELESS FOR THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS INTENDED. THE TWO ADDITIONAL RECALLS ARE BOTH FIRE HAZARDS AND ARE NOT CORRECTABLE AT THIS JUNCTURE. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.
BOTH PUGET SOUND AREA DEALERS WERE TOTALLY INDIFFERENT ABOUT LIFE TREATING RECALL NOTICES, UPON CALLING IN IN MID 2017' I WAS ASKED WHAT RECALLS ARE YOU CALLING ABOUT AND BOTH DID NOT GIVE ANY IN FORMATION WHEN I SAID I HEARD THERE WAS A RECALL. NOTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU NOW CHECK BACK LATER I WAS TOLD. IN NOVEMBER WHEN I CALLED BACK I WAS AGAIN GREETED WITH SURPRISE THAT THAT THERE WAS A RECALL AT SEATTLE DEALERSHIP AND ASKED ME TO BE SPECIFIC ON A EXACT RECALL THAT MAYBE IN EFFECT. AFTER GIVING EXACTE REQUIRED DETAILED RECALL INFO ON THIS LIFE TREATING DEFECTIVE RECALLI WAS TOLD THEY DON'T HAVE ANY PARTS AND TO CHECK BACK NEXT YEAR! WHERE THE HELL IS THE WASHINGTON STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL? THIS IS A DISGRACE AND BMW IN MY VIEW SHOULD BE SPENDER FROM SELLING CARS IN WASHINGTON STATE UNTIL THEY MAKE THIS RIGHT. ONE DEATH WOULD COST FAR MORE THAN ALL THE JERKING AROUND AND BAD WILL THEY ARE CAUSING TODAY! I'M WRITING THIS BECAUSE I'M CONCERNED ABOUT LIVING ,AND HAVE NO PICTURES TO POST. CAN NOT ALLOW HOW THE GOVERNMENT ALLOWS A MAJOR CAR COMPANY TO GET AWAY WITH THIS, TOTAL DISGRACE!
I HAVE THE EXACT PROBLEM WITH MY VEHICLE AS DESCRIBED IN EXISTING RECALL NUMBER 17V605. I HAD THIS REPAIRED FOR OVER $1168.16 MY VEHICLE SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BE INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL.
2 COMPLAINTS: 1ST COMPLAINT ADDRESSES "TAKATA RECALL" DATED FEB. 5, 2016 RECALL CAMPAIGN NO.16V-071 DRIVER'S FRONT AIR BAG. *BMW SERVICE CENTER "OTTO'S" IN WEST CHESTER, PA STILL HAS NOT RECEIVED THE PARTS GOING ON 2YRS. * 2ND COMPLAINT ENGINE SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING (55MPH) ON A BUSY INTERSTATE HIGHWAY DURING HEAVY TRAFFIC WITH NO WARNING THE ENGINE JUST SHUT OFF- NO POWER! . IT WAS A HUMID SUMMER (JULY) MORNING BMW FAULT COULD HAVE KILLED MANY, A VERY DANGEROUS PUBLIC SAFETY HAZARD. I WAS STRANDED FOR HOURS UNABLE TO DRIVE BMW. *ADDING INSULT TO INJURY THE HIGH HUMIDITY COULD HAVE SET-OFF THE AIRBAG FAULT UNRESOLVED BY BMW 18 MONTHS & COUNTING. OTTO'S SERVICE CENTER WANTED ALMOST $4K TO REPAIR PLUS AN ADDITIONAL HEFTY SUM UNDER ADVISEMENT FOR REPAIRS TO REPAIR THE WORK THEY COMPLETED LESS THAN A YEAR AGO (>$3K) FOR ENGINE LEAKING OIL - CAR OVER-HEATING
THE FRONT PASSENGER OCCUPANCY SENSOR IN THE SEAT MAT HAS MALFUNCTIONED WHICH PRODUCES A FAULT IN THE PASSIVE RESTRAINT SYSTEM PREVENTING THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG FROM DEPLOYING IN AN EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. THIS MALFUNCTION OCCURS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY, IN MOTION, ON A CITY STREET, ON A HIGHWAY, AND WHEN TURNING. THERE IS NO DAMAGE OR EXCESSIVE WEAR AND TEAR TO THE PASSENGER SEAT. THE PASSENGER SEAT WAS USED NORMALLY AND AS INTENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER. I BELIEVE THE SEAT MAT WAS NOT DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND NORMAL USAGE OF PEOPLE SITTING ON IT. OVER TIME THE SENSOR IN THE SEAT MAT FAILED AND POSES A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE FOR THE VEHICLE'S FRONT PASSENGER SINCE THE AIR BAG MAY NOT DEPLOY DURING A COLLISION.
TAKATA INFLATORS YOUR WEB SITE SAID ON 2.5.2016 THAT MY BMW 321 2007 WAS RECALLED BY AN AIRBAG REPLACEMENT. THE DEALER TOLD ME THREE MONTH LATER THAT THEY HAD RECEIVED NO REPLACEMENT AIRBAGS. SINCE THEN I'VE HEARD NOTHING FROM THE DEALER. SOME MONTHS AGO I CALLED THE NHTSA & YOUR REP SAID THEY HAD NO CURRENT INFORMATION. MY QUESTION: ARE YOU FOLLOWING UP THE RECALL AND REQUIRING BMW TO REPLACE THE AIRBAGS IN THE 2007 BMWS. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'*JB
WHEN TURN IN ON THE CAR THE AIR BAG LIGHT AND SEAT BELT LIGHT WHEN ON AT THE SAME TIME
I'VE OWNED A 2000 AND 2007 BMW 3 SERIES AND A 2010 X6 ALL WITH AIRBAG RECALLS BUT I DON'T OWN ANY OF THESE VEHICLES ANYMORE. AS A MATTER OF FACT I HIT A CURB AND MY DRIVERS AIRBAG BROKE MY FACIAL BONES WITH JUST HITTING A CURB AND WAS TOTALED OUT. WOULD I QUALIFY FOR COMPENSATION THROUGH THIS LARGE RECALL? AND WHAT INFO WOULD I NEED? *TR
"TAKATA RECALL" THIS VEHICLE IS 10 YEARS OLD. WHERE IS THE NEW AIR BAG? HOW MUCH TIME IS REASONABLE?
TAKATA RECALL. BMW OF NORTH AMERICA AND NIELLO BMW (LOCAL SACRAMENTO DEALER) REFUSE TO RESPOND TO MY COMMUNICATIONS AS TO WHEN MY CAR WILL BE FIXED. I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR AGO.
THIS IS STILL NOT RESOLVE AND I AM LOOKING COOLANT AND THERE IS NOT ANSWER OTHER THAN TO REPLACE. IT COSTING ME TO MUCH TO KEEP REVIEWING THIS ISSUE , I THINK IT SHOULD BE DONE FOR FREE
MANY MONTHS AGO A RECALL WAS ISSUED FOR 2007 BMW 3281I CARS. NOTHING HAPPENED. THIS SPRING (2016) I CONTACTED THE DEALER, WHO SAID IT HAD HEARD NOTHING FROM BMW. IS NHTSA MONITORING BMW? IF NOT, WHY NOT? IT'S NOT BEYOND THE REALM FOR BOTH PARTIES TO HOPE THAT THE ISSUE WILL BE FORGOTTEN ABOUT AND IT WILL GO AWAY. MY DEALER IS BMW OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA. BOTH DEALER AND DISTRIBUTOR NEED TO BE TOLD TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE RECALL.
TAKATA RECALL: A SAFETY RECALL NOTICE FROM BMW WAS ISSUED IN MARCH OF 2016. AS OF OCTOBER 11TH, 2016, BMW NORTH AMERICA LLC. STILL CAN NOT PROVIDE AN ESTIMATED TIME OF REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT. THEY HAVE NOT REMEDIED THE SITUATION AT ALL AND WILL NOT OFFER ALTERNATIVE METHODS TO HELP CUSTOMERS WITH THE POTENTIALLY DEATH CAUSING AIRBAG EXPLOSIONS. BMW NORTH AMERICA LLC IS ACTING IN BAD FAITH, ALLOWING AND INSTRUCTING THEIR CUSTOMERS TO CONTINUE DRIVING THEIR VEHICLES WHILE BEING AWARE THAT THEY COULD CAUSE DEATH TO THE DRIVER. (SOURCE - PHONE CALL WITH RECALL CAMPAIGN ESCALATION MANAGER FOR BMW NORTH AMERICA)
TAKATA RECALL WE RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NEED FOR INSTALLATION OF NEW AIRBAGS IN MARCH 2016. WE WENT INTO DEALER 2X BUT NO PARTS ARE AVAILABLE. IT IS SIX MONTHS LATER, AND STILL WE HAVE RECEIVED NO NOTIFICATION THAT REPLACEMENT FOR FAULTY AIRBAG IS AVAILABLE. THIS COULD RESULT IN FATAL CONSEQUENCES, THE OFFICIAL NOTICE FROM BMW STATED. THE DELAY IS DANGEROUS AND UNCONSCIONABLE.
I HAVE PHONED TOWSON BMW ON AT LEAST 2 OCCASIONS AND REQUESTED THE RECALL REPAIR, BUT THEY STATE THAT I WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THEM TO CALL ME ABOUT IT. THIS IS A DANGEROUS CONDITION AND SHOULD BE FIXED ASAP!
PASSENGER SEAT DETECTION MAT NOT WORKING. SEAT HAS BEEN RELATIVELY EMPTY FPR YEARS FAULTY PRODUCT.. DANGEROUS FOR A PASSENGER WHEN I HAVE ONE. AIR BAG MAY NOT GO OFF IN AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THE FAULTY MAT DETECTION I FEEL BMW SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS. THEY SAY MY CAR IS NOT COVERED DUE TO THEY ONLY COVER CERTAIN VIN'S FOR THAT YEAR..
PASSENGER SEAT MAT SENSOR HAS GONE BAD. THIS IS THE SAME TYPE OF RECALL AS THE TAKATA RECALL BUT BMW SAYS THAT THIS CAR ISN'T COVERED FOR THAT RECALL. RECALL COST OVER $1000.00 TO REPAIR FOR A AIRBAG SAFETY ISSUE. SEEMS TO EXTREMELY COMMON IN BMW'S. TOOK CAR TO BMW DEALERSHIP AND THEY CONFIRMED THE ISSUE WITH THE CAR. SPOKE TO BMWUSA DIRECTLY AND THEY WON'T COVER REPAIR.
FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT. MY 2007 BMW 328XI AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON SO I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS A RECALL ON MY MODEL CAR FROM 2006 UP, BUT THAT MY VIN# IS NOT PART OF THAT RECALL EVEN THOUGH ALL SYMPTOM AND ISSUE WAS THE SAME. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE INCLUDED AS THE SENSOR MAT IS THE SAME ISSUE AS NOTED IN THIS RECALL US NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID:13V564000
PASSENGER AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT AND SEAT BEAT WARNING LIGHT RANDOMLY TURNS ON BUT IT HAPPENS MOST FREQUENTLY WHEN SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT.
THE FRONT SEAT OCCUPANT PROTECTION MAT IN THE 2007 BMW 328XI IS DISPLAYED ON MY DASH INSTRUMENTATION FOR OVER A YEAR.IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG COULD BE DEACTIVATED RESULTING IN PERSONAL INJURY. I LOOKED UP THE RECALLS ON THIS VEHICLE AND IT INDICATED THAT THE MODEL WAS RECALLED. I CALLED BMW CUSTOMER RELATIONS TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE RECALL AND THE REPRESENTATIVE INFORMED ME THAT MY VEHICLE VIN NUMBER WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL. I UNDERSTAND THAT NUMEROUS BMW OWNERS HAVE MADE A SIMILAR COMPLAINT ABOUT THEIR VEHICLE AND RECALLS ARE USUALLY INITIATED IN THIS MANNER. REGARDLESS OF THE PRODUCTION TIME THAT MY VEHICLE WAS MADE, MY VEHICLE HAS THE SAME DEFECT AS THE OTHER VEHICLES AND SHOULD BE REPLACED BY BMW.
THERE IS MESSAGE ON THE SCREEN SAYING FAULT IN RESTRAINT SYSTEM. DEALER WANTS ME TO PAY FOR THE DIAGNOSTICS. I THINK THESE CARS SHOULD BE RECALLED FOR THIS ISSUE. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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