RoadVitals

2008 BMW 3 Series Airbags Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the airbag system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Airbags reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
10
Latest Apr 24, 2018
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
15%
of 68 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2008 BMW 3 Series submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 10 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.

Owner reports naming airbag

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Airbags
Filed Apr 24, 2018

TAKATA RECALL. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO HAVE THE DEFECTIVE AIRBAGS REMOVED. I CALL MY LOCAL DEALER AND ALL THEY SAY IS THAT THE AIRBAGS ARE BACKORDER. WHEN THEY RECEIVE THEM THEY WILL CALL ME. I HAVE WAITED OVER ONE YEAR AND NO ANSWER.

NHTSA ID
11089786
Incident
Dec 15, 2016
Airbags
Filed Nov 10, 2017

TAKATA RECALL 1. BMW SENT ME RECALL NOTICE IN MARCH 2016, WITH NO FOLLOW UP REPAIR IMPLEMENTATION AS OF NOV. 2017 = 1.5YRS SINCE THE INITIAL RECALL NOTICE = UNREASONABLY LONG? 2. WHEN I GO TO SAFERCAR.GOV / AIRBAG RECALL.COM & CHECK MY VIN, MY CAR DOES NOT SHOW UP W/ AIRBAG INFLATOR RECALL (IT SHOWS UP FOR BLOWER MOTOR WIRING RECALL, BUT THAT'S IT). MAYBE I'M MISSING SOMETHING?

NHTSA ID
11045060
Incident
Nov 9, 2017
Airbags
Filed May 19, 2017

TAKATA RECALL IT HAS BEEN 15 MONTHS SINCE I WAS NOTIFIED OF THE RECALL, AND BMW HAS YET TO REMEDY THE SITUATION. I DO NOT THINK THIS IS REASONABLE.

NHTSA ID
10990683
Incident
Feb 5, 2016
Airbags
Filed May 12, 2017

TAKATA RECALL. RECEIVED FIRST NOTIFICATION ON 02/2016, NO RESPONSE TILL NOW. IT HAS BEEN OVER A YEAR, NEED TO KNOW IF THIS WILL BE FIX OR WHAT IS THE RISK OF KEEP DRIVING WITH THIS ISSUE, BMW WILL BE RESPONSIBLE IF SOMETHING HAPPEN TO ME OR WHO EVER DRIVES THE VEHICLE?

NHTSA ID
10985450
Incident
Feb 5, 2016
Airbags
Filed Feb 8, 2017

TAKATA RECALL I HAVE YET TO RECEIVE A SECONDARY LETTER FROM BMW ADVISING THEY ARE READY TO REPLACE MY DEFECTIVE AIRBAG INFLATOR. I HAVE BEEN WAITING A FULL YEAR FOR THIS ISSUE TO BE RESOLVED.

NHTSA ID
10950297
Incident
Mar 9, 2016
Airbags
Filed Oct 21, 2016

NO PROGRESS ON RECALL CAMPAIGN NO. 16V-071 SINCE NOTIFICATION 7+ MONTHS AGO. GIVEN THE YEAR OF MY BMW SERIES 3 SPORTSWAGON (2008) AND MY COASTAL LOCATION, I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT PARTS ARE STILL NOT AVAILABLE TO CORRECT THIS DANGEROUS PROBLEM. THE RECALL NOTICE DIRECTS THE CONSUMER TO CONTACT WWW.SAFECAR.GOV "IF YOUR BMW CENTER IS UNABLE TO REMEDY THE DEFECT ... WITHIN A REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME."

NHTSA ID
10917958
Incident
Mar 1, 2016
Airbags
Filed Jul 7, 2016

TAKATA RECALL I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE IN MARCH FOR MY 2008 BMW 3 SERIES CONVERTIBLE, [XXX] STATING THAT THE DRIVER'S FRONT AIR BAG MODULE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AND THAT I WOULD BE NOTIFIED WHEN PARTS BECOME AVAILABLE. I HAVE RECENTLY PURCHASED ANOTHER CAR (NOT A BMW) BUT THE TRADE IN ON THE BMW IS BLOCKED BY THE PENDING RECALL REPAIR. MY LOCAL DEALER, WEATHERFORD IN BERKELEY, CA INFORMS ME THAT THEY STILL DO NOT HAVE THE PARTS AND HAVE NO INFORMATION ON WHEN THEY MAY BECOME AVAILABLE. THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A SAFETY ISSUE FOR ME AND FOR AN EVENTUAL BUYER OF THE CAR. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID
10883362
Incident
Mar 1, 2016
Mileage
67,500 mi
Airbags
Filed May 4, 2016

TAKATA RECALL

NHTSA ID
10863247
Incident
May 4, 2016
Airbags
Filed Jan 14, 2015

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 BMW 318I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,000.

NHTSA ID
10672466
Incident
Sep 14, 2014
Mileage
55,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Oct 14, 2014

HI, I AM QUITE FRUSTRATED WITH BMW. THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED WIDESPREAD ISSUES WITH THEIR PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEMS HAVE MULTIPLE RECALLS OUT, HOWEVER MY CAR AT THIS TIME IS NOT PART OF IT BUT MY PASSENGER AIRBAGS ARE FAULTY. BMW WANTS TO CHARGE ME $150 DIAGNOSIS INSTEAD OF ENSURING THE SAFETY OF MY PASSENGERS. I'M WRITING YOU AS THIS IS VERY SCARY TO ME THAT BMW IS WILLING TO RISK TEH SAFETY OF THE MY PASSENGERS AND NOT TAKE CARE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS. *TR

NHTSA ID
10644528
Incident
Oct 14, 2014
Mileage
68,000 mi

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.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .