2018 BMW 540I

On and off system notification of "Passenger Restraint System Malfunction" with and without a passenger in the seat. Also, the Airbag off/disabled light on the instrument cluster illuminated. Can't seem to declare if it is an electrical shortage, seatbelt buckle related or passenger pressure sensor sensor in the seat. Find this to be a major safety concern should there be an accident, and unsure whether the airbags will deploy or not. BMW should investigate this concern.

NHTSA ID

11729268

Incident

Apr 5, 2026

For this item - Please refer to NTHSA RECALL 18V-465 : BMW Crank Sensor Recall 9/12/2018. In particular - this refers to a 2018 BMW 540ix. Specifically, "VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN MANUFACTUTRED WITH A CRANKSHAFT SENSOR, THAT DUE TO SENSOR FIRMWARE, CANNOT ACCURATELY PROCESS THE INPUT FROM THE CRANKSHAFT RELUCTOR RING. BASIS FOR RECALL POPULATION DETERMINATION: SUPPLIER PRODUCTION INFORMATION WAS USED TO IDENTIFY THE START AND END DATE OF THE AFFECTED CRANKSHAFT SENSORS WHICH THEN CORRELATED WITH ENGINE PRODUCTION AND VEHICLE ASSEMBLY INFORMATION TO DETERMINE THE START DATE (5/18/2018) AND THE END DATE (06/08/2018) OF THE AFFECTED VEHCILES." This vehicle was towed to a factory authorized dealership - all aspects of the malfunction mimicked the description in the recall. the Authorized dealer confirmed the sensor failure and proceeded to replace the defective crank sensor as per recall protocol. Authorized BMW Dealer and BMW Customer Service have refused 18V-465 Recall participation per, "After reviewing your request, the recall you referenced does not apply to your vehicle. Recalls are VIN-specific, and I can confirm there are no active recalls associated with your VIN at this time" Repair invoice was paid in full by vehicle owner for the crank Sensor Replacement. Considering that the issue at hand is a manufacturing failure depicted by a faulty firmware product (sounds like an intermittent or bad production circuit within the Crank Sensor computer chip), and with this vehicles in question produced just prior to the Factory implied recall production date -- might it be possible that the professed faulty firmware (ship) within the Crank sensor regulated in 18V-465 may have encountered some early production failures even previous the factory stipulated VIN date of 5/15/2028? Would it be advisable at this juncture for NHSTA to revisit 18V-465 to include and an all-defective Crank Sensors encountered that may be a causation for this safety recall? Thank you.

NHTSA ID

11711754

Incident

Jun 25, 2025

Recurring System Failures: My vehicle has exhibited intermittent and unpredictable system malfunctions, including engine stalling, braking issues, and electronic system failures. These pose serious safety risks and have made driving increasingly hazardous.continual tire pressure monitor reset light warning after reset 100 % measurement successful. rebalance all tires light reappear distant same spots

NHTSA ID

11694413

Incident

Oct 13, 2025

"Passenger Restraint System (Malfunction)" warning appears on the main screen and instrument panel blocking other information and cannot be removed from instrument panel WHILE THE SEATBELT HAS WORKED NORMAL. I researched the problem and found several threads about this problem on the BMW owners forums and found several discussions by numerous owners that said it is FAULTY SENSOR problem which is WIDESPREAD and deserves a recall. The odometer reading of this car, which was purchased in 2017, is about 28,000 miles now; the problem started when the odo was about 18,000. As a faulty sensor problem, or a real malfunction problem, a widespread problem started on a lightly used car at low odometer reading is a serious problem that the manufacturer should take care of. In the forum discussions, it was said that the problem might be triggered by putting a cold drink of a bag on the passenger seat. I never put a cold drink on it but did backpacks. Putting a backpack on a car seat should be a normal thing. In the forum some reported dealers fixed the problem free of charge and some refused and would charge thousands of dollars. My dealer refused to fix it for free. Machines, and humans, make mistakes and should be allowed to be reset/corrected. That the manufacturer designed and installed a known widespread fault sensor, does not allow the fault to reset or correct, and force owners to pay thousands of dollars to have dealers fix the faulty sensor warnings, created at least the appearance of impropriety of undue profiteering. Please help us consumers to have BMW take responsibility to fix its problems. Thank you.

NHTSA ID

11686413

Incident

Aug 15, 2023

Infotainment System interplay through audio voices coming from place of employment this have been unusual to audio system in various of my vehicles this over the air bugs are safety concerns as well as frequent unexpected wiper blade activation without touching for auto movement complex to electrical issues uncommon to vehicle routing infotainment system leading to unexpected interruptions sending false signals to vehicle electrical system causing many interruptions. highlighting the growing complexity and potential risks associated with vehicle software.implications, and solutions for these complex symptoms.

NHTSA ID

11670682

Incident

Jun 12, 2025

Sunroof exploded, glass shards everywhere. This has to be a manufacturer defect

NHTSA ID

11669337

Incident

Jun 20, 2025

i was just driving my bmw and a airbag light and a malfunction error popped up on my dashboard, that read that the Passenger restraint system has malfunctioned. and i was doing some research on what was wrong with my car, and all the forums are indicating that this is a very common issue on these cars due to a bad seat occupancy sensor mat. to fix this you either still have to have an extended warranty if you don’t have one you have to pay upwards of 3,000$ to get this part replaced at a dealer. and me personally i don’t have the money to just spend on car repair of that amount and im sure alot of the other people with this same problem are in the same boat as me. this could be very dangerous because it puts all my passengers at risk if i were to get in a auto collision it would be devastating. i mean this should 100% be a recall because of this is a wide spread problem that puts many many people at risk. i haven’t been to the dealer with it yet, but i can self diagnose because countless people have been reporting on forums and online the same issue with the same error on the dash. my car hasn’t been in an accident yet so i haven’t had it inspected by insurance companies or police. this problem first appeared today and my heart dropped.

NHTSA ID

11648020

Incident

Mar 12, 2025

Constantly pops up a message for passenger restraint system malfunction. I had an accident where I swerved off the road into a ditch at about 60 mph. I the driver was not hurt and the passenger wouldn’t have been hurt either if it was for the passenger seat belt not locking correctly at first and then repeatedly locking and unlocking the entire time hurting his chest.

NHTSA ID

11641549

Incident

Nov 22, 2023

A situation may occur where the front passenger seat is not occupied; however, a “fasten seat belt” warning and a front passenger seat air bag deactivation message appears. If the situation is currently present, sit in the seat and move the seat to a slightly different position. The POL (Passenger Occupancy Light) light should now function correctly. In some cases, the Air bag Warning Light was illuminated, and the following Advanced Crash Safety Module (ACSM) fault is stored: 930A1C - Front passenger seat occupancy detection transmitting fault (moisture)

The Supplemental Restraint Systems (SRS) Front Passenger’s Seat Occupancy Capacitive Interior Sensor (CIS) Mat for defects in materials and/or workmanship that causes a false seat occupancy alert to occur has been extended to 10 years / 120,000 miles as determined from the vehicle's original in-service / first delivery date.

EVAP SYSTEM PURGE (VENT) VALVE EXT LTD WTY (ELW) 15/150

One or more of the LED daytime running lights are dim or discolored.

Check Control message (CCM) indicates: (ID 213): Stop, exercising due care. Voltage supply The Service Engine Soon light is on with the following DME Fault Code: 21B209 - Starter alternator / belt for 48V system (OSA_RIEMEN_RISS): Belt betweenCombustion engine and starter generator torn And/or one or more of the following other issues are also occurring: Noise in the area of the belt drive. Odor from the engine compartment. Smoke formation in the area of the belt drive. Drive belt damaged or prematurely worn. Torn drive belt.

The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.