Owner-reported complaints naming the airbag system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2020 BMW X3 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 8 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.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The heated seat element had a runway incident that caused the seat to smoke and burn a hole through multiple layers and ultimately damaging the airbag sensor mat disabling the passenger airbag system
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the message to “Drive Safely - See Nearest BMW Service Center” was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was driven to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the wiring harness associated with the driver’s and passenger’s side knee air bags needed to be replaced; however, the part for the repair was not available. The contact researched online and became aware of Manufacturer Communications Number: B650122; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,243.
This is the message I get: "Driver restraint system malfunction. Passenger knee airbag rewired to control module . Carefully drive to the closest service center. Driver restraint system is reduced. Increased risk of injury in case of a collision. Continue wearing safety belt. Driver restraint system malfunction. " I went to Cavender BMW and was told the problem is with the Passenger knee airbag rewired to control module. The cost would be $1,400. I have 24,122 miles on the car. My salesman said that there have been quite a few of these problems. It seems there should be a recall if that is the case.
Received warning on screen. “Driver restraint system malfunction carefully drive to the closest service center driver restraint system is reduced. Increased risk of injury in case of collision. Continue using safety belt.” I took the car in, and this was the diagnosis: “Driver restraint system malfunction. Passenger knee airbag rewired to control module” 24,122 miles on the car. $1400
The driver passenger restraint system light comes on which is a manufacturer defect that should be covered for the life of the vehicle (this is not a wear-and-tear) component. I called BMW and was told that the part is out of warranty. I would like an investigation of this part for all BMW X3 as the defect can result in fatalities.
While the car was still under warranty, I got an error message about passenger restraint malfunction. I took to the dealer and was told that it was caused by an iPad found under driver seat. They turned off the warning. Three months later, I get the same message again. The car is now out of warranty and I was told the error is for knee airbag wire that would take 10 hours to get to and repair, if that’s the problem. The cost will be $3800. I decided to wait. Car has 53,000 miles on it. First time I took to the dealer was on December 20,2022. Malfunction light came back on April 28,2023. I couldn’t get an appointment until May 31, 2023.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact stated that the passenger’s side restraint system warning message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the sensor failed to recognize an occupant seated in the passenger’s side seat. Due to the failure, the air bag warning light remained off while a passenger was seated in the front passenger’s seat. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that he had to pay out-of-pocket for the repair. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. The VIN was not available.
REPEATED PASSENGER AIRBAG/ RESTRAINT SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. WHEN THIS FAULT HAPPENS, THE AIRBAGS ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WILL NOT INFLATE IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, CREATING A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD. FIRST TIME THE FAULT OCCURRED AT 1341 MILES, WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY AND THE PASSENGER SEAT WAS NOT OCCUPIED. DEALER THEN REPLACED THE OCCUPANCY SENSOR. THE FAULT RETURNED A MONTH LATER AT 2219 MILES WHEN A PASSENGER WAS ADJUSTING THE SEAT DURING A TRIP. DEALER FOUND NO PERSISTENT FAULT AND JUST SECURED THE CONNECTORS.
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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