Recall · 20V016000
BMW of North America recalled 3 models over air bags
Do not drive until repaired. NHTSA issues this where it considers the risk immediate, and it stands until the repair is done.
4,007
Vehicles covered
3
Models
13
Model years
January 15, 2020
Filed with NHTSA
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
- The defect
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2009-2012 X5 xDrive35d, 2008-2012 X6 xDrive35i, X6 xDrive50i and X6 M, 2007-2012 X5 30si, X5 xDrive30i, X5 xDrive35i, X5 48i, X5 xDrive48i, X5 xDrive50i and X5 M and 2010-2011 X6 ActiveHybrid vehicles equipped with non-desiccated, passenger frontal air bag inflators containing phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSPI-2) propellant that were used as interim remedy parts for previous Takata recalls. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
- What it can cause
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- What the dealer does
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until this remedy is performed. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger front air bag, free of charge. The recall began March 11, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
- NHTSA's note
- Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup .
How this campaign compares
At 4,007 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 72% of the 19,818 vehicle recalls filed since 1995 whose size NHTSA published. The middle campaign on file covers 472. It covers model years 2007 to 2012, so the oldest vehicles on it were 13 model years old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
BMW vehicles have been recalled over the air bags 44 times before this, most recently in November 2019 as 19V853000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
This site holds the complaint record for 10 of the 13 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 1,179 complaints with NHTSA, 928 of them before this campaign was filed. 338 of those name the air bags, the system this recall is about — a count of complaints, not of this defect. The earliest of them reached NHTSA in May 2008, 11 years before this filing.
The vehicles on this campaign carry 2 other recalls published here: 23V707000 (engine and engine cooling), 20V017000 (air bags).
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by BMW of North America, LLC with NHTSA on January 15, 2020 as campaign 20V016000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2020-01-15.
Independent developer and analyst