BMW has despatched out an necessary “don’t drive” order that applies to about 90,000 vehicles constructed between the 2000 and 2006 mannequin years. The vehicles included within the marketing campaign have been a part of a recall associated to the Takata-made driver-side airbag inflator, however they have not been repaired but.
The listing of vehicles that ought to be parked till they have been repaired contains the E46-generation 3 Sequence (pictured) constructed between 2002 and 2006, the E39-generation 5 Sequence constructed from 2000 to 2003, and the E53-generation X5 constructed between 2000 and 2004. The M3 and M5 are a part of the marketing campaign as nicely. BMW explains these vehicles have been included in earlier recall campaigns however did not get taken to a dealership for repairs.
All of those older fashions are geared up with a driver-side airbag inflator made by Takata that may ship shrapnel flying into the cabin — within the route of the entrance passengers — if triggered. BMW notes it has warned homeowners about the issue a number of instances since 2016, and it provides that the issue turns into more and more critical because the half ages. “The chance of great damage or dying will increase,” it wrote in an announcement.
“House owners of affected BMWs that haven’t had their automobiles inspected and repaired shouldn’t contemplate them secure to drive,” it added.
BMW will once more attain out to motorists who personal a automotive that must be repaired within the coming weeks. It’ll contact them by way of electronic mail in Might 2023 and by way of common mail in June 2023, and it should vital lengths to make sure that the entire vehicles nonetheless geared up with a Takata airbag inflator are repaired in a well timed method. Whereas drivers can take their automotive to a certified dealership to get the recall carried out, the corporate can also be dispatching technicians to the automotive’s location in order that they’ll carry out the restore on-site, or is providing to select up vehicles and return them when the restore is full.
The repair is free, the components are available, and the job usually takes lower than an hour.
In case you’re unsure in case your older BMW’s airbag inflator has been changed, you may go to BMW’s devoted recall website, the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration’s website, name the model’s buyer relations line at 1-866-835-8615, or get in contact with a dealership.
BMW is not the one firm that constructed vehicles with Takata-sourced airbag inflators: The half is liable for the most important collection of recollects in American historical past. Roughly 67 million inflators have been recalled by 19 carmakers thus far, and the airbags have triggered over 30 deaths worldwide, together with 24 in america. For its half, BMW notes that about 87% of its affected vehicles have already been repaired.
