- Vehicles
- 23,000
- Built between
- Jan 2001 – Aug 2001
- Models
- 10
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 10 November 2003
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 2001 and August 2001. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2001 BMW 525IBuilt January 2001 to August 2001
- 2001 BMW 525IABuilt January 2001 to August 2001
- 2001 BMW 525ITBuilt January 2001 to August 2001
- 2001 BMW 525ITABuilt January 2001 to August 2001
- 2001 BMW 530IBuilt January 2001 to August 2001
- 2001 BMW 530IABuilt January 2001 to August 2001
- 2001 BMW 540IBuilt January 2001 to August 2001
- 2001 BMW 540IABuilt January 2001 to August 2001
- 2001 BMW 540IATBuilt January 2001 to August 2001
- 2001 BMW M5Built January 2001 to August 2001
What the defect is
On certain passenger vehicles, a microprocessor in the air bag control module, which activates the front air bags, the side air bags, the front seat safety belt pretensioners, and the battery safety terminal, may have a malfunction that could lead to an unintended activation of one or more of these components.
What could happen
Unexpected deployment of the air bag(s) could cause serious injury if an occupant is too close to the deploying air bag(s). In addition, the battery safety terminal may also be activated. If that happens, the starter cable would become disconnected from the battery, and the engine could not be restarted.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE AIR BAG CONTROL MODULE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN NOVEMBER10, 2003.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 2001 to August 2001
- Recall reported to NHTSA24 October 2003
- Owners notified10 November 2003
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 24 October 2003.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.