BMW Air Bags: Sensor/Control Module-Inactive

BMW is recalling about 225 vehicles over a problem with the air bags. In some cases, the sensing system may misinterpret a properly seated small adult as one of these specific child seats, resulting in deactivation of the front passenger air bag when the air bag might be beneficial for the adult, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

Campaign
07V178000
Manufacturer
BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC
Reported
25 April 2007
Vehicles
225
Built between
Sep 2006 – Jan 2007
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
21 May 2007
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between September 2006 and January 2007. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2007 BMW 6-SeriesBuilt September 2006 to January 2007

What the defect is

Certain passenger vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, 'occupant crash protection.' the front passenger seat has a sensing system to detect if the seat is occupied. This sensing is programmed to detect if the seat is occupied by a small adult or certain child restraint seats. Placing certain child seats on the front passenger seat is designed to result in the automatic deactivation of the front seat passenger's air bag.

What could happen

In some cases, the sensing system may misinterpret a properly seated small adult as one of these specific child seats, resulting in deactivation of the front passenger air bag when the air bag might be beneficial for the adult, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 21, 2007.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtSeptember 2006 to January 2007
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA25 April 2007
  3. Owners notified21 May 2007

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 25 April 2007.

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 may contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC
Safety standard
FMVSS 208
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 may contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

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.

Same component

Same brand