- Vehicles
- 76,565
- Built between
- Dec 2005 – Sep 2006
- Models
- 18
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 29 August 2014
- Repaired
- 45%
- Unrepaired
- 35,482
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between December 2005 and September 2006. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2006 BMW 325IBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006 BMW 325XIBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2007 BMW 328IBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2007 BMW 328XIBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006 BMW 330IBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006 BMW 330XIBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2007 BMW 335IBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2007 BMW 335XIBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006-2007 BMW 525IBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006-2007 BMW 525XIBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006-2007 BMW 530IBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006-2007 BMW 530XIBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006-2007 BMW 550IBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006-2007 BMW 750IBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006-2007 BMW 750LIBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006 BMW 760IBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006-2007 BMW 760LIBuilt December 2005 to September 2006
- 2006 BMW X5Built December 2005 to September 2006
Repair progress
35,482 of 76,565 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q3 2015.
45% repaired — 34,421 of 76,565 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 5,104
- Scrapped or exported
- 1,558
Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.
What the defect is
BMW of North America LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2006 325i, 325xi, 330i, 330xi sedans and 325xi sports wagons, model year 2007 328i, 328xi, 335i, 335xi sedans and 328i and 328xi sports wagons, model year 2006-2007 525i, 525xi, 530i, 530xi, 550i sedans and 530xi sports wagons, model year 2006 760i sedans, model year 2006-2007 750i, 750Li, and 760Li sedans, and model year 2006 X5 sports activity vehicles, equipped with certain seat types. The front passenger seat occupant detection mat that determines if and how the passenger frontal air bag should deploy in a crash may fatigue and develop cracks which could lead to a system failure.
What could happen
Should the system fail, in the event of a crash, the front passenger air bag would be deactivated, increasing the risk of personal injury.
What gets fixed
BMW will notify owners with an interim notification letter in January 2014 since parts are not currently available. When parts are available, BMW sent a second letter in August and dealers will repair the occupant detection mat to eliminate the possibility that it may crack, free of charge. Additionally, owners of model year 2006-2007 3 Series with standard seats, 5 Series with comfort seats, and Z4 models, will receive an extended warranty on their front passenger seat occupant detection mat.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtDecember 2005 to September 2006
- Recall reported to NHTSA12 November 2013
- Owners notified29 August 2014
- Latest repair reportQ3 2015 — 45% repaired
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 12 November 2013.
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 customer relations at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- BMW of North America, LLC
- 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
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.
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.