- Vehicles
- 419,235
- Built between
- Not published
- Models
- 12
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 19 August 2016
- Repaired
- 32%
- Unrepaired
- 221,477
Safety advisories
Do not drive this vehicle
NHTSA and the manufacturer advise that affected vehicles should not be driven until the recall repair has been completed. Contact your dealer to arrange the repair, and ask about transport in the meantime.
Does this affect my vehicle?
The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.
- 2002-2006 BMW 325CI
- 2002-2005 BMW 325I
- 2002-2005 BMW 325XI
- 2002-2006 BMW 330CI
- 2002-2005 BMW 330I
- 2002-2005 BMW 330XI
- 2002-2003 BMW 525I
- 2002-2003 BMW 530I
- 2002-2003 BMW 540I
- 2002-2006 BMW M3
- 2002-2003 BMW M5
- 2003 BMW X5
Repair progress
221,477 of 419,235 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2017.
32% repaired — 133,934 of 419,235 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 45,766
- Scrapped or exported
- 18,058
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 2002-2005 325i, 325xi, 330i, and 330xi Sedans, and 325xi and 325i Sportswagons, 2002-2006 330Ci, 325Ci, and M3 Convertibles and 325i, 330i, and M3 Coupes, 2002-2003 M5, 540i, 525i Sedan, and 530i Sedans, and 540i and 525i Sportswagons, and 2003 X5 3.0i and 4.4i Sports Activity Vehicles. Please note that the 5-series and X5 vehicles are only included if they are equipped with the optional sports steering wheel. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
What could happen
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
What gets fixed
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the vehicle has been remedied. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front driver air bag module, free of charge. The recall began Aug 2016.
Timeline
- Recall reported to NHTSA28 May 2015
- Owners notified19 August 2016
- Latest repair reportQ4 2017 — 32% 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 28 May 2015.
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 service at 1-800-525-7417. Note: This recall supersedes recall 14V-348 in its entirety. Additionally, vehicles that have had their driver side frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Note: On December 17, 2015 BMW removed the model year 2004 X5 3.0i and 4.4i Sports Activity vehicle from this recall. Those vehicles were mistakenly identified as including the air bags that are subject to this recall.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- BMW of North America, LLC
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
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.