BMW Air Bags: Inflator Module

BMW is recalling about 6,785 vehicles over a problem with the air bags. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator housing could separate from the base plate and result in metal striking the vehicle occupants, potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Campaign
17V495000
Manufacturer
BMW of North America, LLC
Reported
8 August 2017
Vehicles
6,785
Built between
Nov 2011 – Jul 2012
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
6 October 2017
Repaired
71%
Unrepaired
1,844

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between November 2011 and July 2012. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2013 BMW M6Built May 2012 to July 2012
  • 2012-2013 BMW X3Built November 2011 to April 2012

Repair progress

1,844 of 6,785 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2019.

71% repaired — 4,807 of 6,785 reported

Scrapped or exported
134

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 2012-2013 BMW X3 xDrive28i, X3 xDrive35i, and M6 Convertible vehicles and 2013 M6 Coupe vehicles. The affected vehicles have a driver's frontal air bag inflator that may have been improperly welded.

What could happen

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator housing could separate from the base plate and result in metal striking the vehicle occupants, potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

What gets fixed

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's front air bag module, free of charge. The recall began October 6, 2017.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtNovember 2011 to July 2012
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA8 August 2017
  3. Owners notified6 October 2017
  4. Latest repair reportQ1 2019 — 71% 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 8 August 2017.

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.

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.

Same component

Same brand