- Vehicles
- 85,302
- Built between
- Nov 2005 – Aug 2010
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 18 June 2018
- Repaired
- 37%
- Unrepaired
- 52,313
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between November 2005 and August 2010. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2006-2010 BMW X3Built November 2005 to August 2010
Repair progress
52,313 of 85,302 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q3 2019.
37% repaired — 31,386 of 85,302 reported
- Scrapped or exported
- 1,603
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 2006-2010 BMW X3 2.5i, X3 3.0i and X3 xDrive30i Sports Activity Vehicles. 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, and dealers will replace the front passenger seat occupant detection mat, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on November 27, 2017. A second notification letter will be sent when parts are available.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtNovember 2005 to August 2010
- Recall reported to NHTSA28 September 2017
- Owners notified18 June 2018
- Latest repair reportQ3 2019 — 37% 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 September 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.