- Vehicles
- 292,948
- Built between
- Not published
- Models
- 15
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 13 February 2020
- Repaired
- 42%
- Unrepaired
- 167,915
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.
- 2000-2005 BMW 320I
- 2000-2006 BMW 323CI
- 2000-2005 BMW 323I
- 2000-2005 BMW 323IT
- 2000-2006 BMW 325CI
- 2000-2005 BMW 325I
- 2000-2005 BMW 325IT
- 2000-2005 BMW 325XI
- 2000-2005 BMW 325XIT
- 2000-2006 BMW 328CI
- 2000-2005 BMW 328I
- 2000-2006 BMW 330CI
- 2000-2005 BMW 330I
- 2000-2005 BMW 330XI
- 2000-2006 BMW M3
Repair progress
167,915 of 292,948 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2021.
42% repaired — 123,637 of 292,948 reported
- Scrapped or exported
- 1,396
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 2000-2005 323iT, 325iT, 325xiT, 320i, 323i, 325i, 325xi, 328i, 330i and 330xi and 2000-2006 323Ci, 325Ci, 328Ci, 330Ci, M3 Coupe, 323Cic, 325Cic, 330Cic, and M3 Convertible vehicles equipped with non-desiccated frontal Takata PSAN inflators and PSPI passenger frontal air bag inflators containing phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant that were used as interim remedy parts for previous Takata recalls. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
What could happen
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
What gets fixed
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger's front air bag, free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2020.
Timeline
- Recall reported to NHTSA15 January 2020
- Owners notified13 February 2020
- Latest repair reportQ2 2021 — 42% 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 15 January 2020.
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
- 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.