BMW Air Bags

BMW is recalling about 3,316 vehicles over a problem with the air bags. If the air bag and/or seat belt pretensioners deploy improperly in the event of a crash, there is an increased risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.

Campaign
20V164000
Manufacturer
BMW of North America, LLC
Reported
19 March 2020
Vehicles
3,316
Built between
Not published
Models
7
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
18 May 2020
Repaired
99%
Unrepaired
23

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.

  • 2020 BMW 330I
  • 2020 BMW 840I
  • 2020 BMW M340I
  • 2020 BMW M8 Gran Coupe
  • 2020 BMW M850I
  • 2020 BMW X3
  • 2020 BMW X4

Repair progress

23 of 3,316 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2022.

99% repaired — 3,293 of 3,316 reported

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 2020 X3 xDrive30e, X4 xDrive30i, X4 M40i, X4M, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, 840i Gran Coupe, 840i xDrive Gran Coupe, M850i xDrive Gran Coupe, M8 Gran Coupe, X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, X3M, and 840i xDrive Convertible vehicles. The sensors in the front seat belt buckles may inaccurately detect a belted occupant as unbelted, possibly causing the air bag and seat belt pretensioners to deploy improperly in the event of a crash.

What could happen

If the air bag and/or seat belt pretensioners deploy improperly in the event of a crash, there is an increased risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.

What gets fixed

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the front seat belt buckles, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 18, 2020.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA19 March 2020
  2. Owners notified18 May 2020
  3. Latest repair reportQ1 2022 — 99% 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 19 March 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
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