Who would have thought that their next visit to their BMW dealership garage would be under a Recall because the sport seats in their X3, 3-Series, or 5-Series? That’ll be the case with owners of model year 2006 3-Series and 2004-2005 X3 and 5-Series. NHTSA and BMW figure 200,000 cars and small sport-utes will need a reworking of the front passenger seat sensor.
See, “Depending on the manner and frequency of the front passenger’s entry and exit,” NHTSA says, “small cracks have developed in the mat. If this occurs, the front passenger air bags with the exception of the head protection system, will be deactivated and the air bag warning lamp as well as the passenger air bag “on-off” lamp will be illuminated.”
The ramifications are serious. If the airbags don’t deploy, you aren’t protected. This Recall should begin by the end of September. On top of this, NHTSA has noted that BMW is going above and beyond fixing the problem. “BMW is extending the warranty to 10 years from first registration without any mileage limit to the following vehicles: the cars involved in the recall regardless of their seat design, the ’06 6-Series, ’04 and ’05 Z4, ’04-’06 7-Series, ’06 X5…. under the extended warranty program, the occupant detection mat in a vehicle that experiences this specific issue will be replaced at no charge to the customer.”
