BMW Airbag Recal

[325_driver 422]

Anybody got a letter in the mail from BMW about an airbag recal?

[Gabe79 410]

Lots of us have. Seems there is a range of experiences. Just call your dealership and make an appointment. It was trivial easy for me and many others. 

[325_driver 422]

The letter is written in a tone that my car is going to kill me lol

[allan 295]

Does it say which one? as i believe their is a recall for the passengers as well as the drivers air bags on certain e46 models others may chime in on this as it is a well discussed issue. Go and talk to your local dealership and get it sorted pronto.

[Gabe79 410]

16 minutes ago, 325_driver said:

The letter is written in a tone that my car is going to kill me lol

Your airbag might fail when you wish it didn’t, or it might go off when you wish it didn’t. The stats are very small all around, but not a risk worth taking. 

 

In my case, they checked every single airbag and told me it was all good. I was in and out in an hour-ish. They even cleaned the car for me. Note in your case, maybe ask them not to screw up your lovely paintwork with their machine polishing. ?

[325_driver 422]

bloody aye - imagine that

[325_driver 422]

3 hours ago, allan said:

Does it say which one? as i believe their is a recall for the passengers as well as the drivers air bags on certain e46 models others may chime in on this as it is a well discussed issue. Go and talk to your local dealership and get it sorted pronto.

something about a humidity being a factor adding to internal pressure, plan on ringing them on monday!

[viskop 99]

I had a recall on my 2005 NZ New E46 330i front air bags. Took it in, and BMW sorted it.

[325_driver 422]

well worst case scenario i get me some new air bags ? that job is some times more than the value of the car!

[Gabe79 410]

Using the idea that new airbags are profit, worse case you get nothing because yours are fine. ?

[325_driver 422]

hehe

i mean i actually loose - time is money

- i had to read the letter (5 minutes)

- i posted some thing on here (5 minutes)

- people reading and responding to the post (1 hour total lets say)

so we all loose

[m325i 709]

I had the passenger recall done, then recently the driver's, today I got another letter about it. It said 'you may have already spoken to dealer..' Little unclear, but I assume I disregard.

[M3_Power 636]

Here’s another 40 seconds to waste

what happens to these defective inflators

Yes just a bomb really. There was a comparison video online before between a good one and a defective one but it has been removed. Suffice to say the good one just gives off a load of gas and not much else.

 

Also, I am not sure if anyone can answer this definitively for me. But according to LVVT rules, you are apparently allowed to decommission airbags if they are more than 14 years old. Not sure why this wasn’t a considered route to take for these old E46s? I wonder if it would have been economically cheaper than to replace them.

 

[allan 295]

Interesting Tom,  when  dismantling the  325i I noticed the curtain air bags had an expire date on them. They ended up at the local fire brigade for them to practice with.

[Driftit 2078]

I keep getting warnings here in the US to go and have my Airbags changed.  Must get around to it asap after watching that video.

For my 05 E46.

[325_driver 422]

I chatted to them on the phone today getting it sorted lol,

to clarify - the problem is "if they go off from being involved in a crash, they may have increased pressure due to humidity factors"

not what i thought - i.e air bags randomly trigger due to defective inflators and take out a city block while without warning

Edited October 9, 2017 by 325_driver

[325_driver 422]

"The combination of time, high temperature fluctuations, and humidity contribute to the degradation of the propellant in the inflators. This degradation can cause the propellant to burn too quickly, creating more pressure than the inflator can withstand, and in extreme cases causing the inflator to rupture and sends shrapnel through the air bag toward vehicle occupants."

Does sound pretty frightening though!

Maybe the technician down played it - sounds like i'm driving in a grenade or weapon of mass destruction !

https://www.nhtsa.gov/takata-air-bags/takata-recall-expansion-what-consumers-need-know

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2957]

So far the figure stands at a number of 19 deaths believed to be caused by these faulty airbags around the world, so it is no light matter. Lots of others injured.

The problem is that the response rate to the letters being sent out is very, very low. Too many people are ignoring them, not just on BMWs but all the manufacturers affected. Hence the reason to actually explain to people what can happen if things go wrong with them.

NZTA are now looking at how they can make it a WoF fail if your car is on the list and hasn't been checked and fixed, so as to actually make people get them sorted. Recall would still be free of charge to the owner.

[325_driver 422]

yeah - when i read the note about "sending shrapnel to occupants" i went O BOY this must be serious

[richard 384]

good on BMW,

and the NZTA,  too many people with their head stuck in the sand.

[325_driver 422]

Bit of car porn while I wait for the airbag service

There's also a custom m2 in here 

 

Edited October 19, 2017 by 325_driver

[Gabe79 410]

After everything I posted to date... I got a second letter from BMW today saying to bring my car in again.  Will be contacting Jerry Clayton early next week.

[m325i 709]

31 minutes ago, Gabe79 said:

After everything I posted to date... I got a second letter from BMW today saying to bring my car in again.  Will be contacting Jerry Clayton early next week.

I had both sides replaced. Got another letter, checked with dealer, they said disregard. 

Edited October 19, 2017 by m325i

[Gabe79 410]

1 minute ago, m325i said:

I had both sides replaced. Got another letter, checked with dealer, they said disregard. 

Oh, that sounds good, in a hopeful sorta way.  In my case, they originally said nothing needed to be replaced. I hope that's still correct. 

[325_driver 422]

yeah they said nothing other than the fronts, not the door cards

and there's no reports of any incidents in NZ aparently

Edited October 20, 2017 by 325_driver