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Old 09-15-2014, 05:29 PM   #1
Terri Kennedy
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Get your BMW airbag recall notice yet?

For those of us that still have BMWs, at least...

Since the issue first became public in 2012, I've been corresponding w/ BMWNA about whether my car is affected. After denying the issue for over a year and a half, today I get the dreaded recall letter.

And, of course, it says "At this time we do not have parts to conduct this recall...". Of course not. You only had 18 months to prepare...

There are an additional 573,935 BMWs affected in this "new" recall:

Code:
Model Year / Model                        Approximate Number Affected
2000 - 2005 / 3 Series Sedan                  330,650
2000 - 2006 / 3 Series Coupe                   93,570
2000 - 2005 / 3 Series Sports Wagon            17,527
2000 - 2006 / 3 Series Convertible             94,568
2001 - 2006 / M3 Coupe                         22,341
2001 - 2006 / M3 Convertible                   15,279
And then it goes on to say "... please advise all ... passengers ... that ... metal fragments striking and potentially seriously injuring the front passenger ..."

So now I have to wait for notification that replacements are available, decide which dealer I want to mangle my car, and then pull off the wood trim (Birch Anthracite Individual - NLA) and glove box before I let them attack my car.

The recall was agreed on in July and BMW was supposed to notify customers in August. The letter I got says "September 2014" on the first page. Way to go, BMW. In the past, I'd probably have sided with the automakers when they claimed that the Feds were on a witch hunt to force recalls. But Takata (the airbag manufacturer) knew about this issue since the late 2000's at the latest, and tried to keep the info secret.

Air Bag Flaw, Long Known to Honda and Takata, Led to Recalls (NY Times).

Quote:
Originally Posted by NY Times
Between late 2001 and late 2002, workers at a Takata factory in Monclova, Mexico, had left out moisture-sensitive explosives on the plant floor, making them prone to “overly energetic combustion,”...

...

Takata engineers next linked the defect to its factory in Moses Lake, Wash. Between 2000 and 2002, a flaw in a machine that presses air bag explosives into wafers had made the explosives unstable, ...

...

Takata engineers came up with yet another explanation for the ruptures: Beginning in September 2001, machine operators at the Moses Lake plant could have inadvertently switched off an “auto reject” function that weeded out poorly made explosives that can become unstable,...
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Old 09-15-2014, 05:47 PM   #2
bren
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I haven't seen a thing.

The more I read on this the more I'm not minding the car being laid up in the garage.
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Old 09-15-2014, 06:17 PM   #3
John V
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I got my first one a while ago and gave it to the buyer of my ZHP, I got my second notice (for the other car) today, oddly enough. I think I will take it into the dealer and have the airbag replaced, though I really wonder what kind of looks they're going to give me when I show up with it.
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Old 09-15-2014, 06:31 PM   #4
bren
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...It'll probably be the best dealership visit you'll ever have.

So is this just pass side, or does it involve both front bags?
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Old 09-15-2014, 06:36 PM   #5
Terri Kennedy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bren View Post
So is this just pass side, or does it involve both front bags?
Just passenger side. This time. I don't know if the BMW driver bags were made by the same manufacturer - the Honda driver bags were definitely Takata.
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Old 09-15-2014, 06:40 PM   #6
Nick M3
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Some of the driver's airbags were recalled previously. I'm hoping that they will recall the rest.

But yes, I got the 9/2014 letter as well.

Sadly, the race car is not impacted, so I don't have the opportunity to tow it in and see the looks on their faces.
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Old 09-15-2014, 07:06 PM   #7
John V
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bren View Post
...It'll probably be the best dealership visit you'll ever have.

So is this just pass side, or does it involve both front bags?
The vehicle walkaround they do will be interesting. It's going to take the guy an hour to note all the body issues.
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Old 09-15-2014, 09:56 PM   #8
equ
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Got the letter today. I'll have to wait for my VANOS to be fixed before I take it in to the dealer (good thing I don't have unobtanium trim otherwise that would be yet another thing to worry about).

I wish they did both sides though. This leave me paranoid about a driver's airbag exploding in my face.
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Old 09-16-2014, 12:17 AM   #9
rumatt
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Got mine today too.
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Old 09-16-2014, 10:05 AM   #10
TD
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Mine arrived yesterday (Monday). I will be very reluctant to have anyone in the passenger seat until this is replaced. Since it only impacts our garage queen (the M3C), it's not that big of a deal. But it's pretty appalling that BMW doesn't have parts and isn't ready to fix the affected cars.
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