BMW has asked owners of about 38,000 older cars to park their vehicles and stop driving them until dealers can complete a critical safety repair. But the issue is nothing new. It applies to vehicles, BMW says, that “remain unrepaired despite intense customer outreach efforts since 2016.”
The warning applies to the following:
- 2000-2006 BMW 3 Series (E46) including M3
- 2001-2003 BMW 5 Series (E39) including M5
- 2001-2004 BMW X5
It’s all part of the largest recall in automotive history.
The Takata airbag recall started in 2013 and included cars made by 34 manufacturers and sold on at least five continents. The federal government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says at least 67 million cars on American roads carried the deadly parts when dealers first sold them.
NHTSA believes that about 50 million of those cars have been repaired. That leaves up to 17 million on the road, putting their drivers and passengers in danger.
A Grenade in Your Steering Wheel
Takata manufactured airbag inflators for much of the global auto industry.
An airbag inflator is a tiny metal capsule filled with chemicals that combine to create a rapidly-expanding gas. In an accident, the inflator is designed to squirt that gas out of a nozzle and into an airbag, inflating it in a split second.
But some Takata airbag inflators, instead, can burst. That sends hot metal shrapnel flying into the car’s cabin directly at the driver and passenger.
According to the Associated Press, that phenomenon has killed at least 32 people worldwide and 23 in the U.S.
The problem grows more dangerous over time as chemicals degrade. Ann Carlson, then-Acting Administrator for NHTSA, told reporters last year, “Every day that passes when you don’t get a recalled airbag replaced puts you and your family at greater risk of injury or death.”
The growing danger has caused Honda, Chrysler and Dodge, and now BMW to issue stop-driving orders to drivers who still haven’t had the free repair completed.
Free Repair Available Now
BMW says owners of unrepaired cars “should not consider them safe to drive.”
“There are no restrictions whatsoever preventing customers from having the airbag in their vehicle checked and replaced immediately,” the company says. “The parts are available, and the repair costs them nothing.” In some areas, technicians can even come to customers and replace the inflators at their homes or businesses.
“If a remote repair cannot be done, the vehicle can be picked up at the customer’s home or office free of charge and repaired. Typically, the airbag recall takes less than an hour to complete,” BMW says.
But automakers consistently tell us that getting owners to pay attention to critical safety recalls is challenging. Manufacturers have documented several Takata-related deaths in situations where owners ignored hundreds of recall notices through mail, email, text messages, and phone calls.
Recall repairs are free. Check whether your car has any outstanding recalls with the easy VIN tool at our recall center.
