More than 21,000 vehicles from the BMW family of brands, as well as one Toyota that uses mostly BMW parts, are being recalled due to a problem that could make installing a child safety seat in the cars difficult.
The cars may have a faulty seat belt retractor installed in one or more seating positions. The seat belts should still function properly in a crash, the company says. But the defect may prevent the automatic locking retractor function from working properly, which would make it extremely difficult to install some child safety seats in the cars.
Long List of Affected Cars
The affected vehicles are all from the 2021 model year and include:
- BMW 2 Series coupe and convertible
- BMW 3 Series and M3 sedan
- BMW 4 Series and M4 coupe
- BMW 5 Series sedan
- BMW X1 SUV
- BMW X2 SUV
- BMW Z4 convertible
- Mini Hardtop and Convertible
- Mini Clubman
- Mini Countryman
- Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV
- Rolls-Royce Ghost
- Rolls-Royce Phantom
- Toyota GR Supra coupe
Small List of Affected Owners
The defect should affect only a tiny number of owners. The problem is present, BMW says, in less than 1% of the cars. It may also come into play with very few child safety seats.
All 2021 cars come equipped with the more modern LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) safety seat attachment system. LATCH does not use the seatbelt to secure the child seat. Nearly every child safety seat manufactured after 2003 uses LATCH.
So, this problem should only affect drivers trying to install a pre-2003 child safety seat in a 2021 car.
Dealers will inspect the seatbelts and replace the retractors if necessary. Recall repairs are always free.
Many cars are recalled, often more than once, to fix safety defects. Automakers use the information they have on file to try to contact owners, but they don’t always succeed. Find out whether your car has any safety recalls at our recall center.
