NHTSA Complaint #10455361 — 2004 BMW 5 SERIES

MY CAR HAS THE PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM MALFUNCTION MESSAGE ON THE NAVIGATION SCREEN AND ALSO THE SEATBELT LIGHT AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT ARE ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD. THERE IS A RECALL FOR SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR BELOW AND AS YOU CAN SEE MY CAR FALLS WITHIN THE CRITERIA AS THE CARS AFFECTED BY THE RECALL BUT A VISIT TO MY LOCAL BMW DEALER REVEALED THAT THERE WAS NO ACTIVE RECALLS UNDER MY VIN NUMBER. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AS AIRBAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY AND THE RISK OF BEING SERIOUSLY HURT OR KILLED. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT BMW SHOULD REPLACE IN MY CAR UNDER THE RECALL AS IT HAS THE SAME MALFUNCTIONING PART SUCH AS THE CARS LISTED BELOW. RECALL ID # 57362 - AIR BAGS:FRONTAL RECALL DATE AUG 05, 2008 RECALL DATE: AUG 05, 2008 MODEL AFFECTED: 2006 BMW 3-SERIES SUMMARY: BMW IS RECALLING 200,000 MY 2006 3 SERIES SPORT SEAT, MY 2004-2006 5 SERIES STANDARD AND SPORT SEAT, AND MY 2004-2006 X3 PASSENGER VEHICLES. DEPENDING ON THE MANNER AND FREQUENCY OF THE FRONT PASSENGER'S ENTRY AND EXIT, 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. CONSEQUENCES: IN THIS SITUATION THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY EVEN IF A SUFFICIENTLY SEVERE ACCIDENT WOULD OCCUR AND OCCUPANT PROTECTION PROVIDED BY THE SYSTEM WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE. REMEDY: DEALERS WILL REWORK THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR MAT SO THAT EXTERNAL FORCE APPLICATION TO THE SEAT DOES NOT CAUSE A CRACK TO THE MAT. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 6, 2008. BMW WILL ALSO EXTEND THE WARRANTY ON THESE VEHICLES TO 10 YEARS FROM FIRST REGISTRATION WITHOUT ANY MILEAGE LIMIT. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BMW AT 1-800-525-7417. POTENTIAL UNITS AFFECTED: 200000 NOTES: BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC *JS