NHTSA Complaint #10521156 — 2006 BMW 325XI

AIR BAG AND PASSENGER SEAT BELT INDICATOR ON CENTER DASH CLUSTER LIT UP DURING NORMAL DRIVING. TOOK CAR TO DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR AND WAS TOLD THE AIR BAG SEAT MAT WAS BAD AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ALSO TOLD THAT REPAIR WOULD COST $900. DECIDED TO EAT COST AS IT IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AS AIR BAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY DURING A CRASH. TOTAL COST FOR REPAIRS: QTY 1 PART# 52-10-7-244-127 BASIC SEAT U 1 COST $385.10 , QTY 2 PART# 52-20-1-964-201 CLIP 13 COST $3.84 , QTY 35 PART# 52-10-945-543 CLAMP 134 COST $$22.40. TOTAL PARTS=$411.34 ; TOTAL LABOR=$554.60, TOTAL BILL FOR REPAIR=$965.94. I WOULD NOT MIND IF THIS WOULD BE THE END OF THE ISSUE, BUT IT IS NOT. I PICKED UP THE CAR FROM DANIELS BMW OF ALLENTOWN ON JUNE 14 2013, AND TODAY (JUNE 21, 2013) THE ISSUE CAME BACK. 7 DAYS AFTER I HAD THE CAR REPAIRED FOR THE ISSUE, THE EXACT SAME ISSUE REAPPEARED. THIS IS A MAJOR CONCERN OF MINE AS THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OF MY CAR IS ALMOST ALWAYS IN USE BY MYSELF OR MY SPOUSE. AFTER DOING A BIT OF READING ON BMW ONLINE FORUMS, I SEE THAT THERE IS A RECALL FOR THE EXACT SENSOR MAT AS INSTALLED IN MY CAR, FOR ALMOST ALL OTHER SEATS CONTAINING THE EXACT SEAT MAT, BUT NOT FOR MY CAR, AND OTHERS LIKE ME. I HAVE GONE ONTO THE BMW NA WEBSITE AND DID A RECALL SEARCH FOR MY CAR AND FOUND THAT THE RECALL DOES NOT APPLY TO MY CAR. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE FOR BMW AND THEY SHOULD STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT AND REPAIR ALL SEATS AFFECTED WITHOUT QUESTION. I WILL BE TAKING MY CAR BACK TO DANIELS BMW OF ALLENTOWN FOR COURTESY REPAIR AND HOPEFULLY THEY WILL REPLACE...AGAIN....THE BROKEN MAT FOR FREE. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL NOT BE THE BEGINNING OF AN ONGOING RECURRING ISSUE. *TR