NHTSA Complaint #11220765 — 2013 BMW 335I

MY VEHICLE SHOWS THE FOLLOWING ERROR MESSAGE "PASSENGER RESTRAINT MALFUNCTION" AT RANDOM TIMES WHILE I AM DRIVING WITHOUT A PASSENGER OR WHENEVER A PASSENGER DECIDES TO MOVE AROUND. THE ERROR WILL ALSO APPEAR AT RANDOM TIMES WHENEVER I HAVE A PASSENGER. I RAN OBD READING AND IT GAVE THE ERROR CODE "930A1C-ODS-SYSTEM: SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR PASSENGER: SENDING SENSOR FAILURE BECAUSE OF WETNESS ,0, ZP." I HAVE NEVER SPILLED LIQUID MATTER ON THE SEATS AND I LIVE IN A DRY DESERT ENVIRONMENT WHERE TEMPERATURES RANGE FROM 80 TO 110 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. THE BMW DEALERSHIP IN PALM SPRINGS TOLD ME I WILL NEED TO REPLACE THE PASSENGER MAT, BUT MY WARRANTY WILL NOT COVER IT. I WAS QUOTED TO PAY $1600 OUT OF POCKET JUST TO FIX A FAULTY SENSOR MAT THAT IS ESSENTIAL IN PROTECTING A PASSENGER'S LIFE IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. I AM AFRAID THE AIRBAGS WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT AND THE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT CAN BE LETHAL TO A CHILD PASSENGER OR AN ELDERLY ADULT. I CAN NOT FIND A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO CAN REPLACE THE PASSENGER MAT, NOR CAN I BUY THE PART ONLINE FOR MY MODEL. IT IS A BIT INJUSTICE FOR ME TO PAY A LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY TO FIX A DEFECTIVE PART MADE BY BMW AND HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE OTHER THAN TO TAKE IT TO THE BMW DEALERSHIP. JUST TO HAVE THEM INSPECT MY VEHICLE COSTED $175. I HAVE ALSO BEEN MADE AWARE THAT BMW RECALLED 76,565 VEHICLES DUE TO A DEFECT IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT FOR BMW MODELS 2006 325I, 325XI, 330I AND 330XI SEDANS AND 325XI SPORT WAGONS, THE 2007 328I, 328XI, 335I AND 335XI SEDANS AND 328I AND 328XI SPORT WAGONS, THE 2006-7 525I, 525XI, 530I, 530XI AND 550I SEDANS AND 530XI SPORT WAGONS, THE 2006 760I SEDANS, THE 2006-7 750I, 750LI, AND 760LI SEDANS AND THE 2006 X5 SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES. IT SEEMS THESE DEFECTS WERE FOUND IN MY 2013 MODEL AND I WILL LIKE BMW TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AND FIX IT.