BMW recalls 116,000 NADI airbags at risk of exploding or underinflating.

Posted in Recalls

BMW Recalls Vehicles With Takata Non-Azide Driver Inflators
BMW recalls 116,000 NADI airbags at risk of exploding or underinflating.

— More than 116,000 BMW vehicles are recalled because the Takata airbags could possibly explode and kill occupants due to a problem similar to but unrelated to previous Takata recalls.

Out of the 116,000 vehicles, BMW is warning owners of nearly 8,000 of those vehicles to park them until they are repaired.

The recalled vehicles are equipped with Takata non-azide driver inflators (NADIs), a type of airbag that has killed one and injured another person in Australia.

Recalls involving tens of millions of Takata airbag inflators were for inflators equipped with the chemical ammonium nitrate which is unstable when affected by moisture.

The newest Takata recall was announced because the single-stage NADI-equipped airbags may have sealing problems related to foil tape. BMW says in addition to exploding, the inflators may underinflate when they deploy.

The recalls of more than 116,000 BMW vehicles is part of a Takata recall that includes about 1.4 million airbag inflators manufactured prior to March 15, 1999.

In the first BMW recall, nearly 74,300 of these vehicles may have defective driver-side airbag inflators in the U.S., and more than 600 are recalled in Canada.

  • 1999-2001 BMW 323i
  • 1999-2001 BMW 325i
  • 1999-2001 BMW 328i
  • 1999-2001 BMW 330i
  • 2000-2001 BMW 323Ci
  • 2000-2001 BMW 325Ci
  • 2000-2001 BMW 328Ci
  • 2000-2001 BMW 330Ci
  • 2000-2001 BMW 323iT
  • 2000-2001 BMW 325iT

BMW doesn't know when the vehicles will be repaired, but interim recall notices will be mailed in January 2020. Owners will receive final recall notices when dealers have enough replacement inflators.

In a second recall of nearly 34,400 vehicles, BMW will replace the driver-side Takata inflators in these models.

  • 1999-2000 BMW 323i
  • 1999-2000 BMW 328i
  • 2000 BMW 323Ci
  • 2000 BMW 328Ci

As in the first recall, the airbag inflators are NADI-type and at risk of exploding or possibly underinflating when they deploy. Either event could kill a driver.

Affected owners will receive interim recall notices in January 2020 informing drivers of the recall, then second notices will be mailed once replacement inflators are available.

Lastly, more than 7,900 model year 1999 BMW 323i and 328i vehicles should not be driven until the Takata airbag inflators are replaced.

The non-azide driver airbag inflators were manufactured by Takata at one specific production facility and could possibly explode or underinflate.

BMW will mail interim notices informing owners of the safety risk on or before December 31, 2019. Owners will then receive second notices when the final remedy becomes available.

Owners of any of the above BMW vehicles may call the automaker at 800-525-7417.