2004 BMW 530I

THE VEHICLE AIRBAG SYSTEM IS MALFUNCTIONING. THERE WERE RECALLS RELATED TO THE BMW BUT MY VEHICLE DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL WHEN I SEARCH BY VIN NUMBER. I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND THEY SAID MY VEHICLE ISN'T COVERED. THE AIRBAG LIGHT AND RESTRAINT LIGHT IS ON AND MY HEAD UNIT SAYS THERE IS A FAULT IN MY PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BMW 530I. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE, "PASS RESTRAINT SYSTEM, FAULT IN PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM, AFFECTING AIR BAG BELT TENSIONER OR BELT FORCE LIMITER" DISPLAYED ACROSS THE MESSAGE BOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR MAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 92,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BMW 530I. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE AIR BAG SENSOR LIGHT AND THE SEAT BELT SENSOR LIGHT WOULD ILLUMINATE ALONG WITH A MESSAGE INDICATING THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT RESTRAINT SYSTEM WAS FAULTY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 108,800.

WHILE DRIVING MY CAR, WITH MY WIFE AS A PASSENGER, I'VE NOTICED THAT THE "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" LIGHT IS STILL ON (EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A PASSENGER IN THE SEAT). I WENT TO THE STEVENS CREEK BMW DEALERSHIP TO DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE AND THEY SAID THAT THE REASON THE PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON IS BECAUSE THE SENSOR IS NOT SENSING A PASSENGER DUE TO CABLE CORROSION. THAT SEEMS ODD, GIVEN I KEEP MY CAR IN THE GARAGE AND IT NEVER HAD ANY WATER DAMAGE. ALSO, I BELIEVE THAT IT IS A POOR ENGINEERING ON BMW'S SIDE, SINCE IN CASE OF CORRODED CABLE OR FAULTY SENSOR THE DEFAULT BEHAVIOR SHOULD BE TO ALWAYS KEEP THE AIRBAG "ON". IT IS BETTER BE SAFE THAN SORRY AND (IN CASE OF ACCIDENT) DEPLOYING AN AIRBAG WHEN THERE IS NO PASSENGER IS BETTER THAN NOT DEPLOYING AN AIRBAG WHEN THERE IS A PASSENGER... THIS IS A CASE OF "POTENTIALLY SAVING SOMEONE'S LIFE" VS "POTENTIALLY SAVING A FEW DOLLARS"... *TR

PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM FAILURE. DUE TO FAULTY PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR MAT. SAME YEAR AND MODEL VEHICLES UNDER RECALL/EXTENDED WARRANTY - FOR UNCLEAR REASONS MY CAR NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL (CHECKED BY VIN AND WITH DEALER) BUT WAS UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY. SPOKE WITH BMW AND THEY ARE UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO EXPLAIN WHY MY CAR IS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL. FAILURE OCCURRED 2 MONTHS AFTER EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRED. SEE NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID # 08V384000. *TR

MY 2004 BMW 530I HAS BOTH THE SEATBELT AND AIRBAG LIGHT ON DISPLAY AT ALL TIMES ON MY DASHBOARD. THESE LIGHTS ON ARE CAUSED BY A FAULTY FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT WHICH BMW HAS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON. AFTER DROPPING MY CAR TO THE BMW DEALERSHIP TO GET THIS REPAIRED, I WAS INFORMED MY EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRED ROUGHLY 2 MONTHS PRIOR AND I CANNOT HAVE THIS WORK PERFORMED UNDER WARRANTY. THEY CHARGED ME $140 FOR THE DIAGNOSTICS AND SAID I WOULD HAVE TO PAY $1050 OUT OF POCKET TO GET REPAIRED. I IMMEDIATELY REACHED OUT TO BMW OF NORTH AMERICA AND INFORMED THEM OF MY SITUATION AS THIS OCCURRED WHILE MY VEHICLE WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. I WAS HOPING THEY COULD FIX MY CAR IN GOOD FAITH AS THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE OR EVEN PROVIDE ME WITH A DISCOUNTED REPAIR. UNFORTUNATELY TWO MONTHS WENT BY WITH NO RESPONSE. WHEN I REACHED OUT AGAIN THEY SAID NO THIS IS NOT THEIR HEADACHE AND I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL COSTS AND REPAIRS RELATED TO THIS. THIS IS A SERIOUS MALFUNCTION WHICH I AM SURPRISED IS NOT CONSIDERED A RECALL. IN THE SAFETY RECALL NOTICE IT SPECIFICALLY STATES IF BOTH WARNING LAMPS ARE ILLUMINATED SIMULTANEOUSLY, BMW RECOMMENDS NOT TO USE THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT UNTIL THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN SERVICED. ALSO, THE SAFETY RECALL NOTICE SAYS THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY EVEN IF A SUFFICIENTLY SEVERE ACCIDENT WOULD OCCUR AND OCCUPANT PROTECTION PROVIDED BY THE SYSTEM WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE. OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE WHICH BMW NEEDS TO ADDRESS. AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON SUCH A SENSITIVE MATTER IS NOT SUFFICIENT AND A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED. *TR

MY VEHICLE IS A 530I WITH A PRODUCTION DATE IN DECEMBER 2003, IT IS MY CONTENTION THAT THE VEHICLE SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO RECALL RCDNN-04V575. DESPITE THE DECEMBER 2004 NOTICE TO NTSHA INDICATING THAT 100% OF VEHICLES WITH THE SEAT HEATING OPTION PRODUCED BETWEEN JUNE 17TH 2003 AND APRIL 30TH 2004. BMW INSISTS THAT MY VEHICLE (PRODUCTION DATE IN DECEMBER 2003 AND CONTAINING THE SEAT HEATER IN QUESTION) IS, ACCORDING TO INTERNAL DOCUMENTS WHICH THEY WILL NOT RELEASE TO ME, NOT IN FACT SUBJECT TO THE RECALL. WHAT I FIND INEXPLICABLE AND BEYOND BELIEF, IS THAT THEY WOULD ISSUE A NOTIFICATION TO NTSHA IN NOVEMBER 2004, A FULL SIX MONTHS AFTER ALLEGEDLY REMEDYING DEFECTS IN CARS PRODUCED FROM MID-MARCH 2004 THROUGH APRIL 30TH 2004 WITHOUT CORRECTING THOSE DATES IN THE NOTIFICATION LETTER. BMW REFUSES TO REPAIR OR EVEN INSPECT MY PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BOLSTER HEATING ELEMENT DESPITE CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT IT IS IN FACT DEFECTIVE AND SUBJECT TO THE RECALL. *TR

THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY DETECTOR HAS A FAULT WHICH INCAPACITATES THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG. THIS CREATES AN EXTREMELY UNSAFE PASSENGER SITUATION IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. THE BMW SBSR SYSTEM SHOWS FAULT 0095B8. THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE IS A KNOWN BMW PROBLEM AND HAS ISSUED A RECALL, BUT BMW HAS INDICATED MY VIN IS NOT COVERED FOR THIS ISSUE FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BMW 530I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG SENSOR REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER:08V384000 (AIR BAGS). THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE FLOOR MAT SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 68,000. UPDATED 01/20/15*LJ THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. UPDATED 01/20/15*JB