[marco_polo]

Anyone else get a letter stating they're subject to a recall? Apparently my (2014) drivers airbag is likely to explode in my face with too much force, sending sharp metal shards to be "released" into the cabin, potentially causing fatalities. 💥💀

Nice.

 

[MrCrashy31]

I haven't received a thing yet and neither is my car showing as any outstanding recalls on the BMW site?
I wonder if I will be receiving this soon too?

 

[DaveR]

Is this still the catchup following the Takata issues, or a new recall? It sounds somewhat like the former.
I had all done on my E46 M3 but even there, the last one wasn't that many years ago.

 

[GeeDee]

Is this still the catchup following the Takata issues, or a new recall? It sounds somewhat like the former.
I had all done on my E46 M3 but even there, the last one wasn't that many years ago.

Not sure if relevant, but the Takata was affecting passenger airbags.

I have received one which is a little ironic as I sold my '07 Impreza which was subject to the Takata airbag recall in 2014/15 affecting many makes and, at the rate the replacements were being manufactured, it could have been 5 years before it was replaced.
Oh well, back to wearing protective goggles!

 

[Nyxeris]

When my E46 had its airbags replaced the service tech told me they’re putting identical ones in because nobody but Takata had the capacity to make them, but they couldn’t make both the redesigned and ‘splodey airbags at the same time so would need 6 months or whatever to retool the production lines. The airbags took 5-10 years to degrade to the point where they can kill you, so they were just swapping like-for-like to buy time.

This would have been around 2015-2017 so during F2x production.

I wonder if they’re just recalling them 10 years after build or something?

 

[pje16]

Anyone else get a letter stating they're subject to a recall? Apparently my (2014) drivers airbag is likely to explode in my face with too much force, sending sharp metal shards to be "released" into the cabin, potentially causing fatalities. 💥💀

Nice.

yes knew I'd seen it somewhere, not sure if it's the same car but the year is the same

https://www.bmwland.org.uk/index.php?threads/airbag-recall-february-2023.4877/

 

[MrHappy]

@marco_polo - what's the approx build date of your car if you don't mind me asking? Mine is a Nov 2013 built, but 2014 registered car. No letter so far - I also have the standard wheel on mine, not the optional (at this point) msport one (that goes walkies a lot)

Wonder if it only relates to 2014-built cars? There's nothing showing on the BMW recall checker against my VIN.

 

[marco_polo]

@marco_polo - what's the approx build date of your car if you don't mind me asking? Mine is a Nov 2013 built, but 2014 registered car. No letter so far - I also have the standard wheel on mine, not the optional (at this point) msport one (that goes walkies a lot)

Wonder if it only relates to 2014-built cars? There's nothing showing on the BMW recall checker against my VIN.

Mine's a Week-10, 2014 F21, with the later small round airbag. This style:

 

[MrHappy]

Cheers for that, I'll keep an eye on the postbox over the next week or so, but it'd be nice to hear from other recipients if they also have the round airbag and what their approximate build date is.

 

[MarkmacRS]

Cheers for that, I'll keep an eye on the postbox over the next week or so, but it'd be nice to hear from other recipients if they also have the round airbag and what their approximate build date is.

You don’t have to wait for a letter. For safety recalls, which this sounds very much like you can search in the .gov website where you check your MOT status, there is a drop down menu at the bottom to check for an safety recalls linked to your car.

 

[swanny71]

I got the same letter yesterday, round airbag, Sep 2014 build.

 

[ASB1960]

I got mine this morning. June 14 build.

 

[MrHappy]

You don’t have to wait for a letter. For safety recalls, which this sounds very much like you can search in the .gov website where you check your MOT status, there is a drop down menu at the bottom to check for an safety recalls linked to your car.

Definitely, I've already done that, and checked the BMW recalls page (https://www.bmw.co.uk/en/footer/quick-links/bmw-vehicle-recalls.html) and neither show my car listed.

I was thining last night, this recall could have wider-ranging implications as well, if it's confined to the msport wheel airbag (which is a complete assumption at this point) there could be hundreds of airbags out there potentially degrading/degraded which have been installed into cars outside the recall range as the msport wheel is a very popular mod / upgrade, that won't be contacted by BMW on this campaign.

 

[Bimmert]

Having the airbag changed might be a good opportunity to change the steering wheel to an alcantara wheel as you are already two thirds there, after popping out the airbag the only steps left is transferring the buttons and replacing the wheel itself.

I installed one from Royal Steering Wheels myself and its the best mod I've done so far, the wheel glides better through the hands and the hands are less sweaty which is a big bonus on long drives. Its also one of the few mods which is in your field of view while actually driving whereas most other mods can only be appreciated visually when parked.

 

[DaveR]

Not sure if relevant, but the Takata was affecting passenger airbags.

I have received one which is a little ironic as I sold my '07 Impreza which was subject to the Takata airbag recall in 2014/15 affecting many makes and, at the rate the replacements were being manufactured, it could have been 5 years before it was replaced.
Oh well, back to wearing protective goggles!

Yeah Takata was at the heart of it, affecting many brands. When it first emerged I found it quite shocking that the reality of it all was not generally understood over here, despite the injuries and fatalities that happened elsewhere. Should anyone not appreciate the issue, my understanding was that it was a temperature/humidity related trigger which is why there was more media coverage in the US/AsiaPac.

When my E46 had its airbags replaced the service tech told me they’re putting identical ones in because nobody but Takata had the capacity to make them, but they couldn’t make both the redesigned and ‘splodey airbags at the same time so would need 6 months or whatever to retool the production lines. The airbags took 5-10 years to degrade to the point where they can kill you, so they were just swapping like-for-like to buy time.

This would have been around 2015-2017 so during F2x production.

I wonder if they’re just recalling them 10 years after build or something?

When the recalls were going out for E46 M3s over here, there seemed to be little logic to it at all, in fact I recall dealerships responding to recall comms sent out by BMW UK, but being unable to book many in due to lack of stock. I was actually pretty lucky getting the needed replacements pretty quickly compared to many, and as I had no follow up letters, can only assume mine got the improved design. I hadn't heard about the like for like replacement using some wet finger in the air to estimate how long they'd be good for, but nothing would surprise me.I guess the only consolation if that's true, is that ambient climate over here doesn't regularly reach anything like that seen in worse affected regions.

Not an insignificant issue, and I'd wager most here are not aware of the scale of injury/death without looking it up, so I'm pretty sure efforts were made to downplay it all - certainly when I discussed it at dealers, I gained the impression I knew more of the reality than they admitted to....

 

[rob180bhp]

Not sure if relevant, but the Takata was affecting passenger airbags.

I have received one which is a little ironic as I sold my '07 Impreza which was subject to the Takata airbag recall in 2014/15 affecting many makes and, at the rate the replacements were being manufactured, it could have been 5 years before it was replaced.
Oh well, back to wearing protective goggles!

Takata make air bags for alot of manufacturers...I have been changing them for the passed 10 years on Mitsubishi vehicles, some cars have had multiple recalls on them

 

[MSM]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takata_Corporation

I had this recall on my last Subaru. Whilst it is thought the problem is exacerbated by long term exposure to hot and humid weather/environments, it would make sense to get your recalled airbag replaced soon purely to ensure that you don’t become a cautionary tale from our cooler climate.

 

[Major_Sarcasm]

So the common theme so far is 2014 cars? If that's so, then I guess they might be replacing them when they get to a certain age. Next year they'll recall 2015 cars and so on.

 

[marco_polo]

So the common theme so far is 2014 cars? If that's so, then I guess they might be replacing them when they get to a certain age. Next year they'll recall 2015 cars and so on.

Yes, I’m sure you’re correct. I’m guessing my letter was one of the first sent out, as my car would have been one of the very first 1ers with the later round airbags. Chronological.

 

[Major_Sarcasm]

I've just put my mate's 14 plate M235i registration into the BMW recall checker and his has a safety recall showing, presumably for the claymore on the steering wheel.