Baby BMW Forum banner

Recall - F2* Drivers Airbag

9K views 71 replies 27 participants last post by  M135GUY 
#1 ·
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.
 
#42 ·
Car is booked (back) in next week for major service - no air bag supply so the car will sit with them until stock lands 😬
 
#47 ·
I doubt many of us will have much of a choice.
We have a car because we need a car.

If the affected cars are unsafe to drive then BMW ought to collect the cars from owners and issue a temporary vehicle until the affected car can be repaired.
 
  • Like
Reactions: willnightingale77
#49 ·
That would be somewhat impractical. I am not quite sure where the auto industry could magic up a few million loan cars from. This programme has been ongoing for years.

Though the fact does remain that in a certain type of accident with a number of other very unlikely factors the excessive explosion can cause injury. (There are about 30 fatalities attributed worldwide, though it's very unclear as to whether they would have been survivable otherwise).

The NHTSA in the States did actually issue a stop driving order for a few models and prioritised those.

The risk here in the UK is considerably lower than most places because the problem is largely climate related.

There has been one known fatality as a result of airbag deployment in the Uk. This predates awareness of this issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: willnightingale77
#50 ·
I got a letter last week for this recall on my November 2015 built M235i. My friends 2015 X5 40d also had the same recall.
 
#51 · (Edited)
I just got back from holiday to find the very serious red printer recall letter. It’s the first letter so will have to wait for the second letter to arrange booking it in.
Mine is a APRIL (not June) 2015 build pre LCI m135i (with the updated steering wheel)
Funny thing is, my local independent BMW garage told me I have an outstanding recall a few weeks ago but didn’t know what for. When I called BMW they said I had no recalls outstanding.. BUT I DID!!
Are they just replacing the entire airbag?
 
#52 ·
Car was dropped off for the major service - thankfully they managed to source the airbag part so the car was sorted and ready to collect two days after drop off to my absolute relief. I have since received my first recall letter. Mine is a July 2015 build - apparently they are working through the cars in build date order.
 
#54 · (Edited)
Finally, after 3 months of calls/emails etc I’m booked in for 29th August. They (Exeter BMW) have never called me back I have had to chase them, suspect part of the issue is they now use a ‘central booking system’ for the whole group.
Been a shambles from the start, obvious bull**** excuses and crap customer service.
They also say it takes a full day “for programming the airbag” - more bull****.

(Sep 2014 car, got the 2nd letter on 17th March)
 
#57 ·
Finally, after 3 months of calls/emails etc I’m booked in for 29th August. They (Exeter BMW) have never called me back I have had to chase them, suspect part of the issue is they now use a ‘central booking system’ for the whole group.
Been a shambles from the start, obvious bull**** excuses and crap customer service.
They also say it takes a full day “for programming the airbag” - more bull****.

(Sep 2014 car, got the 2nd letter on 17th March)
They offering a courtesy car?
 
#55 ·
Is the common factor amongst the affected vehicles still the round airbag/msport wheel combo and not the old triangular-shaped one?

If so, there's gonna be a lot of people running round with affected airbags unknowingly - never being advised of the recall, being that this is a popular modification and BMW can only go by the original equipment fitted to the car.
 
#56 ·
How long have people had between their first letter and second? I had my first well over a month ago and still not had a second letter!
 
#62 ·
For me I used Irvine in Bridgwater and Dick Lovett in Bath (now closed).

Irvine got bought out by Westerley and they were a touch worse, couple of issues with a mini service pack (2nd brake fluid change refused - which was included - because it wasn't showing as required on the key. This was because they had reset it.)

Then they got acquired by Vertu. The initial merging of systems was dire. Everything disappeared into a black hole in the booking system and it took many attempts to get it booked in.

If Exeter are a bit better I will pass that onto my daughter, she uses Bridgwater for her lease but they jever have a courtesy, always fail to be ready and so on. She's in Exeter frequently so it kay be a better option.
 
#63 ·
When Exeter were Westerly I thought they were pretty good.
Recent experience (of their admin/booking services) means I would no longer recommend them. I’ll report back when/if they manage to do the airbag swap in August.
 
#66 ·
Will the software update mess up peoples cars that have had CarPlay/remaps etc?
 
#68 ·
If they need to update the car's I-Level before they can apply the software to the MRS module, and that I-Level update includes the DME and iDrive, then yes. It would overwrite any remaps and would bootloop the iDrive unit if CarPlay was activated through unauthorised means.

Every car will be different, and the techs probably won't know the extent of the necessary updates until the test plan is in process (hence saying they need it all day to cover their backs). If you've activated CarPlay, your safest bet would be to put the iDrive back to stock for the visit, then re-enable CarPlay afterwards.
 
#70 ·
Got the airbag done today.
As expected (hoped) it only took an hour or so - no coding required and it would appear they didn’t even disconnect the battery (all trips, average mpg and speeds didn’t reset).
Better late than never.

Also had a poke about in their new M2 demo - huge and fugly as hell. Don’t want one.
 
#71 ·
I've still not had my second letter ! It's been 2 or 3 months since the first.
 
#72 ·
I don’t think the 2nd letter is coming.. I went in to my local BMW showroom 2 weeks ago just to check out the new m2 that was parked outside but I used the airbag recall as an excuse to be there. All they told me was to call up and book it in.
You can actually book in recalls via the my bmw app as well I think. I’ll get round to sorting it one day
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top