The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, MINI Hardtop 4 Door Cooper, Mini Hardtop 4 Door Cooper S, MINI Cooper Clubman, and Cooper S Clubman, 2017 Rolls-Royce Ghost, and 2016 528i vehicles. The vehicle-sensitive locking mechanism of the seat belt Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) for the driver's seat may not lock as designed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
The risk
In the event of a crash where heavy braking is applied, the Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) may activate when the occupant is more forward in the seat, possibly increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 3, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| BMW 528i | 2016 |
| BMW X1 | 2016, 2017 |
| MINI Cooper | 2017 |
| MINI Cooper Convertible | 2016 |
| MINI Cooper S | 2016, 2017 |
| Rolls-Royce Ghost | 2017 |
Components: SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMW 528i | 2016 | 59 | 4 |
| BMW X1 | 2016 | 159 | 3 |
| BMW X1 | 2017 | 156 | 2 |
| MINI Cooper | 2017 | 28 | 3 |
| MINI Cooper Convertible | 2016 | 13 | 3 |
| MINI Cooper S | 2016 | 9 | 3 |
| MINI Cooper S | 2017 | 6 | 3 |
| Rolls-Royce Ghost | 2017 | 0 | 1 |
Other seat belts recalls in 2016
24 of the 919 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2016 concerned the seat belts; BMW of North America, LLC filed 347 campaigns in all.
| 16V942000 29 Dec 2016 | Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC |
| 16V955000 29 Dec 2016 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 16V940000 28 Dec 2016 | Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC |
| 16V875000 5 Dec 2016 | Ford Motor Company |
| 16V853000 28 Nov 2016 | Midwest Automotive Designs, LLC |
| 16V829000 16 Nov 2016 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 16V798000 2 Nov 2016 | Volvo Car USA LLC |
| 16V711000 5 Oct 2016 | Daimler Trucks North America LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2016