The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2017 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i and 540i xDrive and 2017-2018 530e xDrive vehicles. Prior exposure to excessive levels of humidity within the driver and passenger head air bag inflators may affect the proper deployment of the head air bags.
The risk
In the event of a crash of sufficient severity, deployment of the head air bag may be impaired and/or the igniter could separate from the inflator, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left or right head air bag, free of charge. The recall began June 24, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| BMW 530e | 2017, 2018 |
| BMW 530i | 2017 |
| BMW 540i | 2017 |
Components: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL | AIR BAGS | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
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 530e | 2017 | 0 | 1 |
| BMW 530e | 2018 | 29 | 4 |
| BMW 530i | 2017 | 18 | 1 |
| BMW 540i | 2017 | 20 | 1 |
Other air bags recalls in 2020
45 of the 782 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2020 concerned the air bags; BMW of North America, LLC filed 347 campaigns in all.
| 20V791000 17 Dec 2020 | Ford Motor Company |
| 20V785000 16 Dec 2020 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 20V749000 2 Dec 2020 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 20V747000 1 Dec 2020 | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| 20V736000 25 Nov 2020 | General Motors LLC |
| 20V734000 25 Nov 2020 | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing |
| 20V681000 4 Nov 2020 | Volvo Car USA LLC |
| 20V628000 9 Oct 2020 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2020