BMW announces recall of 1.6 mn cars over air-bag defect
17 Jul 2014
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) has announced the recall of 1.6 million cars globally for a front-passenger air-bag defect that had led manufacturers including Honda Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp to recall for repair millions of vehicles.
According to the Munich-based company's statement today, BMW 3-Series models produced from May 1999 to August 2006 should be brought to the company to fix bag-inflation devices.
The project adds to a 240,000-car recall for the flaw in vehicles built in 2001 through 2003, announced in mid-2013 (See: BMW to recall over 140,000 cars in China over defects in steering system). The company further said autos already brought in under that programme did not need to be repaired.
The faulty inflaters, from Japanese supplier Takata Corp, led to mass recalls at Toyota, Honda and Nissan Motor Co of over 5 million vehicles last month.
BMW said today it was not aware of incidents related to air bags in its cars. The company further added that fixing the vehicle took about an hour.
Scrutiny of potential safety flaws in the auto industry had been increasing, with recalls in the first six months or 2014 exceeding that of any other full year on record.
General Motors Co which accounts for about two-thirds of that total, was being investigated for taking years to recall millions of vehicles for faulty ignition switches.
BMW is one among several automakers hit by a faulty airbag supply.
According to the luxury car maker, the recall formed part of a ''voluntary precautionary measure'' aimed at minimising the risk of faulty airbag activation.
According to the luxury car maker, the recall related to cars for the model years 2000 to 2006.
The Wall Street Journal reported that an airbag component made by one of BMWs suppliers, Tokyo-based Takata Corp, could explode under certain circumstances. The airbag defect had prompted the recall of 10 million vehicles by seven affected automakers since 2009.
The US accounts for about a third of the BMW cars to be recalled. The company said it would bear the cost of replacement.
