Photo: BMW / edited
How long has it been since Takata airbags were deemed way too risky in case of a crash? The saga began roughly ten years ago with the recall of 3.6 million vehicles equipped with deadly airbags produced by TK Holdings in Mexico. Countless injuries and fatalities later, the Japanese corporation declared bankruptcy in 2017, only to be purchased by a Chinese-owned company headquartered in the US.
That company is Key Safety Systems, and following the acquisition, said company became Key Safety Systems. 2017 may have been six years ago, but alas, many owners of Takata-equipped vehicles haven't fixed their vehicles with replacement airbags. It should be highlighted that replacements are much safer than the original design, which uses a propellant that becomes unstable due to humidity and temperature fluctuations. The degraded chemicals in said propellant may lead to the rupture of the airbag inflator upon deployment. Metal pieces are then spewed toward the driver and passengers at high velocities.
Since 2009, airbags produced with the propellant described earlier have killed 33 people worldwide. That's only the official figure, mind you. Of those, 24 were killed in the United States, where approximately 400 injuries were also reported. BMW is aware that many owners of vehicles equipped with the faulty airbags haven't replaced them with brand-new units at no charge whatsoever. The Bavarian manufacturer and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have upgraded the open recall on said vehicles to a Do Not Drive order, which isn't exactly an order for it cannot be enforced.
Even so, BMW took upon itself to send notifications by email and first-class mail to affected owners. Think of it as BMW trying to wash the sins of Takata, a defunct supplier that fooled pretty much every automaker out there for way too many years. Owners are further urged to bring their vehicles in for the remedy, with BMW underlining that replacement airbags are readily available for all the recalled vehicles.
Approximately 90,000 vehicles are included in the Do Not Drive order and recall, beginning with the E46-generation 3 Series from the 2000 through 2006 model years. The M3 as well, yes! Next up, there's the 2000 to 2003 model year 5 Series from the E39 generation, ranging from the lowliest of specifications to the V8-powered M5. The final entry comes in the form of the 2000 to 2004 model year X5 from the E53 generation, which is BMW's first-ever sport utility vehicle.
The older these vehicles get – and they're already 17 to 22 years old – the bigger the risk to the driver and passengers in the event of a deployment. Owners can use either BMW's portal or the NHTSA's vehicle identification number look-up tool to confirm if their vehicles are indeed eligible for brand-new airbags.
Since 2009, airbags produced with the propellant described earlier have killed 33 people worldwide. That's only the official figure, mind you. Of those, 24 were killed in the United States, where approximately 400 injuries were also reported. BMW is aware that many owners of vehicles equipped with the faulty airbags haven't replaced them with brand-new units at no charge whatsoever. The Bavarian manufacturer and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have upgraded the open recall on said vehicles to a Do Not Drive order, which isn't exactly an order for it cannot be enforced.
Even so, BMW took upon itself to send notifications by email and first-class mail to affected owners. Think of it as BMW trying to wash the sins of Takata, a defunct supplier that fooled pretty much every automaker out there for way too many years. Owners are further urged to bring their vehicles in for the remedy, with BMW underlining that replacement airbags are readily available for all the recalled vehicles.
Approximately 90,000 vehicles are included in the Do Not Drive order and recall, beginning with the E46-generation 3 Series from the 2000 through 2006 model years. The M3 as well, yes! Next up, there's the 2000 to 2003 model year 5 Series from the E39 generation, ranging from the lowliest of specifications to the V8-powered M5. The final entry comes in the form of the 2000 to 2004 model year X5 from the E53 generation, which is BMW's first-ever sport utility vehicle.
The older these vehicles get – and they're already 17 to 22 years old – the bigger the risk to the driver and passengers in the event of a deployment. Owners can use either BMW's portal or the NHTSA's vehicle identification number look-up tool to confirm if their vehicles are indeed eligible for brand-new airbags.
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