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Airbags in the BMW 7 Series and i7 May Deactivate Due to a Software Issue

The first-generation 7 Series had little in the way of electronic wizardry to its name. Although it had introduced many electronic features to the German brand, including the first production application of anti-lock brakes in a BMW, the E23 is a typewriter compared to the rack-mounted Mac Pro that is the seventh-gen G70.
2023 BMW i7 52 photos
Photo: BMW / edited by autoevolution
2023 BMW 760i xDrive Interior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Interior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Interior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Interior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Interior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Interior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Interior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Interior with the Illuminated Interaction Bar2023 BMW 760i xDrive Interior with the Illuminated Interaction Bar2023 BMW 760i xDrive Exterior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Exterior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Exterior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Exterior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Exterior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Exterior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Exterior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Exterior2023 BMW 760i xDrive Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Interior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Interior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Interior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Grille Contour Lighting2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Exterior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 with BMW Theatre Screen2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 with BMW Theatre Screen2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Executive Lounge2023 BMW i7 xDrive60's Door Panel 5.5-inch Touchscreen2023 BMW i7 xDrive60's Door Panel 5.5-inch Touchscreen2023 BMW i7 xDrive60's Door Panel 5.5-inch Touchscreen2023 BMW i7 xDrive60's Door Panel 5.5-inch Touchscreen2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Infotainment2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Interior2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 Interior2023 BMW 7 Series Product Highlights2023 BMW 7 Series Product Highlights2023 BMW 7 Series Product Highlights2023 BMW 7 Series Product Highlights2023 BMW 7 Series Product Highlights
Loads of electronics make sure that everything is perfectly so in the latest and greatest 7er ever, from the way the air circulates in the cabin when you turn on the climate control to the way power is delivered to the wheels, and everything in between. These electronics are programmed to do these things, and as you’re well aware, the code that governs the electronic brains of the 7 Series was written by humans. It’s in our nature to make mistakes, and – obviously enough – software is never perfect either.

Incorrectly written code is the root cause of the recall we’re covering today, a recall that began with a quality check at the Dingolfing assembly plant in Germany. In November 2022, during said quality check, a worker noticed that a 735i produced to European specifications displayed an airbag system warning message. Although everything seemed to be fine, the automaker started an engineering review out of an abundance of caution.

The investigation understandably included an examination of the vehicle systems information. BMW identified no fewer than four vehicles containing the diagnostic information in which the airbag warning message had been displayed. That month, an i7 produced to European specifications experienced a similar condition to the combustion-engined vehicle mentioned earlier.

BMW could have initiated a recall then and there, knowing that something was badly off. But as it didn’t have the full picture of this concern, the German automaker preferred to continue investigating while keeping a close eye on newly built 7 Series and i7s.

It was January 2023 when BMW finally cracked the mystery. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a software coding issue of the seat position control unit is the blame. Certain seat position monitoring routines may not recognize the seat position and communicate invalid information to the airbag and restraint system control unit. This sets a failsafe mode, which means that the airbags won’t deploy in the event of a crash. All of the potentially affected vehicles are rocking the Executive Lounge Seating Package.

Over in the United States, where the NHTSA is based, 397 vehicles are recalled in total. The list kicks off with 305 examples of the 760i xDrive produced for the 2023 model year between July 5th, 2022 and January 24th, 2023. The i7 is called back to the tune of 92 units of the xDrive60.

Dealers in the United States have already been instructed to perform a software update to address this condition. Owners can expect a BMW-branded envelope to arrive by first-class mail any day now, no later than March 28th.
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 Download: 2023 BMW i7 and 7 Series airbag recall (PDF)

About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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