NHTSA vehicle safety data
2002 BMW 525 Recalls & Complaints
The 2002 BMW 525 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign on file as of October 21, 2026. try.vin has no NHTSA owner complaints on file for the 2002 BMW 525. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized BMW dealer.
NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2002 BMW 525. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.
Driver's Frontal Air Bag Inflator may Rupture
NHTSA #17V047000 · Air Bags — Frontal — Driver Side — Inflator Module · NHTSA notice
Reported January 20, 2017 · BMW of North America, LLC
Potentially affected: 230,117 vehicles
Repair completion: 24.66% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated October 21, 2026)
Owners notified March 15, 2017 · Vehicles built September 1, 2000 – February 28, 2002 (per NHTSA) · Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation
Defect description
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2000-2002 BMW 320i, 323i, 325i, 325xi, 330i, 330xi, 323Ci, 325Ci, 330Ci, M3, 323iT, 325iT and 325xiT vehicles, 2001-2002 525i, 530i, 540i, M5, 525iT and 540iT vehicles, and 2001-2003 X5 3.0i, X5 4.4i, and X5 4.6is vehicles. These vehicles may have had a driver-side air bag module installed as replacement equipment such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bag, or as a remedy part for a prior recall. These replacement modules contain an air bag inflator that may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to lower absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Safety consequence
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Manufacturer remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the vehicle has been remedied. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver side air bag module, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 15, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Other BMW 525 model years
Check your 2002 BMW 525 VIN
Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your BMW 525 at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
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