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NHTSA campaign 15V318000

BMW Recall 15V-318: Driver Frontal Air Bag Inflator May Rupture

  • Do not drive
  • Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

Owners are advised not to drive these vehicles until the recall repair is done.

NHTSA recall 15V318000 was reported by BMW of North America, LLC on May 28, 2015, with 419,235 vehicles potentially affected (per NHTSA). NHTSA's record lists the BMW 325CI, BMW 330CI, BMW M3 and more for model years 2002–2006. Owners were notified on August 19, 2016, per NHTSA.

Updated daily from NHTSA's recall files

Is my vehicle included?

This page lists, by model year, the vehicles NHTSA's recall record names for campaign 15V318000 in the model years try.vin imports (1995 and later); NHTSA's own record can list more. A model year on the list doesn't mean every vehicle of that year is included, and some may already have been repaired.

To see whether a specific vehicle is included and still needs the repair, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

BMW VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.

Key facts

NHTSA campaign
15V318000 (also written 15V-318 or 15V318)
Filed by
BMW of North America, LLC
Report received
Potentially affected
419,235 vehicles (per NHTSA)
Component
Air Bags — Frontal — Driver Side — Inflator Module
Owners notified

Repair completion: 33.39% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated October 21, 2026)

NHTSA cautions against comparing completion rates across recalls or manufacturers. How try.vin reads them.

Vehicles listed for this recall

NHTSA's recall record lists these vehicles for recall 15V318000. try.vin imports model years 1995 and later, so NHTSA's own list can be longer. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to it. Build dates are NHTSA's range for a model year (per NHTSA); a vehicle built in that range is not necessarily included.

BMW

All BMW recalls

NHTSA's recall notice

As NHTSA's recall record states it for campaign 15V318000.

Defect description

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2002-2005 325i, 325xi, 330i, and 330xi Sedans, and 325xi and 325i Sportswagons, 2002-2006 330Ci, 325Ci, and M3 Convertibles and 325i, 330i, and M3 Coupes, 2002-2003 M5, 540i, 525i Sedan, and 530i Sedans, and 540i and 525i Sportswagons, and 2003 X5 3.0i and 4.4i Sports Activity Vehicles. Please note that the 5-series and X5 vehicles are only included if they are equipped with the optional sports steering wheel. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.

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 replace the front driver air bag module, free of charge. The recall began Aug 2016. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Note: This recall supersedes recall 14V-348 in its entirety. Additionally, vehicles that have had their driver side frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Note: On December 17, 2015 BMW removed the model year 2004 X5 3.0i and 4.4i Sports Activity vehicle from this recall. Those vehicles were mistakenly identified as including the air bags that are subject to this recall.

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.

Sources

Official NHTSA notice for recall 15V318000

Campaign details come from NHTSA's recall files, which try.vin imports once a day. The plain-language subject and the completion rate come from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Recalls Data dataset. How try.vin reads recall data.