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NHTSA campaign 19V015000

BMW Recall 19V-015: Inflators In Sports Steering Wheels May Explode

  • 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 19V015000 was reported by BMW of North America, LLC on January 14, 2019, with 157,549 vehicles potentially affected (per NHTSA). NHTSA's record lists the BMW X5 SAV, BMW 525I, BMW 530I and more for model years 2000–2004. Owners were notified on March 14, 2019, 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 19V015000 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
19V015000 (also written 19V-015 or 19V015)
Filed by
BMW of North America, LLC
Report received
Potentially affected
157,549 vehicles (per NHTSA)
Component
Air Bags — Frontal — Driver Side — Inflator Module
Owners notified

Repair completion: 23.18% (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 19V015000. 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

  • BMW 525I

    • 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 · Vehicles built September 1, 2000 – July 4, 2003 (per NHTSA)

  • BMW 530I

    • 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 · Vehicles built September 1, 2000 – July 2, 2003 (per NHTSA)

  • BMW 540I

    • 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 · Vehicles built September 1, 2000 – July 4, 2003 (per NHTSA)

  • BMW X5 SAV

All BMW recalls

NHTSA's recall notice

As NHTSA's recall record states it for campaign 19V015000.

Defect description

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2000-2003 525i Sedan, 530i Sedan, 540i Sedan, 2001-2003 525i Sports Wagon and 540i Sports Wagon vehicles, and 2000-2004 X5 SAV 3.0i, X5 SAV 4.4i, and X5 SAV 4.6is vehicles. This recall affects certain vehicles where the original steering wheel has been replaced with the optional sports steering wheel. The sports steering wheel has a frontal air bag inflator that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Safety consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp 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 vehicle for an optional sports steering wheel with an affected inflator. Dealers will replace the air bag module as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 14, 2019. 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.

Sources

Official NHTSA notice for recall 19V015000

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.