NHTSA campaign 99V063001

BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE Recall 99V063001: BMW/SIDE DOOR AIR BAGS

Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

NHTSA recall 99V063001 was reported by BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE on November 15, 1999, with 16,749 vehicles potentially affected (per NHTSA). NHTSA's record lists the BMW M3 for model years 1997–1999. Owners were notified on February 7, 2000, 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 99V063001 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: 99V063001
Filed by: BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE
Report received: November 15, 1999
Potentially affected: 16,749 vehicles (per NHTSA)
Component: Air Bags — Side/Window
Owners notified: February 7, 2000
NHTSA investigation: Recall Query RQ99-018 (per NHTSA's investigations file)

Vehicles listed for this recall

NHTSA's recall record lists these vehicles for recall 99V063001. 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 M3
- 1997, 1998, 1999 · Vehicles built March 1, 1997 – August 31, 1999 (per NHTSA)

All BMW recalls

NHTSA's recall notice

As NHTSA's recall record states it for campaign 99V063001.

Defect description

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE VEHICLES ARE BUILT WITH A SIDE AIR BAG SYSTEM CONSISTING OF DOOR-MOUNTED THORAX AIR BAGS (REAR DOOR AIR BAGS ARE OPTIONAL), A CENTRAL ELECTRONIC SENSOR AND DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM, LEFT AND RIGHT SATELLITE IMPACT SENSORS, AND ASSOCIATED WIRING. THIS SYSTEM IS UNDULY SENSITIVE TO CERTAIN NON-CRASH IMPACTS, SUCH AS CONTACTING LARGE POTHOLES OR CURBS AT SUBSTANTIAL SPEED.

Safety consequence

THIS COULD CAUSE THE SIDE AIR BAG TO DEPLOY WITHOUT AN ACTUAL SIDE CRASH. IN ADDITION, THE BATTERY SAFETY TERMINAL (BST) COULD ALSO ACTIVATE, DISCONNECTING THE STARTER CABLE FROM THE BATTERY. IN THIS CASE, THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM COULD CONTINUE TO OPERATE AND THE ENGINE WOULD CONTINUE TO RUN, BUT AFTER STOPPING, COULD NOT BE RESTARTED.

Manufacturer remedy

DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE CENTRAL COMPUTER CONTROL MODULE THAT REGULATES THE PERFORMANCE OF ALL OF THE VEHICLE'S OCCUPANT PROTECTION SYSTEMS.

Notes

OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN FEBRUARY 7, 2000. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT BMW AT 1-800-831-1117. ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Sources

Official NHTSA notice for recall 99V063001

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.