Airbag recall on e46!

Airbag recall on e46!

Author
Discussion

loose cannon

6,028 posts

240 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
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Still not had mine yet, think it's time to ring the dealer now, as I've only had the one letter

to3m

1,226 posts

169 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
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I called them last month and found out the parts were (finally) in, despite not having received the call I was promised on 3 occasions I'd receive that would tell me this. So it might be worth giving them a ring - if you're not their Xmas card list I doubt you're really a high priority for them wink

While they had my car they did give the car a sympathy wash, which was nice of them, and filled the aircon with that funny-smelling stuff that smells to me a bit like a cross between cherries and marker pens. I was also given a piece of paper telling me it has been through their visual checklist and passed every single one with flying colours.

I assume they did the airbag as well, but I haven't had a chance to test it out yet.

verbarthe

73 posts

195 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
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As per my previous post mine got done today at Calderton Inverness, now Harry Fairbairn , can t fault the service I got although I m very glad I insisted they NOT wash my car at the service desk ,and also left signs in the car as a reminder, as when on walkabout round the place I saw a guy washing cars with a pressure washer and a sweeping brush , swirl mark city for sure .

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Friday 29th May 2015
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Booked mine in today for a while-you-wait job at Sytner in Ascot on 16 June.

Never had any problems there so should be sorted soon.

browna

334 posts

182 months

Thursday 4th June 2015
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yep got a call yesterday, booked in a couple of weeks time and offered a lift to work, they can wash mine if they want, doubt could make the tiered paint any worse lol.

tenchiten

10 posts

106 months

Saturday 6th June 2015
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Mine was done last week at Wilmslow. Took 90 mins and at least they ask if you want the complimentary wash and vac !

Sardonicus

18,928 posts

220 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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All done on saturday after an hour and a half even vacuumed the interior wink told me I had a nail in the front tyre so they obviously inspected it too yes

V8covin

7,212 posts

192 months

Friday 12th June 2015
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I phoned BMW this week and was told that letters were being sent out to inform owners that stocks were in...what a coincidence !
Anyway rang my local dealer who couldn't put me thru to the appropriate person but promised to ring me back.Still waiting for that call.
Having owned BMWs for the past 16 years I've never found my local dealer anything other than totally hopeless frown

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Sunday 14th June 2015
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V8covin said:
I phoned BMW this week and was told that letters were being sent out to inform owners that stocks were in...what a coincidence !
Anyway rang my local dealer who couldn't put me thru to the appropriate person but promised to ring me back.Still waiting for that call.
Having owned BMWs for the past 16 years I've never found my local dealer anything other than totally hopeless frown
Shame - I've never had a problem with my local dealer.

Hope you get it sorted!thumbup

cannonballcavie

3 posts

212 months

Saturday 9th January 2016
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I didn't know about this issue until I just Googled it! My son bought a E46 318 last year on a W reg. Monday evening he hit a pot hole and two air bags deployed hitting his passenger and breaking his glasses!! My son phoned BMW who told him that there was a recall on his car but as it was an import from Belgium he may not have had the letter!!? It's a right hand drive uk spec vehicle.... They told him to take it in and they would sort the issues at no cost to him, which he done. When he collected the car all they had done was replace the faulty sensor, leaving both air bags in place which one of them was across his passenger window and blocking his mirror. When he asked why they hadn't replaced the air bags or removed them, they told him that the air bags wasn't part of the recall! So hold on then, BMW admit that there is a fault with a major part of the safety system, but won't admit that the fault was the cause of the airbags deploying! It's basically left my son without a car and no way of getting it repaired. Thanks BMW, guess I will be buying Porsche's from now on then...

LunarOne

5,090 posts

136 months

Saturday 9th January 2016
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cannonballcavie said:
Thanks BMW, guess I will be buying Porsche's from now on then...
Porsche's what? Airbags? I doubt they will fit.

RyanTank

2,850 posts

153 months

Saturday 9th January 2016
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cannonballcavie said:
I didn't know about this issue until I just Googled it! My son bought a E46 318 last year on a W reg. Monday evening he hit a pot hole and two air bags deployed hitting his passenger and breaking his glasses!! My son phoned BMW who told him that there was a recall on his car but as it was an import from Belgium he may not have had the letter!!? It's a right hand drive uk spec vehicle.... They told him to take it in and they would sort the issues at no cost to him, which he done. When he collected the car all they had done was replace the faulty sensor, leaving both air bags in place which one of them was across his passenger window and blocking his mirror. When he asked why they hadn't replaced the air bags or removed them, they told him that the air bags wasn't part of the recall! So hold on then, BMW admit that there is a fault with a major part of the safety system, but won't admit that the fault was the cause of the airbags deploying! It's basically left my son without a car and no way of getting it repaired. Thanks BMW, guess I will be buying Porsche's from now on then...
I'm pretty sure the fault with the recalled airbags was down the them not deploying, or in certain situations the pressurised tube exploding sending shrapnel out with it.
Perhaps your son really walloped the pothole (or whatever it may have been but told you it was a pothole) with enough force causing the system to go off.

It's been quite public that only certain build numbers have been affected, a neighbours x reg 46 hasnt been called for instance, whereas my 03 was.
They've also made it clear that they only replace the faulty product, in this case the airbag, and will not turn off any lights relating to the airbag system if it was on when the car went in. There's pages and pages of stuff on some forums about people assuming they'd have fixed their dodgy sensors or turned the light off so it didnt fail the MOT's.

Imagine if they fitted brand new airbags to cars brought in with them deployed after "johnny boy" bought an unrecorded damaged one from a breaker/scrapper/ebay and got new bags free of charge under this recall. Loads would be at it!

4rephill

5,040 posts

177 months

Saturday 9th January 2016
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cannonballcavie said:
I didn't know about this issue until I just Googled it! My son bought a E46 318 last year on a W reg. Monday evening he hit a pot hole and two air bags deployed hitting his passenger and breaking his glasses!! My son phoned BMW who told him that there was a recall on his car but as it was an import from Belgium he may not have had the letter!!? It's a right hand drive uk spec vehicle.... They told him to take it in and they would sort the issues at no cost to him, which he done. When he collected the car all they had done was replace the faulty sensor, leaving both air bags in place which one of them was across his passenger window and blocking his mirror. When he asked why they hadn't replaced the air bags or removed them, they told him that the air bags wasn't part of the recall! So hold on then, BMW admit that there is a fault with a major part of the safety system, but won't admit that the fault was the cause of the airbags deploying! It's basically left my son without a car and no way of getting it repaired. Thanks BMW, guess I will be buying Porsche's from now on then...
I think you need to read up on the details of the BMW E46 airbag recall! (From: http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/e... ) :

PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG MAY FAIL TO DEPLOY CORRECTLY

Description :"The subject vehicles are equipped with front passenger airbag inflators which could have been assembled with improperly manufactured propellant wafers. Improperly manufactured propellant wafers could cause the inflator to rupture and the front passenger airbag to deploy abnormally in a crash. This could result in increased risk of injury to the occupant and the possibility of a fire."


So the recall is not based on the airbags triggering "accidentally" (as seems to be the case with your sons car), the issue is that the passenger side airbag's inflater can burst during a crash resulting in the airbag failing to inflate correctly and spraying the passengers with shards from the inflater.

Based on that, BMW are correct in not replacing your son's airbags and associated trim FOC as it was nothing to do with the recall issue.

As for:

cannonballcavie said:
.....It's basically left my son without a car and no way of getting it repaired........
1) Your son still has a car (To use it all he has to do is cut the remains of the airbags out, do a battery isolation reset [if necessary], and drive carefully until he gets the airbags issue sorted [Or can he not drive cars without airbags? confused] ).

2) Why can he not get it repaired? confused

All of the parts are available and for sale to the public (not cheap, but they are available!), so there's no reason it can't be repaired, so long as he can afford it.

And as for:

cannonballcavie said:
Thanks BMW, guess I will be buying Porsche's from now on then...
They also have plenty of recall issues! : http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/s...

And I seriously doubt Porsche would have dealt with you sons situation any differently to how BMW have dealt with it!

cannonballcavie

3 posts

212 months

Monday 11th January 2016
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I've been misinformed, should have done my research first!!
Thanks for putting me right peoples.

estoril

166 posts

188 months

Thursday 16th February 2017
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There is now a new recall for the drivers side airbag for a similar group of vehicles: http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/e...

LanceRS

2,171 posts

136 months

Friday 17th February 2017
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estoril said:
There is now a new recall for the drivers side airbag for a similar group of vehicles: http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/e...
Thank you, I shall be back to the dealer for some more nice coffee. I wonder if they will clean it for me again?

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Friday 17th February 2017
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LanceRS said:
estoril said:
There is now a new recall for the drivers side airbag for a similar group of vehicles: http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/e...
Thank you, I shall be back to the dealer for some more nice coffee. I wonder if they will spray traffic film remover on it then drag a dirty chamois over it?

to3m

1,226 posts

169 months

Saturday 18th February 2017
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I'd like some more of that new car smell stuff they chuck in the aircon.