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Air bagsPart report

2011 BMW 328XI Air bags Problems

Complaints
12about this part
Share
18%of 67 total for the year
Median mileage
51,300miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 12 complaints about the air bags of the 2011 BMW 328XI, 18% of the 67 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 51,300 miles. 3 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 2 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Passenger front seat occupancy mat/sensor failed, causing air bags to turn on/off, and trigger false positives and false negatives for minimum weight occupancy, thereby triggering seat belt alarm, and disabling/enabling air bags incorrectly. This was a recall in the same car, model year 2006. I would like my feedback on this subject to help initiate the same recall for the 2011 model year.”

NHTSA complaint #11120434, filed 2018-08, 49,500 miles

“At temperature above 87 degrees f (after a full day in open parking lot under sun) as indicated on the car's dashboard, the seat belt sensor of the car malfunctioned. Even though I had my seat belt firmly clasped but the car kept on beeping seatbelt warning for about 5-10 minutes until the temperature inside the car dropped to less than 87 degrees f. The seatbelt warning went away after I opened the window and let the car cool down or switched on AC in the car. …”

NHTSA complaint #10616027, filed 2014-07, 53,100 miles

“I was driving at a slow speed during heavy traffic in town at 4 pm on a sunny day. The car ahead of me slowed down even more and when I was trying to slow my car too, it did not slow down at all. I did hit the car ahead of me at a slow speed and the air bag deployed causing severe injury to my right wrist and to the left wrist. It caused profuse bleeding because the air bag caused cuts in my wrist area, very close to a vein. A five inch hematoma appeared within minutes in the right wrist and the skin was scraped off both wrists. …”

NHTSA complaint #11121766, filed 2018-08, 74,000 miles

“Passenger restraint system error: when passengers sit in front passenger seat a warning comes on and disables airbag even when belt is buckled or not, driving or stationary. Warning stays on after passenger exits. Warning stays on for about 50 miles of driving and resets until the seat is sat in again. Online forums show recall for this in other models but not mine yet much is being reported. Seems the seat sensor pad goes bad. Very few people sit in this seat so the sensor system should not be malfunctioning/wearing out. …”

NHTSA complaint #11209678, filed 2019-05, 100,000 miles

“Driving down a main road at approx 35 MPH when an error message appeared on vehicle dash that stated there is a default with the passenger seat belt that may affect deployment of air bag.”

NHTSA complaint #10610309, filed 2014-07, 36,960 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Air bags: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2014212%
2013311%
20111218%
2010529%
2009218%
20081616%
20074020%
2006120%

Other parts of the 2011 BMW 328XI

Engine
24 complaintsElectrical system
17 complaintsEngine cooling
9 complaintsFuel system
7 complaintsVehicle speed control
6 complaintsOther or unknown
5 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
4 complaintsExterior lighting
3 complaintsSeats
2 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
2 complaintsBrakes
1 complaintsSeat belts
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2011 BMW 328XI

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology