Investigation EA02012: 1999–2002 BMW 3 Series

Status

CLOSED

Opened

Jul 15, 2002

Closed

Jun 24, 2003

Model years

1999–2002

Subject

Inadvertent side-impact air bag deployme

Component: Air bags › Side/window

Summary

The subject vehicle's air bag electronic control module contains programmable logic for deploying the side-impact air bags.bmw revised the module several times over the span of the model years 1999 through 2002 (identified as mrs2.ca, mrs2.bb, mrs3, mrs3+ and mrs4).although model year 1999.5 vehicles with version mrs2.bb had 6.5% of the subject population, it accounted for 29% of the total reports received.the mrs2.bb exposure adjusted report rate was almost 4 times higher than other 3 series air bag module versions.in august 2002, bmw initiated a recall campaign for 20,500 model 323i and 328i vehicles with version mrs2.bb (nhtsa recall # 02v223000).in addition to experiencing a lower rate of non-crash deployments, most of the non-recalled vehicles also showed evidence of significant pothole/curb impact with some having additional undercarriage contact/scrape or suspension damage.see additional information

An NHTSA investigation looks into whether a safety defect exists. Opening one is not a finding. Outcomes can include a recall, closure without action, or further inquiry.

Model years covered

• 2002 BMW 3 Series26 complaints
• 2001 BMW 3 Series36 complaints
• 2000 BMW 3 Series88 complaints
• 1999 BMW 3 Series6 complaints