Dec. 2008 I received a consumer advisory letter from BMW of North America. The letter states that depending on the manner and frequency of the front passenger's entry and exit, small cracks may develop in the passenger seat occupant detection mat. If this condition exists, the front passenger air bag and side air bag will deactivate, and both the air bag warning lamp and front passenger "on-off" lamp will illuminate. In this situation the front passenger air bag and side air bag will not deploy, even in a severe accident. They are extending the warranty coverage for 10 years. In January of this year both the air bag warning lamp and the passenger air bag "on-off" lamp are illuminated in my 2006 325I BMW. The letter states should this happen have the vehicle checked without delay at an authorized BMW center. I did that and was told the problem is different from what the advisory letter states and will cost me $1300. I contacted BMW customer relations of North America and spoke to a person by the name of "[xxx]" who told me she would check with the authorized BMW center. I told her I am the only driver of my car and very seldom do I have any passengers with me and I never had any accident with my car, so the air bags never deployed. Several weeks later her reply was because of the age of my BMW they would not honor the warranty "but" they would discount the cost of the repair and instead of charging $1300 they would charge $1002! so that's my story and my air bag warning lamp is still lighted! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Pewaukee, WI, USA

The contact owns a 2006 BMW 330xi (na). While the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed that the paint on the leather was peeling on the door handles, gear shifter, center console and the radio. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who told him to contact the manufacturer; the manufacturer referred him back to the dealer to take pictures and they would have a regional manager contact him. The manager stated that they would pay for the parts but not the labor. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000 and the current mileage was approximately 40,200.

- Lake In The Hills, IL, USA