The red passenger-side air bag and seat belt lights come on and stay on, whether or not anyone is sitting in the passenger seat. BMW has told me it will cost $1,300 to replace, yet it seems from other complaints here and from other online forums that the mat sensor causing this problem was defectively manufactured.

- New York, NY, USA

I was backing up at 4 mph and pressed the brake to stop. The airbag and seatbelt warning light went on. It continued to stay on and has not turned off since. There was no one in the car other than myself as the driver. I have had the car into the mechanic twice now to fix the issue and the lights and warnings still come on. I called the dealership and they say my VIN is not on the recall list. I have researched the issue and found that many owners of the same year, make, and model are having the same issues. Is there any way to get my car VIN added to the recall list?

- Aloha, OR, USA

I'm getting this message "restraint system malfunction, fault in passenger restraint system affecting airbag, belt tensioner, or belt force limiter. Continue to wear the safety belt, have the system checked by the nearest BMW center." Usually I have this msg when I have a passenger, but now even with empty seat it pops up and together with the passenger airbag lights. I have contacted the bmwusa about this issue and the( NHTSA campaign id number: 08V384000) but they stated that my vehicle does not fall under that category according to the VIN #. hope someone can help, because I have found a lots of complaints about similar issues online. Thank you for your consideration..

- Salisbury, NC, USA

For no reason the passenger and rear driver side seatbelt and airbag light came on while driving and stayed on forever. My 2006 BMW 325I has standard seat.

- San Jose, CA, USA

I started my car that morning and the airbag/seatbelt sensor light came on even though my seatbelt was fastened. I fastened the passenger seat belt to see if that was it but it stayed on. I took the car to the BMW dealership in augusta, ga and they charged me $120 to check it. They stated it would cost $530 to repair it. I decided to check if there was a recall and I see that this is a common complaint about these vehicles. Other vehicles within the year model have been included in a recall but 325xi have been excluded. Since the same malfunction of the same item is happening, it should be recalled on 325xi as well.

- Dallas, TX, USA

The passenger side occupancy seat mat for the airbag failed. BMW has bulletin sib 65 75 06, airbag warning lamp for OC3 seat mat fault, that covers my cars build date, but BMW states my VIN is not covered. There is also a current recall, NHTSA campaign number: 08V384000 but BMW states my car is not covered and refuses to honor the 10 year extended warranty. My car is experiencing this same issue, as diagnosed by a local BMW dealers, but they have failed to cover it. This is a major safety issue that is affecting many cars outside of the recall. They are many people posting on various BMW forums that are experiencing the same issue. BMW should be held accountable to fix all the vehicles experiencing this problem.

- Clovis, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact stated the passenger side air bag warning light and the seat belt warning light illuminated indicating that the passenger air bag was off when a passenger seat was occupied. The dealer was contacted to set up an appointment regarding the air bag and seat belt light. The contact believed that if the vehicle was involved in a crash the passenger side air bag would not deploy. The failure mileage was 50,000.

- Tigard, OR, USA

Passenger airbags sensors come on and off, seat belt light on with passenger in car.

- Paterson, NJ, USA

When a passenger sits in the front passenger seat the airbag failure light illuminates, the seat belt light illuminates and remains lit, and the passenger airbag off light illuminates. This is apparently due to micro-cracking in the passenger seat occupancy detection mat, however BMW only includes a small percentage of affected cars in the 2008 recall. BMW na refuses to fix this safety defect for all 2006 build year 330I models with sport seats. The same seats which are affected by the identical issue for 2005 build year. It seems given the number of cars affected by the same issue that the defect was not corrected for the 2006 build year. This could result in the passenger airbag not deploying in a collision which is extremely dangerous.

- Havertown, PA, USA

The OC3 mat (passenger occupancy sensor mat) has failed. This issue, as described in more detail below (4.), involves the front passenger seat occupant detection mat of certain BMW vehicles, and has been the subject of NHTSA PE07-045 and EA08-001. In short, a fatigue failure of the mat can occur and would consequently lead to the deactivation of the front passenger air bags with exception of the head protection system. The air bag warning lamp as well as the passenger air bag "on-off" lamp would illuminate in such case. BMW states that my vehicle does not fall under this recall since it was produced after 11/2005. Yet, the prognosis of the failure is exactly the same as of the recall.

- Kearneysville, WV, USA

The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325xi. The contact started the ignition and noticed that both the air bag and seat belt warning indicators were illuminated. The failure would also occur when driving at various speeds. The warning lights remained illuminated until the engine was turned off. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and they detected the malfunction was contributed to the front passenger seat sensor mat. There was a recall related to the defect under NHTSA campaign id number 08V384000 (air bags: Frontal). The manufacturer was notified and they informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall defect. The vehicle had not been repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

- Elkridge , MD, USA

Air bag sign keeps going on/off. There was a recall 08V-384 but BMW is saying my vehicle was out of the build window. I have the same issue as NHTSA recall campaign number: 08V384000 (NHTSA action number: EA08001).

- Shelby Township, MI, USA

The airbag warning comes on indicating that the passenger seat airbag is off and the. Belt tension sensor is malfunctioning. Only happens when there is someone sitting in the passenger seat.

- Fullerton, CA, USA

The airbag warning lights and seatbelt warning lights are lit in red. After diagnosis from the dealer's service department, it was concluded that the sensor embedded in the passenger side is malfunctioning and must be replaced. There was a recall in 2008 for the same model year with a similar malfunction of the airbag sensor (NHTSA campaign id number: 08V384000) also, in that recall it states: " BMW is extending the warranty to 10 years from first registration without any mileage limit to the following vehicles: My 2006 6-series, 3-series (standard seat), my 2004-2005 Z4, my 2004-2006 7-series, my 2006 X5, and my 2004-2006 5-series (comfort seat). Under the extended warranty program, the occupant detection mat in a vehicle that experiences this specific issue will be replaced at no charge to the customer" however, the local BMW dealer says they cannot honor that warranty.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact stated that the front passenger air bag and seat belt lights remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who performed a diagnostic test and located a failure at the air bag sensor. The manufacturer denied assistance with repairs because the VIN was not included in the recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number 08V384000 (air bags:frontal). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 96,000 and the current mileage was 102,000. The VIN was not available.

- Irvine, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325. The contact stated that the air bag warning light and passenger side seat belt light on was illuminated. The contact stated that the seat belt warning light would illuminate even with the seat occupied and the seat belt in use. The contact did not take the vehicle to the dealer for a diagnostic test or repairs. The failure mileage was 67,000.

- Moore Park, CA, USA

I've lately been experiencing an issue with my vehicle where when a passenger sits in the front passenger seat, two icons on my dash come on indicating that safety features are disabled; I get an airbag disable icon in the dash along with the roof lining of my vehicle near the sos button, a text that reads, "passenger air bag disabled" and is illuminated, indicating that the passenger airbag is disabled. Also a 'seat belt' icon shows in the dashboard despite it being clicked in. NHTSA action number: EA08001 thankfully due to NHTSA, the manufacturer, bmwna, was forced to recall a total of 200,000 vehicles with this exact same issue. According to the NHTSA listing, my vehicle is covered under a mass recall of the 'sensor mat' located in the passenger seat of various BMW models to detect when a passenger is sitting on the seat which then triggers the sensor to ready the airbag in the event of an accident. My model 2006 BMW 325I (with sports and premium package) is mentioned in the vehicle list, both by manufacturer make (BMW), model (3-series/ 325I), and specifically the type of seat, being sports package. I have taken my vehicle to the BMW dealership where I purchased it from to get the issue looked at as the safety of myself and my passengers was a prime consideration when purchasing the vehicle in the first place. I was informed by the service advisor that my vehicle was not covered and that I should pay out of pocket or contact bmwna. I've contacted them and they denied me coverage explaining my vehicle does not fall under the recall. I firmly believe that I am being asked to pay exorbitant repair fees to fix basic safety systems despite that my car should fall under the recall as it is experiencing the exact same issues. My car is 'babied' and to be experiencing a failure of safety systems is extremely nerve-wracking. Thank you for your time.

- Duarte, CA, USA

A few weeks ago when I was driving with a passenger my airbag light came and all sorts of cautions popped up on my I drive about the passenger air bag and seat belt restraints. Later on that day when I did not have a passenger with me everything was fine. Now almost every time I have a passenger with me the light comes on. From all the research I have been doing on this was a recall for this same exact problem but only on the early model 2006 325I. So I called BMW usa earlier today gave them my VIN and my 2006 325I was not apart of the recall! which I do not understand because the recall should have covered all the 2006 because there were a lot more cases of this happening to even the late model 325I. So is there any way my VIN can be added to the recall so I can get this safety issue resolved?

- Beaufort, SC, USA

1. speedometer accuracy! the speedo on my 2006 325I was off by 10%. at 80mph on the speedo, actual speed was 72. At 30 actual was 27. I have been pulled by a cop twice because of this problem. 2. passenger restrain error message the air bag warning light illuminated and a message displayed on the message board stating that the passenger restraint had malfunctioned.

- Keller, TX, USA

This complaint is in regards to NHTSA id #08V384000. The air bag warning lamp, seat belt lamp and the passenger air bag "on-off" lamp will not turn off. I contacted BMW via the phone number provided by your department and also visited my local BMW dealer and they both say that my car doesn't fall under said recall. My car is a BMW 2006 330I with sports seats, which is one of the cars listed as being defective by your department. However, BMW stated that the recall is for a specific number of airbag sensor matts that were damaged during shipping and that my car's matt was not part of this batch. Since my car is experiencing the same symptoms as those under the recall, and is actually one of the cars listed in your report, it's safe to say that the faulty airbag sensor issue goes beyond just the batch BMW is claiming were damaged. Even if this is true, and that specific batch of air bag sensors were damaged during shipping, then what's to say that my air bag sensor wasn't also damaged during shipping even if it was part of another batch. The logical conclusion, however, would indicate that the sensors being damaged during shipping is false and that there is in fact a flaw with the sensor itself. This is evident in the fact that BMW produced an updated version of the sensor and that my sensor though not part of the so called damaged batch is also experiencing the same exact symptoms. If the cause of the faulty sensors were due to being damaged during shipping then why need to create an updated version. The logical thing to do would be to ensure the safe delivery of the sensors, not create a new version. I've owned many vehicles with this same feature and have never had any problems. BMW claiming that the symptoms of my sensor having the same symptoms as the damaged batch is just a coincidence is a far cry. At the very least a new investigation should be done. Thank you.

- Visalia, CA, USA