Faulty seat mat sensor in passenger seat for the 2nd time.

- Madison, MS, USA

My lights comes on for airbag passenger seat. I saw that NHTSA has campaign # 08V-384 for this matter. If the dealer refuse to honor it, how I proceed after that. The air bags don't works with that light on. I have my daughter with me all the time, to and from the school. Thanks.

- Coral Springs, FL, USA

Passenger side air bag error consistent with front passenger seat pressure mat recall notice. BMW online recall check revealed that this vehicle identification number was not included in the recall either. BMW refused to replace and will not tell me if the air bag will or will not deploy in an accident.

- Post Falls, ID, USA

Has an airbag/seat belt light eliminated on the dash. BMW has diagnosed it as a failed passenger seat sensor. 2006 330I sports seats were recalled for this item in 2008. BMW recall id # 57362 - air bags: Frontal recall date Aug 05, 2008 recall date: Aug 05, 2008 model affected: 2006 BMW 3-series summary: BMW is recalling 200,000 my 2006 3 series sport seat, my 2004-2006 5 series standard and sport seat, and my 2004-2006 X3 passenger vehicles. Depending on the manner and frequency of the front passenger's entry and exit, small cracks have developed in the mat. If this occurs, the front passenger air bags, with the exception of the head protection system, will be deactivated and the air bag warning lamp as well as the passenger air bag "on-off" lamp will be illuminated. Consequences: In this situation the front passenger air bags will not deploy even if a sufficiently severe accident would occur and occupant protection provided by the system would not be possible. Remedy: Dealers will rework the front passenger seat sensor mat so that external force application to the seat does not cause a crack to the mat. The recall began on November 6, 2008. BMW will also extend the warranty on these vehicles to 10 years from first registration without any mileage limit. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417. Potential units affected: 200000 notes: BMW of North America, llc. Updated 07/30/13

- Oakley, CA, USA

Passenger air bag warning will illuminate intermittently while driving, with or without the passenger seat being occupied. Both the seat belt and air bag warning indicator will illuminate. The air bag indicator will go away and may or may not illuminate again. When this started happening in October of 2012, the indicator would appear and go away and would not come back for maybe two or three month of driving. Now, approximate a year later the system will illuminate, when no one is occupying the passenger seat, or on start of the vehicle, or after the vehicle has been driven approximate a 1/4 mile. This appears to be a latent safety defect for the air bag safety system in this car.

- Eagan, MN, USA

Passenger side air bag error consistent with front passenger seat pressure mat recall notice. BMW online recall check revealed that this vehicle identification number was not included in the recall.

- Glenview, IL, USA

Front passenger airbag warning light illuminated indicating the airbag system is not working. Investigation revealed a failed passenger seat sensor mat as the cause. Failure is consistent with the failures highlighted in NHTSA campaign 08V384000. BMW North America position is this particular vehicle (VIN) is not included in the recall. This is very troubling. There is a known failure serious enough to warrant a safety recall, however the recall is limited to a very small percentage of the actual vehicles that will experience this failure. Research on this site (and others) confirms this is a known common problem affecting several models and model years of BMW vehicles. Left unfixed, a passenger seated in the front seat will not have the safety benefits of an operable airbag and this could result in unecessary serious injury. My request is for the NHTSA and BMW to expand the safety recall to include all vehicles exhibiting this obvious defect and rectify the possible safety implications this failure presents.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

Since Sept 2011, while driving with or without a passenger, the airbag warning lamp and the passenger air bag on-off lamp are illuminated. It goes off on its own, but returns spontaneously. At first our dealership said they couldn't find anything wrong, then when it kept happening they said we could get it repaired. Per safer.gov website a recall was given in July 2009 with this same problem. According to my local dealership and the BMW of no America, our car was not among the cars recalled. Yet we have the exact same problem occurring as described in the recall. They want to charge us over $1100 to fix the problem, yet there was a recall out on "some series 3 models". how can I be sure some other 2006 series 3 models are not over looked? this makes me feel unsafe to drive with passengers and I don't feel if some are defective, that others with the same issue are considered the owners responsibility. I think they should also be under the same recall guidelines when the same exact issue has been sited and is happening in other cars.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

The contact owns a 2006 BMW 330I. The contact stated that the seat belt and air bag warning lamp illuminated whenever someone was occupying the passenger seat. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in recall NHTSA campaign number: 08V384000 ( air bags). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 85,000. The current mileage was 95,000.

- Sterling, OH, USA

When my car reached ~75,000 miles, the passenger restraint system malfunction notification started to appear on the center console. The message seems to convey that the airbags will not deploy in an accident. After speaking with BMW and finding out that my car falls under the recall for this exact situation. BMW refused to fix it and states that my VIN is not listed under the recall, even though the recall states that it affects 2006 3-series with sport seats (which is exactly what I have).

- Houston, TX, USA

My vehicle (BMW 330I ? 2006), has an airbag/seat belt light eliminated on the dash. BMW has diagnosed it as a failed passenger seat sensor. 2006 330I sports seats were recalled for this item in 2008. My vehicle which has sports seats was never called for the recall. They stated my vehicle's VIN 'does not qualify' for the recall. The manufacturer has also extended warranty for 10 years on all 3 series models with out the sports seat option for this sensor. I have talked a dealer service representative and BMW directly. They said my only option would be to file a complaint and that the government would have to warrant a recall on this vehicle and combination of options. BMW recall id # 57362 - air bags: Frontal recall date Aug 05, 2008 recall date: Aug 05, 2008 model affected: 2006 BMW 3-series summary: BMW is recalling 200,000 my 2006 3 series sport seat, my 2004-2006 5 series standard and sport seat, and my 2004-2006 X3 passenger vehicles. Depending on the manner and frequency of the front passenger's entry and exit, small cracks have developed in the mat. If this occurs, the front passenger air bags, with the exception of the head protection system, will be deactivated and the air bag warning lamp as well as the passenger air bag "on-off" lamp will be illuminated. Consequences: In this situation the front passenger air bags will not deploy even if a sufficiently severe accident would occur and occupant protection provided by the system would not be possible. Remedy: Dealers will rework the front passenger seat sensor mat so that external force application to the seat does not cause a crack to the mat. The recall began on November 6, 2008. BMW will also extend the warranty on these vehicles to 10 years from first registration without any mileage limit. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417. Potential units affected: 200000 notes: BMW of North America, llc. Updated 07/30/13

- Midlothian, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 BMW 330I. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the passenger's side air bag warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000.

- Yorba Linda, CA, USA

The passenger seat belt/air bag light went on intermittently for months, finally the dealership was able to get the error code. It was confirmed that there is an issue with this and BMW has known about it since 2008. Per their website they were going to send out recall notices to owners, we never recieved anything. BMW needs to make this right and fix the problem at no cost to owners.

- Morgan Hill, CA, USA

Passenger side air bag error consistent with front passenger seat pressure mat recall notice. BMW online recall check revealed that this vehicle identification number was not included in the recall.

- Seattle, WA, USA

2006 BMW 330xi. Consumer writes in regards to passenger side air bag error consistent with front passenger seat pressure mat recall notice. BMW informed the consumer, his vehicle identification number was not included in the recall.

- Redmond, WA, USA

Dealership confirmed dashboard 'airbag' light is constantly illuminated due to error code for faulty passenger occupancy sensor mat. The E46 model does not have two indicator lights; I.e. the airbag light and the passenger on/off light, so this model may have been removed from previous recall due to verbiage differences. Dealership warns against driving with children in front passenger seat until corrected. This faulty equipment is very well documented amongst the E46 customer base, verifiable via internet search engine usage. Also reference: 'front passenger seat air bag occupant detection sensor mat recall 08V-384' and 'NHTSA action number : EA08001' for further details and recalls for similar models.

- Loves Park, IL, USA

After ~50,00 miles the passenger restraint system malfunction notification started to appear on the center console. The message continued to appear randomly, and now at ~70,000 miles, the message is permanently on. The message seems to convey that the airbags will not deploy in an accident. BMW has refused to fix the issue.

- San Martin, CA, USA

Passenger sat in the front passenger seat. Warning light appeared on dashboard indicating the airbag has been turned off. This issue is similar to NHTSA campaign id number: 08V384000. However, although same model and year, my vehicle is not covered under this campaign.

- Cupertino, CA, USA

The following message (fault in passenger-restraint system affecting airbag, belt tensioner or belt force limiter) appeared on the display immediately after starting the car. Every time the car is started the warning appears. The warning remains as long as the car is running. This car has sport seats. Dealer service department claims this is not covered by the previous recall.

- Southborough, MA, USA

I have a 2006 BMW 330xi sport and when a passenger sits in the car, I receive a passenger airbag malfunction light. I was told by park ave BMW in NJ that my vehicle does not qualify under the recall. Recall id # 57362 - air bags:frontal recall date Aug 05, 2008 recall date: Aug 05, 2008 model affected: 2006 BMW 3-series summary: BMW is recalling 200,000 my 2006 3 series sport seat, my 2004-2006 5 series standard and sport seat, and my 2004-2006 X3 passenger vehicles. Depending on the manner and frequency of the front passenger's entry and exit, small cracks have developed in the mat. If this occurs, the front passenger air bags, with the exception of the head protection system, will be deactivated and the air bag warning lamp as well as the passenger air bag "on-off" lamp will be illuminated. Consequences: In this situation the front passenger air bags will not deploy even if a sufficiently severe accident would occur and occupant protection provided by the system would not be possible. Remedy: Dealers will rework the front passenger seat sensor mat so that external force application to the seat does not cause a crack to the mat. The recall began on November 6, 2008. BMW will also extend the warranty on these vehicles to 10 years from first registration without any mileage limit. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417. Potential units affected: 200000 notes: BMW of North America, llc.

- Edgewater, NJ, USA