The contact owns a 2006 BMW 330I sport. The contact stated that the front passenger seat mat sensor malfunctioned, causing the air bags and passenger seat belt to become inoperable. In addition, the air bag warning light was continuously illuminated. The manufacturer was notified of the issue, who stated that there was not a recall for the vehicle and offered no assistance for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 94,212.

- Cottonwood, CA, USA

Randomly while there is either weight from a bag or a person in the front passenger seat, the seatbelt light will appear on the dash and the passenger airbag off light will light up on the roof. This tells me that the airbag will not deploy even though there is someone in the seat in the event of an accident.

- Paducah, KY, USA

For the listed 2006 BMW E90 330I, the following error message was displayed in the idrive interface. "pass. Restraint system: Fault in passenger-restraint system affecting airbag, belt tensioner or belt-force limiter. Restraint system malfunction!" the failure occurred with nothing occupying the passenger seat while travelling approximately 35 mph. The seatbelt, airbag, and passenger airbag warning lights remain illuminated with and without a person occupying the passenger seat and cannot be cleared. BMW was contacted and stated the VIN did not qualify for a recall of NHTSA campaign id number 08V384000 (air bags: Frontal). The vehicle has not been repaired. This defect causes a severe safety risk due to possible seatbelt and airbag system failures resulting in potential fatality. Since the make, model, year, and equipment match the recall specifications; this vehicle should be included in the recall and repaired at no cost to the owner. The mileage at which the failure occurred and current mileage are approximately 86,000.

- Austin, TX, USA

After a recall on my (sport) seats was performed by the dealer, the seatbelt warning chime sounds when there is no one or nothing in the seat. It never did this before the recall was performed. The only way to get the chime to stop is to buckle the passenger belt.

- Palo Alto, CA, 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

My vehicle displayed a passenger restraint system failure message. After researching the issue online, it appeared that BMW had issued a recall for this defect: NHTSA recall campaign id number: 08V384000. However, after contacting BMW, I am being told that my vehicle is not part of the recall. It seems to me that the defect extends beyond the vins that are included in the recall given that so many people are having the same issue and BMW is not honoring the warranty.

- Fort Collins, CO, 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

This is in regards to NHTSA campaign number 08V-384. I called BMW about his recall and they stated my vehicle was not affected even though the problem I am having and multiple others are having is for the exact same issue, condition, and description as called out in campaign number 08V-384. I did more research and found that BMW may not have the affected vehicles loaded correctly in their system. For example they tell you that the sport seat is not covered (which I have), but if you read the letters from BMW to NHTSA, many sport seats are covered. I suspect the database BMW is using to tell if a car is covered or not may not be accurate compared to the vehicle categories listed in the NHTSA filings.

- Smyrna, GA, 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