BMW has initiated a recall of 394,000 vehicles in the United States and 44,131 vehicles in Canada due to faulty airbag inflators that pose a risk of serious or fatal injuries.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the recall on Wednesday, with Transport Canada updating their information on Thursday. The defective airbag inflators can explode, sending sharp metal fragments into the vehicle, potentially injuring the driver or passengers, according to NHTSA.
BMW clarified that the recall involves airbag inflators previously recalled but may have been reinstalled in vehicles through replacement steering wheels with defective airbags. In a statement to CBC News, BMW explained that replacements are necessary only if the original steering wheel has been replaced with an affected airbag module.
Vehicle owners are advised to visit dealers for inspections. If a steering wheel with a recalled airbag is detected, it will be replaced. BMW reported no known crashes or injuries linked to the new recall.
The faulty airbag inflators, manufactured by the now-bankrupt Japanese company Takata, have led to the largest and most complex recall in automotive history. Since 2009, Takata airbags have been linked to over 30 deaths, including at least 26 in the United States, and hundreds of injuries.
In 2020, NHTSA confirmed a U.S. fatality due to a Takata airbag inflator rupture in a BMW crash in Arizona. Over the past decade, more than 100 million vehicles with Takata airbag inflators have been recalled globally.
The latest recall affects certain BMW 1 and 3 Series models from 2005 to 2012, as well as X3 and X5 models from 2005 to 2016, according to Transport Canada.
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