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BMW X3, X4 and 3-Series seat belt sensor fault

NHTSA campaign 20V164000 · Reported 2020-03-19 · BMW of North America, LLC

medium How serious is it? About this label

If the air bag and/or seat belt pretensioners deploy improperly in the event of a crash, there is an increased risk of injury to the driver and front passenger. The notice does not tell owners to stop driving.

What's wrong, in plain English

Sensors inside the front seat belt buckles may wrongly read a buckled-up person as unbuckled. The car uses that signal to decide how the front airbags and the seat belt tighteners should fire in a crash. With the wrong information, those safety devices may not go off the way they are supposed to. Dealers will inspect the driver and front passenger buckles and replace them if they find a problem.

What you should do

1. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your BMW is on the list.
2. Contact your BMW dealer, or BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417, to book an inspection.
3. Have any faulty buckles replaced free of charge — this recall has been open since May 2020.

Affected vehicles (3)

Who to contact

BMW — official BMW recall lookup

Customer service: 1-800-525-7417

Any franchised dealer for the brand can do the repair. Phone numbers are taken from manufacturer sites and recent NHTSA notices; if one has changed, the number in your own recall letter is the one to use.

The bigger picture

Official notice

Component
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
Summary
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020 X3 xDrive30e, X4 xDrive30i, X4 M40i, X4M, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, 840i Gran Coupe, 840i xDrive Gran Coupe, M850i xDrive Gran Coupe, M8 Gran Coupe, X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, X3M, and 840i xDrive Convertible vehicles. The sensors in the front seat belt buckles may inaccurately detect a belted occupant as unbelted, possibly causing the air bag and seat belt pretensioners to deploy improperly in the event of a crash.
Safety risk
If the air bag and/or seat belt pretensioners deploy improperly in the event of a crash, there is an increased risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the front seat belt buckles, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 18, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Verify your specific vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov. Recall repairs are free of charge by law.