BMW Recalls 90,000 Vehicles Over "Dire" Risk From Explosive Takata Air Bag Inflators

CBS San Francisco

May 5, 2023

BMW is warning the owners of about 90,000 older vehicles in the U.S. not to drive them due to an increasing threat that the airbags might explode in a crash.

The warning covers vehicles from 2000 through 2006 that previously had been recalled to replace faulty and dangerous air bag inflators made by Takata. The company used ammonium nitrate to inflate the airbags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to heat and can blow apart a metal canister, hurling shrapnel that can injure or kill drivers and passengers.

Models involved in the recall include the 2000 through 2006 3 Series, the 2000 through 2003 5 Series and the 2000 through 2004 X5. All have driver's front air bag inflators made by Takata.

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