patrick boutin
6 years ago
BMW has agreed to recall about 1.6 million cars worldwide due to air bag safety issues. According to the Wall Street Journal, the recall affects 3 Series cars manufactured between May 1999 and August 2006; the recall does not include 2,000 vehicles that were previously recalled in May 2013 in the United States. Last month, […]
BMW has agreed to recall about 1.6 million cars worldwide due to air bag safety issues. According to the Wall Street Journal, the recall affects 3 Series cars manufactured between May 1999 and August 2006; the recall does not include 2,000 vehicles that were previously recalled in May 2013 in the United States.
Last month, seven automakers disclosed that combined, they would recall millions of cars due to the risk of exploding air bags. The defect is caused by an air bag inflator manufactured by Takata Corp, a Tokyo-based company. Takata is one of three major air bag manufacturers and a key supplier for the auto industry,WSJ reports.
BMW will replace air bags that may explode under certain circumstances. Including other automakers, 10 million vehicles have been recalled due to this defect from 2009 to the end of June. The luxury car maker said that about one-third, 574,000, are recalled in the United States and effect model years 2000 to 2006.
Takata knows of at least six cases where the cylinder-shaped air bag inflators exploded, shooting out metal fragments. Humid climates may make this more likely, the company said. According to U.S. Highway safety regulators, there was one incident where an exploded air bag sent a one-inch piece of metal into the right eye of a driver, causing loss of sight and facial lacerations that required 100 stitches.