BMW Recall Affects 200K Vehicles

BMW has issued a recall on 200,000 American vehicles because the passenger side airbag may not deploy in an accident. The recall includes 2004 and 2005 5-Series sedans, 2004 to 2006 X3 SUV's and some 2006 3-Series. The recall was announced at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.

According to the recall notice, a sensor that deploys the airbag could be deactivated by wear and tear caused by passengers opening and closing the car door. BMW dealers will begin servicing affected vehicles in September, 2008. As a courtesy, BMW will extend the warranty on the affected autos airbags for 10 years with no limit on mileage.

BMW builds autos in 5 countries, including Germany, the United States, South Africa, Austria and New Zealand. In 2006 the company produced over 1 million cars worldwide.