The Takata airbag inflator is the gift that keeps on giving. The faulty exploding bags have now been recalled in China to the tune of 1.36 million vehicles. Because of how the BMW brand does business in China, the recall is technically split between two ventures. BMW Brilliance Automotive is in charge of 598,496 China-made vehicles, while BMW China Automobile Trading is tasked with recalling 759,448 imported units.
Sadly, Takata airbags have been taking lives since at least 2009. If you recall, the scandal bankrupted the once leader of the airbag industry in 2017. In the US, nearly 63 million airbag inflators were on recall, 394,000 of them BMWs. Worldwide, that number swells to around 100 million. Unfortunately, many of them are still out there on the road unrepaired. While manufacturers make every attempt to contact drivers and owners, tracking second and third owners or beyond gets tricky – especially if the new owner never visits a dealership.
The real problem with the airbag is the defective inflator. A propellant degrades over time, which makes it liable to explode when deployed. Dealerships can replace the faulty airbag free of charge, so there’s no reason not to get your vehicle’s airbag swapped out. Like in the rest of the world, this latest round of recalls is a huge undertaking.
The Chinese vehicles on recall are limited to models produced between 2003 until 2017, according to China’s State Administration for Market Regulation. BMW will conduct an inspection on the vehicle, then replace the driver’s-side airbag free of charge.
Source: Reuters