NHTSA recall 19V015000
NHTSA advises: do not drive until the repair is done.
A recall listed here may apply to a vehicle of this year, make and model. Only the manufacturer can say whether it applies to one vehicle: check the VIN with the official lookups.
| Published by | NHTSA (United States) |
|---|---|
| Campaign number | 19V015000 |
| Manufacturer | BMW of North America, LLC |
| Reported | 2019-01-14 |
| Owners notified | 2019-03-14 |
| Component | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| Units potentially affected | 157549 |
| Report | Quarterly report 6, for 2020 quarter 2 |
|---|---|
| Filed with NHTSA | 2020-07-27 |
| Vehicles in the campaign | 157549 |
| Reported remedied | 36035 (22%) |
| Reported unreachable | 0 |
| Reported removed | 2111 |
These are the manufacturer's totals for the whole campaign at the end of 2020 quarter 2, as filed with NHTSA. They do not say whether one vehicle has been remedied: check the VIN with the official lookups. The reports are from data as of 2026-10-19.
What is wrong
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2000-2003 525i Sedan, 530i Sedan, 540i Sedan, 2001-2003 525i Sports Wagon and 540i Sports Wagon vehicles, and 2000-2004 X5 SAV 3.0i, X5 SAV 4.4i, and X5 SAV 4.6is vehicles. This recall affects certain vehicles where the original steering wheel has been replaced with the optional sports steering wheel. The sports steering wheel has a frontal air bag inflator that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
What can happen
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the vehicle has been remedied. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle for an optional sports steering wheel with an affected inflator. Dealers will replace the air bag module as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 14, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
| 2000 BMW 525I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-04. |
|---|---|
| 2001 BMW 525I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-04. |
| 2002 BMW 525I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-04. |
| 2003 BMW 525I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-04. |
| 2000 BMW 530I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-02. |
| 2001 BMW 530I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-02. |
| 2002 BMW 530I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-02. |
| 2003 BMW 530I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-02. |
| 2000 BMW 540I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-04. |
| 2001 BMW 540I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-04. |
| 2002 BMW 540I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-04. |
| 2003 BMW 540I | Built 2000-09-01 to 2003-07-04. |
| 2000 BMW X5 SAV | Built 2000-04-02 to 2003-09-30. |
| 2001 BMW X5 SAV | Built 2000-04-02 to 2003-09-30. |
| 2002 BMW X5 SAV | Built 2000-04-02 to 2003-09-30. |
| 2003 BMW X5 SAV | Built 2000-04-02 to 2003-09-30. |
| 2004 BMW X5 SAV | Built 2000-04-02 to 2003-09-30. |
A vehicle with no link is not in this site's catalog, which covers cars, multipurpose vehicles and trucks by model year. The campaign is from data as of 2026-10-19.
Investigated as EA15001
This recall followed 1 NHTSA investigation. An investigation is NHTSA looking into a possible defect. It is not a finding that a defect exists, and it does not say that any one vehicle is affected.
| EA15001 | Engineering analysis, opened 2015-02-24. Air Bag Inflator Rupture. AIR BAGS:FRONTAL; AIR BAGS. |
|---|
From NHTSA's investigation file, as of 2026-10-19. The JSON has NHTSA's summary of each.