I have protection, now I dont, or do I?

[dlink]

I have a 2004 525i with the sport package(8000 miles). The indicator light that comes on telling you the passenger airbag has been de-activated comes on and off constantly while driving with my wife in the passenger seat.There is no pattern to it ,it will come on and stay on a while or come on and off every few seconds or even minutes or it may stay out for 20 /30 minutes or on for the same amount of time. My wife is 5' 6" and weighs 122 lbs. She can be perfectly still and the light has a mind of its own. BMW says that when this light is illuminated , my wife is not protected by the airbag if there was an accident, they recommended she sit in the back seat. BMW also tells me this is normal operation for this system in this car. Whenever we ride together we have to drive another car because my wife is scared of not having the airbag protection.I feel this is a defect but after 2 months BMW will not admit there is a problem. This is my second BMW, and maybe my last. I might have a low mileage 525i available soon for someone!

Mr. Frustrated

 

[jrt67ss350]

No way is that normal. Something is wrong. If your dealer won't help you, take it to another one in the Atlanta area. This is a safety defect and should be taken very seriously by the dealer.

 

[Big Daddy]

Have you called BMW North America about the problem? You could also call NHTSA and see if they have other reports of the problem. Check with Alldata.com and see if there is a TSB or recall? At Alldata I see two TSB's regardig airbag light on.

Alldata Link

 

[kscarrol]

there have a number of posts on other boards about this issue and what BMW is and is not doing to resolve it. For a short while they were replacing the sensor in the seat but stopped when they realized it did not resolve the issue. I think they are doing a software update to resolve. Your dealer should know about this or at a minimum, be doing much more to resolve it. Maybe try another dealer if one is close by. Also check out www.e60.net and do a search for the airbag light issue, much discussed there.

 

[tool fan]

Hey kscarrol...that is weird....I have the same issue. I have a friend that weighs near 250 lbs and the airbag light stays illuninated when he is in the car and when my wife is in the car it will go on and off and she is about 125lbs. HMMMM I will inquire about this when my car goes to Munich to the head service dept for the iDrive fix.

 

[dlink]

Thanks for the feed back!! My dealer did do an upgrade to the software to try to correct the problem but it made no difference. I failed to mention we have a 2004 Denali with the same type of system and there is no problem when my wife rides in it. Our dealer gave up and referred me to BMW in New Jersey who I have been corresponding with since 9/09/04. They are telling me this is normal and there is nothing they can do. I am getting very poor service from them. My contact will never call me back when they tell me they will , I am always having to call them and push the issue. I view this problem as a serious safety issue and I am very surprised that BMW is brushing me off.

Still Frustrated

Other Rides
1950 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup (600 miles on frame off restro)
1998 Z-71 Silverado 4X4
1998 Corvette ( Bought new has 19000 miles)
2004 SSR
2004 Denali

 

[kscarrol]

I hear you about the terrible service! Like I said, check the other board becasue there have been extensive discussions about this. A number of members in the UK report having received recall letters about the airbag issue, but nothing here in the US yet. Find it hard to believe that BMW is using different sensors for the US and UK. Did your dealer replace the sensor? I recall someone saying that it may require replacement of the entire seat as the sensor is buried in the seat. Keep pressing as this is clearly a major saftey issue. I would hate to see the lawsuits if you or anyone else was in a wreck and the airbag did not work for your 110 lbs wife in the passenger seat! Maybe you need to press on the saftey aspect and even threaten to use the lemon laws to get a new car if they cannot or will not fix the issue. Good Luck!

 

[dlink]

Thanks for the suggestions! My wife would like you, you just made her loose 12 lbs. ,shes actually 122lbs. The dealer did not replace the sensor, they said they "checked it out" and everything was working correctly.They did the upgrade on the software which took 4 hours to download. The lemon law is a good angle, thanks I may have to go that route.

 

[geneo]

bmw service measure b72 207 04 states this is normal operation and the dealer should have got your wifes wieght and position of how she sits in the seat they are working with all this info to get a way to stop the light from blinking also be sure not to use seat covers

 

[dlink]

Thanks for the response. My wife sits pretty normal , maybe with a little lean backwards, she weighs 122 lbs. The seat should be designed to operate in any position or should not allow you to put it in a position that would jeopardize its funtion or the safety of the passenger. The design should not be one that you have to pay attention to the position of how you are sitting . BMW has a problem here and is not taking responsibility for it. If the salesman looked at my wife while I was looking at this car and said " Your wife looks like she might not be protected from the airbag if you were in a collision because of her weight" I would of never bought it. As it is now we can not enjoy the car together because she wont ride in it. We would never cover up that beautiful interior with ugly seat covers.

 

[bahnstormer]

sell the bmw. all the new 7 and 5 series are just trouble. some work great, but others are stupidly being ignored by the dealer because none of the mechanics went to MIT. =\
stick to a nice cpo e39 =]