BMW covering up air bag problems?

Highlights from the Associated press article...

Lawsuit Claims BMW SUV Air Bags Defective
By CATHERINE WILSON AP Business Writer

MIAMI (AP) - BMW X5 sport utility vehicles have defective air bags that deploy for no reason, and the German carmaker's U.S. subsidiary requires owners to agree to secrecy before performing free repairs, a driver claims in a lawsuit seeking national class-action status.

Lisa Vale said she suffered a chemical burn on her left arm when the driver's side bag exploded with a blinding puff of white powder as she was driving on a busy thoroughfare south of Miami in April.

Her 2001 SUV was still under warranty, but the dealer who sold her mother the $58,000 vehicle planned to charge her $3,840 for repairs if she refused to sign the confidentiality agreement, she said. She balked, took the X5 to another dealership for less expensive repairs and sued Friday in Florida state court in Miami-Dade County.

Full article here

Have any of you had this type of problem with an X5 or any other BMW?

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VISO - 7/29/2004 10:08:45 PM

+1 Boost

Owners of 13,000 2004-model Lexus LS 430 sedans are entitled to new transmissions, says Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.

Toyota said a part in the planetary gear assembly can break during acceleration and disable the parking gear.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the defect creates a risk of rollaway crashes.

That was one of two newly announced recalls for the top-of-the-line Lexus sedan, NHTSA records show.

Lexus dealers also will replace fuel pumps in about 14,000 2004-model LS 430s. Alcohol in some fuels - such as an ethanol additive - can cause a pump impeller to deform and contact the pump body. This leads to pump failure, the company says.

Another luxury automaker is conducting a pair of recalls of 2004 models. BMW of North America Inc. is telling owners of some 5-series, 6-series and 7-series cars and X5 SUVs not to drive the vehicles until defective engine control units can be replaced.

The company says the V-8 or V-12 engines may stop running without warning. Motorists would lose the power assist for steering and braking.

NHTSA says the recall affects about 6,500 vehicles. BMW says it has delivered 2,000 of them to customers.

BMW also is recalling 7,500 5-series and 6-series cars with V-8s. The cars need a retention clip on a fuel line coupling to keep it from separating during a crash and spilling gasoline

TheDonII - 8/2/2004 5:42:41 PM

+1 Boost

Are people getting their real money's worth with these German so called luxury cars?? I wonder..Yeah it took 650K Mercedes Benz cars to realize that they had problems before recalling them to fix the brake problem.
Go get yourselves Japanese luxury cars....They are not perfect but if they do have problems they realize them before they hit that high a number.
Kudos to Lexus, Acura and Infiniti....

CharlesLee - 6/12/2009 12:07:18 AM

+1 Boost

2003 bmw 330xi, I have the same issue when I drove past a pot hole. The scariest driving experience ever. My friend got burned, the car stiffened, both were temporarily blinded by the white powder and the car wouldn't start and had to manually move the car off the expressway - was located next to a highway exit, almost got into a freak accident. Working with BMW but may potential seek legal action if not to satisfaction. They really endangered my life.