Nearly 750,000 Cars Join Airbag Recalls, Including Popular BMW and Stellantis Vehicles
It happens all the time. You’re checking your mail or perusing the internet just to find that your vehicle has an open recall. It’s doubly irritating and worrisome when a recall refers to something potentially dangerous rather than simply annoying. Unfortunately for owners of many popular vehicles from BMW and Stellantis, nearly 750,000 of the brands’ cars joined those named by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for airbag recalls.
The NHTSA named over 394,000 BMW vehicles and 332,000 Stellantis vehicles in airbag recalls
The NHTSA informs vehicle owners of recalls covering everything from faulty accessories to life-threatening safety concerns. Worryingly, some of the latest developments include airbag recalls naming popular BMW and Chrysler vehicles.
USA Today reported that popular models from BMW and Chrysler have potentially life-threatening airbag faults. More accurately, the “Chrysler” vehicles listed are Stellantis subsidiaries like Jeep, Alfa Romeo, and FIAT.
- 2006-2011 BMW 3 Series models
- 2019-2023 Jeep Renegade
- 2024 FIAT 500e
- 2019-2023 FIAT 500X
- 2017-2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia
- 2018-2025 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Regarding BMW, the Bavarian automaker recalled 394,029 of its popular 3 Series sedans. Specifically, the models in the recall are from the 2006 to 2011 timeframe. Consequently, that means all of the potentially dangerous 3 Series models are from the nameplate’s fifth generation under the E90 classifier. Unfortunately, the recall list of E90 models is fairly comprehensive. If you own a BMW E90, you should check your recall status immediately.
As for the specific threat, the NHTSA reports that sport steering wheel-equipped models may conceal a faulty inflator. The inflator can explode during operation, turning the application into something of a directional fragmentation charge (DFC). Like a tiny Claymore. All jesting aside, it’s a serious issue that BMW’s service center network will rectify free of charge.
As for the Stellantis vehicles, the NHTSA named popular models like the Jeep Renegade, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Alfa Romeo Stelvio, and FIAT 500 models in the airbag recall. However, unlike the BMW recalls, the 332,000 Stellantis vehicles may have a faulty seatbelt sensor that could prevent the airbag from deploying when it should.
The BMW and Stellantis vehicles join the millions of vehicles from popular automakers like Honda and Toyota similarly recalled for airbag issues. If you have concerns that your vehicle has an open recall, check out the NHTSA database here.
