Passenger seat airbag sensor - known issue?

[BMW DIY Guy]

Hey yall!

The 06 E83 in the garage has been throwing an airbag warning now for awhile and I have finally started digging into it.

I also got a letter from BMW saying that this is a common issue and they have an extended 15 year warranty regarding this. I had it checked out, and of course, the car is beyond that 15 year window.

What confuses the @#$@#$@# out of me, is the estimate I got back for repair is $1600 from the dealership.

Sorry what?

I wasn't able to get a detailed explanation at the time of why on EARTH the bill is that high, but for that price, I better well assume they are replacing the entire SEAT with a new one! (for that price, it better include a refresh of the rest of the interior as well!!)


Searching through the forums, I dont see a info on this though candidly could have likely missed it. If this is so common as to get a warranty extension it MUST be super common?

Anyone familiar with this? I would do the repair myself if possible, and also even have a local automotive upholstery shop that does GREAT work if its beyond me.