Pass air bag lite Repair costs ?
 

Greeting
My pass side airbag lite stays on intermittently.
From a search, it appears that every other model including X3's and Z4's are covered by a recall and extended warranty.

Since mine is an 06 X5 I am assuming I get the privilege to pay for it out my pocket.

Has anyone gotten an X5 covered under the recall or,if not, any idea on the cost of parts and labor from a good Indy ?

Thanks
Ed in NJ

Did you contact BMW $tealer to find out if there is a recall for it? The code need to be read to see what it is before we can determine cost.

you can try to reset it by buying the airbag reset tool off ebay...

Well, if it is a recall, like you were saying, the dealer will fix it and absorb the cost of parts and labor. If it is a TSB, sometimes you can get some good faith and either get 50% of the order or you pay full parts and reduced labor.

Ed, are you a BMWCCA member? I'm pretty sure the NJ chapter has the airbag reset tool available for rent. They also have Peake scanners to see what is causing the code.

OK, so here is the UNBELIEVABLE good news...

I dropped the X at Open Road Edison on Wed nite. Dropped by at noon yesterday. New SA (all the SAs I knew there are gone), says no update. I'm thinking, "damn, they are going to sock me for $4,000 in parts and labor".

Now if you carefully read the recall bulletin, it mentions almost every year and model EXCEPT the 06 X5. However, I managed to find one that DID mention my X (almost in passing), so I was ready to defend my position that it should be done under warranty.

I get a call this morning from Steve, my SA. "Ed, car is finished, replaced the part under the recall, cost is ZERO". YAY!!!!

BTW, two indy shops I visited both said "It's not covered by the recall", so everyone needs to double check and do your own investigation.

A happy ending....

ed in NJ

Congrats on getting it fixed for free... I actually have the same issue. Where did you find the recall bulletin? Is there a website I can check. My car is 01 so i doubt anything would really get done under warranty of any kind...

Here's a link I found. It is specific to the 06 model but you can search for your own model.

Bmw X5 2006 - Air bags - car safety information, failing parts, recalls, bulletins, complaints

Here's the text:
Bmw is conducting a safety recall campaign on approximately 200,000 my04 through my06 subject vehicles built through 11/30/05 to correct the front passenger seat air bag occupant detection mat. the specific vehicles included in the recall aremy04- 06/ 5-series with standard and sport seats, my04-06/ x3-series and my06/ 3-series with sport seats. in addition, bmw will extend the warranty coverage of the passenger seat air bag occupant detection mat to 10-year/unlimited mileage on approximately 120,000 remaining my04-06 subject vehicles built through 11/30/05. the specific vehicles included in the extended warranty are my 06/ 6 series, my 06/ 3-series with standard seats, my04-05/ z4, my04-06/ 7 series, my 06/ x5, and my04-06/ 5-series with comfort seats.the average frequency of failures among the extended warranty groups was less than 1/7th of the recall vehicle groups.please see bmw's 08v-384 recall notification for further detailsdepending on seat configuration and vehicle geometry, the occupant detection mat can fatigue during use depending on the manner and frequency of the front passenger's entry and exit.specifically, over time, micro-cracks could develop in the side flanks of the mat causing a broken circuit.a brokencircuit can lead to the deactivation of the passenger air bag and the illumination of both the air bag warning light and the passenger air bag light.

Read more: Bmw X5 2006 - Air bags - car safety information, failing parts, recalls, bulletins, complaints

Thanks for sharing the link ed. Unfortunately no recall for mine.. but saw this under customer complaint: "The consumer parked and turn the vehicle off. after exiting the vehicle the consumer turned around and noticed smoking coming from the steering wheel. the consumer then re-enter the vehicle and the driver's side air bag deployed. this resulted in the consumer having a contusion, eye abrasion and 2 disc in their neck"

What I found most interesting is how numerous complaints were a result of an Indy repair shop advising the client of the fault, which generated a complaint. Had the owners done a search, they likely would have gotten a free repair.

BTW, on the 01' the pad is a SEPARATE and therefore serviceable part. There is a DIY on e46fanatics.com with very clear pictures and instructions. In my case, the entire seat bottom had to be replaced, hence the higher cost. Search is your friend :-)

Good luck,
ed