2017 BMW 4 Series Air Bags & Restraints Problems

The car is sporadically saying passenger restraint system, going on and off.

The contact called on behalf of his daughter who owns a 2017 BMW 430I. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated, and the message indicating a seat occupancy failure was displayed. Additionally, the contact stated that the seat belt chime reminder was audible even though there was a passenger seated in the front passenger’s seat with the seat belt properly buckled up. The contact, who is a certified mechanic, diagnosed that the front passenger’s seat occupancy mat had failed. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to stop driving the vehicle and to take the vehicle to their location for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

I was the driver and I stopped at a traffic light. I leaned over toward the passenger seat and the driver’s seat belt came loose from the fixed attachment point at the driver door side of the seat. The seat belt tensioner was recently replaced at the local BMW dealer. There was no warning or other indication that the seat belt anchor point was not secure. I am taking the vehicle back to the dealer for repair on Monday, June 20. Whether this is a manufacturing, assembly or repair issue is unknown. However, there was no advance warning and the seat belt suddenly was rendered useless, which is an unacceptable safety risk in the case of an accident, regardless of whether it is a manufacturing issue or the result of a negligent repair.

SEAT BELTS DO NOT RETRACT WHEN REMOVED. THEY MUST BE MANUALLY PUSHED INTO THE SEAT BACK. IF I FORGET, OR LOAN MY CAR TO SOMEONE THERE IS A DANGER OF THE SEAT BELT AND/OR SEAT BELT CLIP BEING STUCK IN THE DOOR CAUSING DAMAGE THAT MAY NOT BE NOTICEABLE UNTIL THE SEAT BELT FAILS IN AN ACCIDENT. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THIS IS NORMAL FOR THIS CAR.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2017 BMW 430I. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE CONTACT REAR ENDED THE PRECEDING VEHICLE DUE TO A SUDDEN STOP. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND "FAULT IN AIR BAG" APPEARED. THE CONTACT RECEIVED INJURIES TO THE BACK AND NECK AREA, BUT MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NOT NEEDED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AND DEEMED TOTALED BY THE TOWING COMPANY. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 52,000.