BMW won't wait for Takata inquest findings

BMW Australia has committed fully to the recently announced voluntary recall for 3 Series models of the E46 generation, according to CEO Vikram Pawah.

The importer has made preliminary contact with owners of the 12,663 vehicles potentially affected – those fitted with NADI (non-azide driver inflator) type 5AT airbags supplied by Takata – and has offered each owner multiple options.

"We took a voluntary recall action because we felt there were certain Takata airbags which were not covered in the previous recall that [might] not perform 100 per cent," Pawah told carsales during the local launch of the new BMW 1 Series.

"We're still working with the authorities on that, but we didn't want to wait for the final conclusion of those investigations; we just wanted to make sure that we do the right thing for our customers.

"All those customers have been contacted, regarding solutions for our customers, including buy-backs...

"We still haven't concluded whether there's actually a real problem or not, but we didn't want to wait for the [coroner's inquest].

"We're giving them the option to rent a car, we can buy back your car. We're working with each and every customer to ensure that they're mobile and that they're being looked after even though it's a 20-year old car.

"We'll store it if someone wants to keep it – if it's a collector's car. There's a time to repair it; we can store it for them until that time..."

Pawah said he couldn't provide a timeframe for the parts to be made available for the 12,663 vehicles potentially affected by the recall. He also made it clear that not all those vehicles are necessarily dangerous.

"These cars need inspection, and then we'll determine whether they fall into that category."

BMW Australia advises that inspection takes about 30 minutes per vehicle and the importer is offering owners different 'mobility arrangements' while their respective car is out of action for the projected waiting period of between 14 and 18 months for the parts to arrive. Build dates for the affected vehicles range from between November 21, 1997 to June 30, 2000.