[Speedy E90]

My passenger seatbelt sensor has been malfunctioning for quite some time now. It used to be that it would give me a error on start up and shut up after that. Now it is constantly switching between active and non active mood, which results in the so lovely "chirp" "chirp" sound. Is there any way to deactivate the sensor until I go in for service in a month???

Thanks

[KL2DC]

Sounds like a problem with the passenger recognition mat sensor on the seat bottom. I have an aesthetic problem with mine that has yet to be addressed. In my case the sensors are causing bumps and lumps to protrude.

I don't have a temporary fix for you, you could try fiddling/massaging your seat bottom to see if that helps. Good luck!!

[gerapau]

I took my E90 325i in for a malfunctioning passenger sensor a couple of weeks ago and they ordered some parts for it. On the invoice there was mention of a tsb for this malfunction so it doesn't sound like you are alone. The light for mine just came on one day and the airbag disabled light came on and has stayed on ever since.

[nyc3r]

I got this warning twice now.. that's not very good considering i don't usually have passenger. If it happens again I'm going to call for an appointment.

[billgti]

a couple months ago i started getting the airbag warning upon start up and then it would go away but the seatbelt light would stay lit. if i turned the car off and turned it back on the warning would go away altogether.

it was a on/off thing but became more frequent after a month or so. i finally took it to the dealer last month and they replaced the passaenger seat mat sensor. my service advisor said it was a pretty common problem so take it to your dealer and it should be fixed easily.

[nyc3r]

Okay, it's official, my passenger seat sensor is busted. Not sure before since I don't have passenger most of the time but it's been faulty everytime i have passenger, time to call this one in.

A bit annoyed since the car is just over 3 months old

[BMW320i]

my dad has the same problem in his E60, the sensor would go on with no reason, and the sound annoys my dad a lot, so he hit the seat and it stopped, he took an appointment at the dealer in a week, till then, he just hit the seat when the sound starts

[nyc3r]

just wanted to update you guys that they have to order the part but it should be in tomorrow. To be continued...

[BMW320i]

that's good, which part is it?? the sensor mat??

[BigO1120]

What's up everyone!

Please believe me when I tell you that I know how you all feel. I have had the exact same problem with my 2004 X3 in where the passenger airbag sensor was always coming on and then off. The dealership and BMW thought that my wife might not have been heavy enough for the sensors to recognize her but that's just BS.

After taking the truck to the dealership 4 or 5 times for the exact same problem the dealership and BMW finally decided that I should get out of that truck so now I'm taking a new 328xi this weekend (believe me when I say that it wasn't an easy transition...BMW gave me a hard time).

So all I can say is make sure you guys stay on top of this issue and if it keeps happening...give BMW and your dealer hell! And just so you know...my X3 has over 30K miles on it and BMW still took my truck.

Here's the link to the forum in where I documented all my problems:

X3 Airbag Problem Forum

[BigO1120]

This also scares me to know that this problem is not just isolated to just the X3s. If it happens on my new 328xi...I'm going to be giving my dealership hell again!

They really like me over there!

[nyc3r]

how'd you manage to get them to take the car back based on the seatbelt/airbag warning?
I wouldn't mind getting a 328xi to replace my 325xi. It just hit 2000 miles.

Hopefully, they finish replacing the part today and I can pickup the car.

[BigO1120]

Originally Posted by nyc3r

how'd you manage to get them to take the car back based on the seatbelt/airbag warning?
I wouldn't mind getting a 328xi to replace my 325xi. It just hit 2000 miles.

Hopefully, they finish replacing the part today and I can pickup the car.

With a lot of nagging and threatening! At first BMW NA was putting down NOTHING to buy me out of my truck. Now they went ahead and made it right. Now my monthly payments for the new 328xi that I'm getting are the same that I was paying for my truck and I have 2 years left to pay it off.

Sweet! Isn't it!?

[nyc3r]

okay, so they didn't offer to take my ride for a new 07.. but they 'said' they replaced the seat sensor and reprogrammed my computer. I sat in the seat and didn't get the alarm. The real test is when I get someone who weigh less to try it.

Took them two days and no loaner..

The SA told me it has the newest software but I don't noice the font difference that some people are talking about. What I did notice is all my settings were wiped out so I had to reset everything.

[smellthebeans]

Originally Posted by billgti

a couple months ago i started getting the airbag warning upon start up and then it would go away but the seatbelt light would stay lit. if i turned the car off and turned it back on the warning would go away altogether.

it was a on/off thing but became more frequent after a month or so. i finally took it to the dealer last month and they replaced the passaenger seat mat sensor. my service advisor said it was a pretty common problem so take it to your dealer and it should be fixed easily.

Any one out there have this same issue repaired? How did / is it working out?

Mine is exhibiting the same symptoms

TIA!

[AH]

I have problem with the sensor, but it's the other problem, it was just stop working .... starting couple weeks ago, i noticed the sensor on passenger side just didn't work, it's just off all the time.... at first i thought my gf starting loosing weight (LOL), and it didnt set off the warning sign.... but it seems it's just go away now.

I think my problem is less compared to the one experiencing "chirp chirp" all the time.

[smellthebeans]

TA-DA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this should explain things...

Make: BMW
Model: 325CI
Year: 2006
NHTSA Action Number: EA08001
Summary:
IN CERTAIN MY 2004 THROUGH MY 2006 BMW VEHICLES, THE OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (OCS) FOR THE PASSENGER FRONTAL AIRBAG MAY MALFUNCTION AND RENDER THE PASSENGER AIRBAG INOPERATIVE. IN JUNE 2006, BMW ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (SI B 72 02 06) REGARDING THE ILLUMINATION OF THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT AND THE PASSENGER AIRBAG STATUS LAMP. ILLUMINATION OF THESE LIGHTS WARN THAT AN OPEN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT MAY BE PRESENT WITHIN THE PASSENGER SEAT MAT SENSOR. WHEN BOTH OF THE LIGHTS ARE ILLUMINATED, THE PASSENGER FRONTAL AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY IN A FRONTAL CRASH. AN IMPROVED SEAT MAT SENSOR WAS INTRODUCED IN DECEMBER 2005 FOR THE MID-MY 2006 PRODUCTION ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES. IN RESPONSE TO ODI'S INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER, BMW PROVIDED 3,465 OWNER REPORTS AND 28,238 WARRANTY CLAIMS. INITIAL REVIEW OF THE DATA INDICATE THAT 729 NON-DUPLICATING OWNER REPORTS AND 23,739 NON-DUPLICATING WARRANTY CLAIMS MAY BE RELATED THE SUBJECT DEFECT ISSUE ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES THIS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS OPENED TO FURTHER STUDY THIS ISSUE.

[SE3P_to_E90]

I just got this and googled a quick search... As my warranty has been over for approximately 6000 miles now, I'm glad I found this. It seems that for people who ran out of warranty, BMW is extending warranty to fix this for 10 years after the first registration of the car to correct this problem. I'll be going into the dealer soon to get this checked out and will post accordingly.

Recalls for the 2006 BMW 325i

Body, Interior & Misc.: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

Campaign Number: 08V384000
Number of Vehicles Affected: 200,000
Model Years Affected: 2006
Defect Summary: BMW IS RECALLING 200,000 MY 2006 3 SERIES SPORT SEAT, MY 2004-2006 5 SERIES STANDARD AND SPORT SEAT, AND MY 2004-2006 X3 PASSENGER VEHICLES. DEPENDING ON THE MANNER AND FREQUENCY OF THE FRONT PASSENGER'S ENTRY AND EXIT, SMALL CRACKS HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE MAT. IF THIS OCCURS, THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAGS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE HEAD PROTECTION SYSTEM, WILL BE DEACTIVATED AND THE AIR BAG WARNING LAMP AS WELL AS THE PASSENGER AIR BAG "ON-OFF" LAMP WILL BE ILLUMINATED.

Consequence Summary: IN THIS SITUATION THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY EVEN IF A SUFFICIENTLY SEVERE ACCIDENT WOULD OCCUR AND OCCUPANT PROTECTION PROVIDED BY THE SYSTEM WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE.

Corrective Summary: DEALERS WILL REWORK THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR MAT SO THAT EXTERNAL FORCE APPLICATION TO THE SEAT DOES NOT CAUSE A CRACK TO THE MAT. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING LATE SEPTEMBER 2008. BMW WILL ALSO EXTEND THE WARRANTY ON THESE VEHICLES TO 10 YEARS FROM FIRST REGISTRATION WITHOUT ANY MILEAGE LIMIT. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BMW AT 1-800-525-7417.

Recall Notes: BMW IS EXTENDING THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS FROM FIRST REGISTRATION WITHOUT ANY MILEAGE LIMIT TO THE FOLLOWING VEHICLES:MY 2006 6-SERIES, 3-SERIES (STANDARD SEAT), MY 2004-2005 Z4, MY 2004-2006 7-SERIES, MY 2006 X5, AND MY 2004-2006 5-SERIES (COMFORT SEAT).UNDER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY PROGRAM, THE OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT IN A VEHICLE THAT EXPERIENCES THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE WILL BE REPLACED AT NO CHARGE TO THE CUSTOMER.CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

http://repairpal.com/bmw-325i-2006/recalls_and_tsbs

[SE3P_to_E90]

Ok, so my highbeam bulb went out... and with it, all the other error codes (except for the one bulb-out error). I'll post with more info on that service bulletin as it becomes necessary.