2024 BMW Sport Utility Vehicles Recalled Over Incorrectly Manufactured Knee Airbags

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Joyson Safety Systems may be just another company to the uninitiated in all things automotive. Problem is, the Auburn Hills-based supplier has two red flags. First, it acquired Takata Corporation in June 2017. Second, the automotive safety systems manufacturer is a subsidiary of a corporation from the People’s Republic of China.

Joyson has been covered on many occasions here on autoevolution due to its poor quality control. BMW’s latest recall campaign lists Joyson as the supplier of the knee airbags for 2024 model year sport utility vehicles, including the refreshed X5 M Competition and XM.

JSS informed the Bavarian automaker of a potential issue with said knee airbags on June 2023, prompting BMW to investigate. What issue? Back on June 20, a knee airbag had deployed abnormally during a lot acceptance test. As a result, all airbags from the suspect production lot as the suspect airbag were examined.

One of them was found to feature clamped fabric, most likely due to the incorrect installation of the inflator. Tests of airbags with said anomaly were performed, and every single one deployed abnormally. Further investigation revealed that suspect airbags were assembled at one station by a specific machine operator during a certain period of time. Reading between the lines, a single worker took the blame for this blunder.

There is, however, a problem with said conclusion. As per the attached report, the recall’s condition hasn’t been corrected in production. Otherwise said, poor quality control may result in yet another production deviation in the near future, be it BMW or another automaker.

BMW couldn’t rule out the safety risks associated with incorrectly manufactured knee airbags, which is why 1,981 sport utility vehicles have been recalled in the United States market alone. The affected population includes nine units of the XM, 538 units of the X7, 164 units of the X6, 202 of the X5 xDrive50e, and 1,068 of the X5 sDrive40i through the X5 M Competition.

The knee airbags in question bear part numbers 699140712 and 699140812. Owners will be informed on September 1 by first-class mail to take their vehicles in for the remedy. Dealers have already been instructed to replace the driver and passenger knee airbags. In the meantime, owners are advised to run the VIN on the NHTSA‘s website to verify whether their brand-new BMW sport utility vehicles are called back or not.

Both the X5 and X6 were facelifted for model year 2024, with their M versions now coming standard in Competition spec. The Ms have also switched from the S63 twin-turbo V8 to the newly developed S68, which sports mild-hybrid assistance. The X7 was refreshed in 2022 for 2023, and despite not having a full-on M version, the Alpina XB7 more than makes up for it.

Finally, the aesthetically challenged XM is available in two flavors back home in the United States, where it’s made. The standard specification is $159,000 at press time, whereas the punchier Label Red is $185,000.