BMW Gets 5-Month Reprieve on Takata Airbag Inflator Recalls

U.S. regulators have granted BMW AG until the end of August to begin replacing Takata Corp. airbag inflators that could explode. The extension came after the company reported tests that showed some of the planned replacement units also might misfire.

BMW is among 14 vehicle manufacturers that have recalled some 29 million Takata inflators in the U.S. to date. In January the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered carmakers to follow a sequence of callbacks that begins with devices considered most likely to fail: those in older models located in hot and humid environments.

NHTSA’s schedule says “priority one” recalls must be launched by March 31, followed by “priority two” and “priority three” campaigns by the end of September and end of December, respectively. BMW has been given a five-month extension for one type of Takata inflator design for each of the three waves of recalls.

BMW aims to recall 100,000 devices in priority-one vehicles and another 320,000 inflators in subsequent campaigns. The company has reported no malfunctions of any Takata device in its vehicles.