[MadJoe]

Hey guys, just curious if any of you know how to determine if an airbag is pre or post recall by the airbag's model number if you don't have the VIN of the car it came from?

The reason I ask is I bought one from an Ebay seller who guaranteed it was post recall... but we all know what to make of their guarantees. Anyway, it showed up with a bunch of rust on the back plate, which proves it's been exposed to moisture, and as we know moisture is what damages the inflators in these things making them deadly.

[Bavarian Tech]

That is 100% a pre-recall airbag and rusted AF

[monkeyboy]

hopefully not exactly hijacking...

When the whole BMW+Takata airbag issue first hit, my 2011 328xi was on the recall list. I even got a postcard from BMW saying that they will fix the airbags when they get some.

After a year, I contacted BMW and they said, "Oh, we don't have many replacements so we are focusing on fixing cars that are the most vulnerable, those in warm dry climates. You'll get yours later..."

A couple more years went by and nothing. I then contacted BMW and the SA said, "Oh BMW decided not to replace yours because you live in Upstate NY"...

So... what? Its defective and if I drive down to Texas and get into an accident, my neck will be shredded with shrapnel? Is this cool that BMW can decide not to fix afterall? What are others doing?

[MadJoe]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Tech

That is 100% a pre-recall airbag and rusted AF

Just out of curiosity, how are you so sure it's pre-recall, though?

monkeyboy that's messed up and I'd definitely call them again. If they won't budge, maybe try a different dealer in the area.

[NYBulldog]

His assumption is based on the rusting so it should be old. That bag come with an additional sticker on the side which shows its production date. Since we had recalls this one is likely a pre-recall. I would also assume that and would not buy this, no matter how cheap it is. That doesn't mean it doesn't work nor doesn't work properly. You just have to evaluate your risk.

I feel this one is priced very well considering its supposedly new.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E90-E91...a7c4bd976abe53

[Bavarian Tech]

Its not an assumption, its a fact...This is an old airbag 100%..Pre-recall bags have a yellow sticker, new ones are white

Originally Posted by NYBulldog

His assumption is based on the rusting so it should be old. That bag come with an additional sticker on the side which shows its production date. Since we had recalls this one is likely a pre-recall. I would also assume that and would not buy this, no matter how cheap it is. That doesn't mean it doesn't work nor doesn't work properly. You just have to evaluate your risk.

I feel this one is priced very well considering its supposedly new.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E90-E91...a7c4bd976abe53

[tcphoto]

Some may be able to justify purchasing items on eBay, this is not one of those items.

[ryan stewart]

Id rather have no airbag than a used takata airbag off ebay...

[NYBulldog]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Tech

Its not an assumption, its a fact...This is an old airbag 100%..Pre-recall bags have a yellow sticker, new ones are white

That's the type of information you should have written in your first post instead of just saying its "rusted AF". I simply assumed its old since I have no facts to support it beside the terrible oxidation. Since you know, sounds like from experience that's great. I did not know the newer ones had a white sticker. That helps a bunch. Helps the OP more importantly.

With Bavarian Tech's help, seems like this would be it and a great deal.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-3-X1-SP...75.c4#viTabs_0

[MadJoe]

After posting this it dawned on me that I have a post-recall airbag in my 2006 325i with sport wheel. I decided to remove it and see if it fit into the 2011 sport wheel and it does perfectly. For reference the plastic housing on both airbags have identical markings. I'm not sure who told me, or where I got the idea that LCI and Pre-LCI sport wheels had slightly different airbags. They're the same.

What I've been able to gather from this is that the one I purchased from Tom's Foreign Auto Parts is almost certainly pre-recall as Bavarian Tech pointed out (I'm going to assume they're right because safety isn't something I take lightly). I have already received a reply from the seller that they're issuing a refund (we'll see if they refund the $50 freight charge).

I'm particularly pissed off because I spoke with a sales rep from Tom's on the phone prior to purchasing this thing and specifically told him that I would reject a pre-recall airbag (I guess he hoped I wouldn't be able to tell). He assured me the airbags were 100% guaranteed (in hindsight he did not say guaranteed to be post-recall) so I accept his word and ordered it. This will be the last time I deal with them for any parts, never mind airbags.

Originally Posted by Bavarian Tech

Its not an assumption, its a fact...This is an old airbag 100%..Pre-recall bags have a yellow sticker, new ones are white

In my recent experience, this isn't 100% true because the replaced airbag from my 2006 325i has a yellow sticker. It's a bit darker yellow than the sticker on the eBay airbag, but it's still yellow. I've attached photos to show the differences for anyone out there who's budget doesn't allow them to drop $1100 on a new airbag just to have a sport steering wheel in their ride. You can see on the one from my 2006 car it was produced in 2017 (PSDI-5: 2017). The other one I can't find anywhere on it anything that could be mistaken for a production date.

I have been researching this for a few weeks now and I am also aware that a recall-replaced airbag has a different part number than one you would replace on your own. The 1 parts guy I've talked to thus far that was awesome and understanding of why I wanted this information confirmed this (he was also surprised by it). I foolishly didn't write the numbers he gave me down, though, and like a moron I forgot his name.

32-30-6-884-672 is the part number I've been able to get as being good.

Pics are:
1st: side by side. Recall-replaced airbag on the left, suspect one on the right
2nd: Close up of the back of a recall-replaced airbag
3rd: White identification tag on the side of the replaced airbag
4th: Random white sticker on suspect airbag
5th: Identification decal on the side of the suspect airbag.

[michaelalex17]

Originally Posted by MadJoe

After posting this it dawned on me that I have a post-recall airbag in my 2006 325i with sport wheel. I decided to remove it and see if it fit into the 2011 sport wheel and it does perfectly. For reference the plastic housing on both airbags have identical markings. I'm not sure who told me, or where I got the idea that LCI and Pre-LCI sport wheels had slightly different airbags. They're the same.

What I've been able to gather from this is that the one I purchased from Tom's Foreign Auto Parts is almost certainly pre-recall as Bavarian Tech pointed out (I'm going to assume they're right because safety isn't something I take lightly). I have already received a reply from the seller that they're issuing a refund (we'll see if they refund the $50 freight charge).

I'm particularly pissed off because I spoke with a sales rep from Tom's on the phone prior to purchasing this thing and specifically told him that I would reject a pre-recall airbag (I guess he hoped I wouldn't be able to tell). He assured me the airbags were 100% guaranteed (in hindsight he did not say guaranteed to be post-recall) so I accept his word and ordered it. This will be the last time I deal with them for any parts, never mind airbags.



In my recent experience, this isn't 100% true because the replaced airbag from my 2006 325i has a yellow sticker. It's a bit darker yellow than the sticker on the eBay airbag, but it's still yellow. I've attached photos to show the differences for anyone out there who's budget doesn't allow them to drop $1100 on a new airbag just to have a sport steering wheel in their ride. You can see on the one from my 2006 car it was produced in 2017 (PSDI-5: 2017). The other one I can't find anywhere on it anything that could be mistaken for a production date.

I have been researching this for a few weeks now and I am also aware that a recall-replaced airbag has a different part number than one you would replace on your own. The 1 parts guy I've talked to thus far that was awesome and understanding of why I wanted this information confirmed this (he was also surprised by it). I foolishly didn't write the numbers he gave me down, though, and like a moron I forgot his name.

32-30-6-884-672 is the part number I've been able to get as being good.

Pics are:
1st: side by side. Recall-replaced airbag on the left, suspect one on the right
2nd: Close up of the back of a recall-replaced airbag
3rd: White identification tag on the side of the replaced airbag
4th: Random white sticker on suspect airbag
5th: Identification decal on the side of the suspect airbag.

Thank you for the info, where are you seeing that is the revised part number?