BMW to recall 1.6 million vehicles for faulty airbags

MUNICH, Germany, July 16 (UPI) -- BMW said it was recalling 1.6 million 3 series vehicles from 2000 to 2006 because of a faulty airbag that in rare cases could break apart on deployment.

The company said that the airbags on the passenger side could break apart resulting in injuries to passengers, but added that this had happened only in "rare cases." The car maker has informed the NHTSA about the recall, which includes 574,000 vehicles in the U.S.

Despite the rarity of the flaw, BMW said it would nonetheless replace the airbags and would notify owners of the schedule that they will follow. The carmaker said that it wasn't previously aware of the flaw and issued the recall as soon as it found out.

The air bags produced by Japanese manufacturer Takata Corp. have led to over 3 million recalls in the U.S. from car manufacturers including Honda, Nissan, Ford, Chrysler and Mazda. The flaw lies in the protection system's inflator apparatus. an NHTSA investigation found that the canister in the inflator can explode, causing metal shards to spray all over the car.

Wednesday's recall only adds to the million of cars recalled this year for safety reasons, starting with General Motors' recall of cars with faulty ignition devices that led to the death of 13 people. GM is under investigation by Congress, NHTSA and federal prosecutors for failing to report and fix the snag.