Laguna Hills, CA – May 18, 2019 – BMW of North America is recalling certain 2016-2019 X1 sDrive28i and X1 xDrive28i vehicles because of an issue involving crash impact protection. If an accident were to occur in which the occupant’s head comes into contact with the B-pillar, the pillar may not sufficiently absorb the impact, increasing the likelihood of serious injury or death. As many as 106,182 vehicles may be affected.
The Defect
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report on this issue, inadequate impact protection surrounding the affected vehicles’ B-pillar could lead to a greater risk of injury if an occupant’s head were to contact the pillar during a crash. Because of this issue, the vehicles do not comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 201, “Occupant Protection in Interior Impact.”
Timeline of Events
BMW conducted development tests in January 2019 on its next-generation X1 model. The results showed that one of the B-pillar target points exceeded the recommended value, indicating a safety issue. Since the new generation of X1 models are identical to the current X1 version now on the road, the automaker decided to revisit its prior certification results, finding that those earlier tests came out within the legal requirements for the B-pillar values. BMW then conducted further review of the discrepancies between the two versions.
Further tests were conducted April 3, showing that one of the B-pillar values still exceeded the recommendation. In response, additional reviews of test setup equipment and simulations took place in April, followed by evaluation from an independent testing laboratory. The lab repeated BMW’s earlier tests, coming up with similar results.
Engineering analysis by the automaker then revealed that the engineering services company that had conducted the initial tests and simulations for the new generation X1 vehicles’ B-pillar contact point had failed to take into account a worst-case scenario for head-form positioning. As a result, BMW decided May 2 to launch a voluntary recall.
The Solution
The recall is expected to begin July 2, 2019. A repair solution is still under development. When the remedy becomes available, BMW will notify owners.
Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Owners may also contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to the www.safercar.gov website. The NHTSA Campaign Number for this recall is 19V349000.
