The Takata airbag recall has affected several automobile companies and has, unfortunately, caused serious injury to many and even death to some. It’s tragic to hear so many cases of the Takata airbags going wrong and it’s even more tragic to continue to hear that more and more vehicles are getting recalled for such airbag-related issues. The latest Takata news is that certain BMW X5/X6 models from 2007-2011 are being recalled for front airbag issues.

“In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front airbags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature cycling,” Claimed the NHTSA.  “An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.”

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These X5s are not the first vehicles to have such issues and are likely to not be the last. It’s so unfortunate to think that a device that’s been designed to save lives could end up taking some. However, thankfully, there have been no reports of anyone being harmed in a BMW X5 due to its airbags. BMW has also claimed that there were no reports of ruptures in testing, as well. However, the Bavarian brand will be recalling the front airbags in the listed models at dealerships. If you’re an owner of one of the vehicles, the recall doesn’t begin until July 18th.

In total, 91,806 BMW X5s and X6s will be recalled, which is another big hit to Takata, the Japanese airbag developer who’s been trying to regain its image ever since the airbag issues began a couple of years ago. Obviously, BMW is being overly cautious with this recall and it’s not as if all of these airbags, if any at all, are going to be defective. It’s just that there’s a small possibility of defection and BMW would rather remove any possibility, no matter how small.

We’ll list the BMW X5/X6 models set for recall below:

  • 2007-’11 BMW X5 xDrive30i
  • 2007-’11 BMW X5 XDrive35i
  • 2007-’11 BMW X5 xDrive48i
  • 2007-’11 BMW X5 xDrive50i
  • 2007-’11 BMW X5 M
  • 2009-’11 BMW X5 xDrive35d
  • 2008-’11 BMW X6 xDrive35i
  • 2008-’11 BMW X6 xDrive50i
  • 2008-’11 BMW X6 M
  • 2010-’11 BMW X6 ActiveHybrid

[Source: Edmunds]