Toronto, Ontario — As Takata airbags continue to rear their defective heads, BMW made the call on Thursday to issue a “Do Not Drive” order for approximately 38,000 models sold in Canada between 2000 and 2006.
First announced in a news release from the U.S.’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which identified an additional 90,000 BMWs on American roads that are suspected to be equipped with Takata airbags, BMW Canada has since come forward with additional details.
The automaker’s Canadian division put out a press release Friday, identifying 2000 to 2006 BMW 3 Series (E46), including the M3; 2001 to 2003 5 Series (E39), including the M5; and 2001 to 2004 X5s (E53), as most likely to contain the widely recalled front airbag inflators.
“As the airbag inflators continue to age, the risk of serious injury or death increases. Therefore, to reemphasize the seriousness of the situation, the decision was made to escalate the recall to a ‘Do Not Drive’ order,” wrote BMW.
The German automaker is not alone in its continued effort to weed out these faulty airbag inflators, as Volkswagen, Honda and Ford have recently reckoned with the lingering effects of what has turned out to be the single largest automotive safety recall in history.
Drivers of the affected vehicles are due to receive notification letters about the Do Not Drive order in June, however, they are able to pursue a free airbag replacement immediately, according to BMW.
