WTF hit a pothole and my passenger pillar airbag went off!!?!?

Ill give them a call tomorrow and try that. They close at 5, so its just after that now. I really hope I can sway them to do this for me. if not im screwed. I already have to replace the dented rim

Tell them if they don't help you, you'll send DMAX over in his green 328i loaded w/ Beagles and a very angry parts guy named Benn.

^hahah thanks guys!

In a somewhat related question.... will a rim with a dented in lip make "flat tire" noises? Kinda loud tire kind of sound? Sorry ive never had a dented rim before. I plan on ordering a replacement, but I wont be able to for a couple weeks.

Originally Posted by e46dub

^hahah thanks guys!

In a somewhat related question.... will a rim with a dented in lip make "flat tire" noises? Kinda loud tire kind of sound? Sorry ive never had a dented rim before. I plan on ordering a replacement, but I wont be able to for a couple weeks.

the steel belt probably is damaged due to the pothole, now the tire is ballooned.
trust me, I have seen it. the tire literally split like a V shape in the middle.

Id would report it immediately, you can do that at safecar.gov.
I might also use the search feature here and elsewhere to find other people that this has happened to and encourage them to report it.
The NHTSA received as little as 10 reports of the Jeep Liberty's airbags going off erroneously and started an investigation.

You might be out of luck though becuase I cant seem to find any record of a person getting a company to pay for the airbag repairs when the car underwent any sort of collision at all.
All the cases I have found where someone got a favorable result are of airbags going off during normal driving conditions.

Also if you have collision insurance call them, they will send an inspector to determine wheather a "collision" has caused damage to the car.
If their inspector finds that the airbag blowing is not a result of a "collision" then you would have a stronger case that this is a defect.

So can I cut this ***** free? I tried tucking it up back into the headliner but its causing creases in my headliner

RAWR lol

Originally Posted by e46dub

So can I cut this ***** free? I tried tucking it up back into the headliner but its causing creases in my headliner

RAWR lol

just cut it off. or remove the module

any idea on where the module is located?

True

Search my signature and airbags.

Welcome to the BMW Airbag Club, many exclusive members here on the forum.

Fill out a NHTSA form, NHSTA will not do anything for you, however, the more documented cases, the more likely they are to look into the issue with the manufacturer.

Your car is OLD, BUT, airbags should not easily blow when hitting a pothole.

As for the wheel, if it is bent, it will have a flat spot sound. If the outer rim is visibly bent, I can guarantee you the inner lip if really bent!

Easy way to check, jack up side with the bent wheel, get it only about 1/8" above the ground, spin the wheel and look between the ground and the tread. You will see a low spot in the tire where the wheel is bent.

You may be able to get a local company to straighten the wheel for about $125 if you shop around. Some of the wheel straightening guys do a pretty good job. I had to have almost all of my Style 68 rims straightened.

Good luck with BMW NA, you may be able to convince them to do something??

If not, search online and you can send your airbag module out for resetting, usually around $75-$90, this should clear the airbag light as well once you have a replacement bag in place.

Ditto on what jfoj said. I joined the club a year or so ago with my 2000 323i and they fixed it for free. Good luck.