BMW bulletin B010818
What it saysThe Supplemental Restraint System’s (SRS) air bag warning lamp is illuminated, and the air bag control unit’s (ACSM4i) fault memory has stored one or both of the following fault codes: 930904 Airbag Driver 1st Stage… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
BMW filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Jan 25, 2024, received Feb 1, 2024, about the air bags. It names 1 model year (2016). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
The Supplemental Restraint System’s (SRS) air bag warning lamp is illuminated, and the air bag control unit’s (ACSM4i) fault memory has stored one or both of the following fault codes: 930904 Airbag Driver 1st Stage: "Resistance too large” 93090A Airbag Driver 2nd Stage: “Resistance too large"
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B010818 | Service bulletin | Jan 25, 2024 | 10249438 | PDF, 304 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 1 model year this bulletin names have filed 33 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 6 of them name Air Bags — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
My bmw i3 has a faulty wiring harness or some other defect that is causing my car to turn off the airbag system. This is a chronic issue with bmw i3’s. Either the wiring harness is bad or the airbag becomes too stiff and the car deactivated the entire airbag system. Dangerous!
2016 BMW i3 · Air Bags · filed with NHTSA Aug 17, 2023 · ODI 11539172
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for BMW, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is BMW B010818 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the B010818 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every BMW warranty extension on file lists the ones BMW has filed.
Which vehicles does B010818 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 1 model year: 2016 BMW i3. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: I01 2014 to 2016 i3 BEV: built 11 Feb 2014 – 3 May 2016; I01 2014 to 2016 i3 REx: built 5 Mar 2014 – 3 May 2016 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.