BMW bulletin B520920
What it saysVarious concerns about the third row of seats (3SR): 1. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
BMW filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Aug 19, 2025, received Dec 21, 2020, about the seats — 10 documents under this number. It names 8 model years (2019–2024). 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.
Various concerns about the third row of seats (3SR): 1. Head restraint (aka headrest), on one or both sides, cannot be folded down. 2. Third-row seating, on one or both sides, cannot be folded down. 3. Noise from third-row seat backrest when the vehicle goes over bumps.
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B520920 | Service bulletin | Aug 19, 2025 | 11022107 | PDF, 1,331 KB |
| B520920 | Service bulletin | Dec 16, 2024 | 11012089 | PDF, 760 KB |
| B520920 | Service bulletin | Nov 22, 2023 | 10246300 | PDF, 4,460 KB |
| B520920 | Service bulletin | Oct 20, 2023 | 10244257 | PDF, 2,582 KB |
| B520920 | Service bulletin | Aug 1, 2023 | 10242695 | not found |
| B520920 | Service bulletin | Jul 1, 2023 | 10241368 | not found |
| B520920 | Service bulletin | Jun 1, 2021 | 10200236 | not found |
| B520920 | Service bulletin | May 1, 2021 | 10199298 | not found |
| B520920 | Service bulletin | May 1, 2021 | 10198905 | not found |
| B520920 | Service bulletin | Nov 1, 2020 | 10184579 | not found |
What the document itself lists
Parts the bulletin names
| Part number | Description | Qty | Find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 20 9 473 697 | Actuator folding backrest | — | eBay Motors → |
| 52 30 7 485 444 | Bowden Cable Release (unlocking) | 2 | eBay Motors → |
| 52 20 9 473 695 | Drive backrest folding left | 1 | eBay Motors → |
| 52 20 9 473 696 | Drive backrest folding right | 1 | eBay Motors → |
| 52 30 7 941 595 | Headrest leather rear (schwarz (black)) | 2 | eBay Motors → |
| 52 30 7 941 592 | Headrest leather rear (Beige) | 2 | eBay Motors → |
| 52 30 9 496 669 | Folding module head restraint | 1 | eBay Motors → |
Read by machine from the document NHTSA serves (25 pages), read Sep 30, 2026. A part number is shown only where it matches BMW’s own catalogue shape, an operation only with its code and time, and a description only where the reader got it whole; anything it could not settle is left out, and the PDF is the record. Times are the manufacturer’s warranty allowances, not a quote. Listings and prices on eBay Motors are the seller’s.
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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.
Doing the repair yourself, or pricing it before the shop does? Search the part by fitment on eBay Motors — the listing and the price are the seller’s.
Find the mid/rear assembly for the 2024 X7 →Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themAlso filed against model years this site has no page for: 2021 BMW B7 Alpina.
A 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 7 model years this bulletin names have filed 316 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 87 of them name Electrical System, Seats — 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.
The contact owns a 2019 BMW X7. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the message that the starter motor was overheating was displayed and the vehicle failed to start. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the starter motor. The vehicle was repaired.
2019 BMW X7 · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA May 12, 2025 · ODI 11660474
The air condition is inadequate for temperatures above 80°. Due to the inadequacy of the coldness and the speed at which the fan blows, all passengers in a fully loaded vehicle complain of excessive heat temperatures Safety is an issue if left in the vehicle for a long period of time without proper temperatures being reached for all in…
2024 BMW X7 · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Aug 22, 2024 · ODI 11610316
I brought a brand new BMW IX fully electric vehicle in May, 2023. A couple of weeks ago in early September, the “Emergency Call System Malfunction” warning light came on, and I can also smell a chemical burn from the vehicle. I dropped it off to Eastbay BMW in Pleasanton, California. 4350 Rosewood Drive, Pleasanton, California 94588.
2023 BMW iX · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Sep 28, 2023 · ODI 11547159
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.
More bulletins about the seats
Source: same model, same component group8 other manufacturer communications filed against these BMW models under the same component group (seats), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| B521923 | Service bulletin | May 4, 2026 | In vehicles equipped with the second row 60% / 40% split seat, the flex cable assembly can come out of the seat rail mechanism (circled).… |
| B520126 | Service bulletin | Mar 9, 2026 | The customer brings vehicle in with one or both of the second row 60/40 split seats in the folded position. The seat does not respond to any… |
| B521019 | Service bulletin | Mar 29, 2024 | THIGH SUPPORT UPHOLSTERY DETACHES FROM SEAT. The seat leather upholstery detaches from the front of the thigh support (aka knee bolster) of… |
| B522023 | Service bulletin | Dec 29, 2023 | When the center armrest of the second seat row is lowered but the center section of the seat is in its uprightposition, a rattle noise may b… |
| B522319 | Service bulletin | Nov 22, 2023 | With the launch of the G05 (X5) Sports Activity Vehicle in August 2018, a new style of networked seats was introduced that have new operatin… |
| B521423 | Service bulletin | Nov 22, 2023 | A change in the Bowden cable routing is observed in the third seat row backrest. Replacement Bowden cables are shorter than original parts. |
| B520822 | Service bulletin | Oct 18, 2023 | The decorative hard plastic piece, centered inthe front seatâs headrest (circled area), may contact a personâs head when they are betwee… |
| B520121 | Service bulletin | Aug 1, 2023 | SEAT FAILS TO INITIALIZE DUE TO MISSING END STOP: Front seat will not calibrate/initialize. |
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 B520920 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 B520920 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 B520920 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 8 model years: 2024 BMW X7, 2023 BMW X7, 2022 BMW X7, 2021 BMW X7, 2020 BMW X7, 2019 BMW X7 and more. 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: built on or before 1 Aug 2019; built before 28 Mar 2025; built after 28 Mar 2025 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.