BMW bulletin B521019
What it saysThigh support upholstery detaches from seat. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
BMW filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Mar 29, 2024, received Jul 22, 2019, about the seats — 3 documents under this number. It names 17 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 communicationTHIGH SUPPORT UPHOLSTERY DETACHES FROM SEAT. The seat leather upholstery detaches from the front of the thigh support (aka knee bolster) of either front seat. The metal retainer clips on the thigh support are too loose.
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B521019 | Service bulletin | Mar 29, 2024 | 10252279 | PDF, 649 KB |
| B521019 | Service bulletin | Dec 1, 2020 | 10186219 | not found |
| B521019 | Service bulletin | Jun 1, 2019 | 10163046 | not found |
What the document itself lists
Part the bulletin names
| Part number | Description | Qty | Find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 10 7 299 673 | Carrier Thigh Support As needed | — | eBay Motors → |
Read by machine from the document NHTSA serves (6 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.
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 17 model years this bulletin names have filed 982 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 16 of them name 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.
Left seat backrest in third row of seats is not in the end position necessary. This is the error message that is consistently displayed in my vehicle and upon reading the 2022 recall this is dangerous however, my bmw was omitted from the recall!
2019 BMW X7 · Seats · filed with NHTSA Jun 17, 2024 · ODI 11594826
Second row seats went down and locked, would not move. If my child had been in the seat, she would’ve been suffocated
2021 BMW X7 · Seats · filed with NHTSA Aug 29, 2025 · ODI 11683984
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 group9 other manufacturer communications filed against these BMW models under the same component group (seats), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the BMW list.
| 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… |
| B520920 | Service bulletin | Aug 19, 2025 | 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… |
| B520524 | Service bulletin | Aug 7, 2024 | A rattling noise can be heard emanating from the area of the rear seat backrest of the second row ofseats. The noise does not occur when the… |
| B520623 | Service bulletin | Jan 2, 2024 | BMW AG has issued a Delivery Stop (effective March 13, 2023) on certain Model Year 2023 BMW X6 SAC vehicles that were produced between March… |
| 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. |
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 B521019 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 B521019 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 B521019 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 17 model years: 2024 BMW X5, 2023 BMW X5, 2022 BMW X5, 2021 BMW X5, 2020 BMW X5, 2019 BMW X5 and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.