(May 8, 2013) BMW said it is recalling about 220,000 vehicles worldwide from model years 2002 and 2003 as part of a wider recall affecting airbags made by supplier Takata Corp. The recall announced May 7 includes BMW's popular 3-Series sedans, coupes, convertibles and station wagons.

Last month, 3.4 million vehicles worldwide made by Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. were recalled because of the airbags made by Takata, the world's second-largest manufacturer of airbags and seatbelts.

About 1.3 million of those vehicles are in the United States.

In BMW's case, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 42,080 vehicles will be recalled in the United States. In BMW's home market of Germany, 64,044 vehicles will be recalled. In Britain, 24,272 vehicles will be recalled, followed by Italy at 13,022, France at 10,449, Spain at 9,954 and Japan at 7,890.

BMW expects to have parts to repair the recalled vehicles starting in July, spokesman Dave Buchko said.

In each of the recalls, the Takata-made airbags for the front passenger seat may not inflate correctly because of a manufacturing defect in the propellant used in the airbag inflator. As a result, there is a risk of fires starting or of passengers being injured by metal fragments shooting up toward the windshield or down into the passenger foot well.

Source: Reuters