BMW to recall 1.6m cars worldwide

[DETROIT] German automaker BMW said yesterday it is recalling about 1.6 million cars worldwide to replace passenger-side front airbags made by Takata Corp because the inflators could break apart during deployment and injure passengers.

The recall affects 3-Series vehicles produced between May 1999 and August 2006.

While BMW is still taking part in a regional recall requested by US safety regulators, BMW spokesman Dave Buchko said it decided to recall all of the model year 2000 through 2006 cars potentially affected by the issue. The recall is an extension of last year's recall of 240,000 cars globally for the same issue.