German automaker BMW said Wednesday it is recalling about 1.6 million cars worldwide to replace passenger-side front air bags 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 U.S. safety regulators, company spokesman Dave Buchko said it decided to recall all of the model year 2000 through 2006 cars potentially affected by the issue. The regional recall requested in June by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covered both passenger- and driver-side front air bags.