2000 BMW 328I User Comment / Complaint

The air bag system on my 2000 bmw 328i has failed (red warning light on) 3 times. although the red light has been on, my wife and i always drive with our belts fastened and due to the nature of the problem (two times it has required returning the vehicle a second time due to availability of replacement parts), we have opted to drive with the light on until the next scheduled vehicle service. the last time the air bag failed we were charged approximately $500 for the repair. this repair was october 2004. the dealership representative told us that although it was december 2003 when we had the next most recent failure, the repairs were not related and therefore not warrantable. when we said we did not agree with having to pay for a safety related defect, they told us to contact bmw. we then contacted bmw, we were told they could not help us, see the dealership service department. we are concerned that there is a defect in bmw's srs system. the only other vehichle we have had on which the air bag light lit indicating an srs failure was a 1994 bmw 325td we owned when we lived in europe. will the srs system work in the event of a crash? in addition, we have read that us law requires the manufacturer to pay for a safety related defect, and we feel that 3 failures in 4 years indicates a design or manufacturing defect.