The recall was for about 1.6 million cars, BMW said in a statement released Wednesday, affecting primarily BMW 3 series models built between 1999 and 2006.

The decision was a "precautionary voluntary measure to minimize the risk of the passenger airbag not opening properly," the German premium carmaker said.

BMW also said that there was a rare risk of airbag generators to rupture, adding that no such incident had been reported yet. The Munich-based auto maker refused to give the name of the airbag manufacturer who had supplied the faulty devices.

Defective airbags have led to a series of mass recalls recently, hitting primarily Japanese carmakers such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda. They blamed Japanese supplier Takata for the recall.

BMW already began recalling about 240,000 cars of its 3 series model shortly after accusations against Takata had surfaced in May 2013. These cars would not need an additional change of airbag, BMW said.

uhe/sri (dpa, AFP)