US/LHD BMW E46 Factory Front-Seat, Rail and Passenger-Occupancy-System Identification

Checked service chains stay within exact body/side/equipment branches: coupe electric-memory right 52108266770 to 52107112670 and left 52108266771 to 52107112671; convertible frame 52107008533 to 52109118173, 52107008535 to 52109118175 and 52107008536 to 52109118176; occupancy mat 72108099028 to 65776921952; occupancy controller 65778367242 to 65776940191. These do not authorize complete-seat, standard/sport, manual/electric, sedan/coupe/convertible/M3 or driver/passenger interchange. Wiring, trim, heating, lumbar, occupancy, belt/tensioner and door airbags remain separate unless the current VIN catalog and actual donor prove them.

Begin with recipient and donor VINs/builds, US/LHD body, left/driver or right/passenger side and option codes for standard/sport, manual/electric/memory, heat, lumbar and upholstery. Photograph every seat/rail/module label, complete pan/back/rail geometry, Easy Entry hardware where applicable, under-seat connectors, heater/lumbar equipment, passenger occupancy mat/controller/wiring and lower belt/tensioner. Treat the checked front side airbags as door-mounted and do not expect them on the seat. Require a written inventory of frame/pan/back, cushion/cover/headrest, both rails, motors/controls, harness/connectors, heater/lumbar, occupancy components, belt/tensioner and hardware. Reject crash loading, deployed/missing restraints, bent/cracked/welded frames or rails, stripped mounts, seized or loose adjusters, cut/spliced wiring, emulator devices, corrosion, fire/flood/water, mold/pest/smoke/biohazard exposure, unknown repair or unavailable actual-piece photos. Use current BMW battery, restraint, occupancy, belt and seat-mount procedures with qualified diagnosis/installation; no bypass or unsupported coding.

Prefer an exact-VIN genuine service component or an actual-piece-photo original donor with documented body, side, option codes, labels, functions and contents. Factory-pattern upholstery/foam repair is acceptable only for the exact seat frame, heater and passenger-occupancy configuration under current BMW procedure. Universal/racing seats, improvised brackets, welded/drilled frames, occupancy/SRS emulators, resistor bypasses, unsupported coding, airbag deletion and cross-body conversions are outside this identification claim.

This is not universal E46, cross-body, standard/sport or manual/power interchange. Match both VINs/builds, body, side, option codes, rail/frame labels, upholstery/heat/lumbar, wiring/connectors, passenger occupancy and belt/tensioner contents. Checked front side airbags are door-mounted, not loaded-seat contents. Reject crash-loaded, deployed, bent/welded, cut-wire, emulator-equipped, corroded, fire/flood/mold/pest/smoke-contaminated or incomplete donors.

Supersede reviewed 21 unique research sources for this guide. 8 also appear above as a seller or official action and are not repeated here; 13 additional citations follow.

Research last verified 2026-08-07.

1. RealOEM — partgrpOpen source
2. PartSouq — source pageOpen source
3. Bmwpartsdeal — front seat railOpen source
4. Bmwpartsdeal — front seat railOpen source
5. Bmwpartsdeal — front seat frame mechanical electrical single partsOpen source
6. Bmwpartsdeal — front seat backrest frame rear panelOpen source
7. Bmwpartsdeal — front seat backrest frameOpen source
8. Bmwpartsdeal — seat front complete seatOpen source
9. Bmwpartsdeal — electric parts airbagOpen source
10. Bmwpartsdeal — side airbagOpen source
11. Workshop Manuals — 7 ra replacing sensor mat for passenger seat occupancy detectorOpen source
12. Bmwtechinfo bmwgroup — ST041 E46 M Complete VehicleOpen source
13. Bmwpartsdeal — safety belt frontOpen source