BMW Quality Issues?

[K-A]

The 550 is the one that seems to pose the most problems, but many of the cars problems aren't based around the engines, so naturally the more "loaded" models with more to break will go wrong, while the more minimalist models will do better. The 535i, however, seems to have owners posting the same regularities as the 550 for the most part, on Message Boards.

There's no doubt in my mind that the F10 has kicked off its production run something akin to the W211 in the quality department, although, not as dire as the W211 was REALLY a troublesome car because of the dangerous SBC brake failure issue. Owners complaining about vibrations on the highways, some consistent wind noise owners have posted coming from the same area by the windows, buttons fading already, massive RFT issues, and the more serious ones: Tip-in Throttle which hampers the driving feel of the 535i (hard to have smooth operation on city roads, I personally experienced this on a Test Drive as well), "Ghost Steering", where the car will veer off on its own, etc. The W212, for example, has certain owners posting random issues as well, but there is not one that is a regular problem on this car. The only common complaint we have is rough ride over rough patches with the Sport Suspension. Other than that, the cars have been *on a consistent/average/large scale* pretty flawless with the exception of somewhat rare random issues.

Like I said, these aren't public or dire enough to affect Sales of the 5-Series as a whole, BUT, many Members DO go on the F10 Boards and state that they have decided not to buy a 5-Series due to all the problems they hear about. Just like M-B owners complaining got them to do a 180 finally, disregarding these quality facts from BMW fans does no good for the brand, as it allows them to get away with putting out untested/unverified material due to their fans looking the other way, as long as the badge is in place. Point being, maybe it's not a dire issue NOW, but without complaints from BMW buyers and faithful, things will never improve. Case in point: Mercedes-Benz.

A list of some common complaints:


1) Run flat tires damage issue

I dont think i need to give a link for this any way here it is.

2) Camera Malfunction error

3) Drive Train Malfunction error

4) Battery failure/ replacement issue

5) Pulling to the right issue

6) Grinding noise

7) Throttle response/hesitation issue

8) Shift Lever Won't Go Into DS Mode

9) Radio Wont Shut off

10) IDrive Rebooting

11) Door Handles not lighting up

12) Putting Coins in Ashtray

13) Worn Out console buttons

14) Dynamic Drive Malfuncton

 

[GTA45E]

Personally I have more problems with JD Power than I have problem with cars. I have never used JD as a source and I think surveys in general should be taken with a pinch of salt. Sorry if it felt personal

I would go by a number of publications. For example if there are 3-4 different surveys or sources that says the E-Class is a good car with above average ratings in different categories’ than you should know it is a good car.
I also read a number of reviews to make an overall assessment of the vehicle. This alone should close all arguments... (I even read the ones` that didn`t like Mercedes. Consumer-Reports was one of them back in the day!) This has to be part of your assessment, even with the ones that "diss" your favorite brand. If your not willing to follow up on different opinions than your just a fan-boy (not you Just_me, in general)with no credits to your opinions.

 

[Zafiro]

Wouldn't it be great if all carforums had a separate thread about car problems. I'm sure there are many message boards with members that never admit or tell when their is a problem. They live in their own bubble so many problems won't be known from Internet. Just because their is a forum with no problems reported, doesn't mean the problems doesn't exist.

 

[Deckhook]

Why don't more forums promote a similar thread like this. At the very least it might help others with similar issues.

 

[K-A]

Why don't more forums promote a similar thread like this. At the very least it might help others with similar issues.

I agree. That's a very helpful and active Forum.

A lot of why they do that, however is the consistency and continuity of those problems. Lot's of cars have issues, but nothing regular and consistent enough.

I'm a very active Member on the E-Class Boards, and I can say that we don't have nearly enough continuous and consistently narrowed down issues to make such a consolidated list.

 

[Giannis]

Just for the sake of posting a counter-argument (in the form of a link), take a look at this:

Bulletins 207 coupe & 212 sedan

 

[K-A]

Like I said before, Bulletins are different. Bulletins are put out by Mercedes in the event to prevent the problems from hitting widespread owners. Recalls and Bulletins are prevalent throughout the car business. However, what upsets a lot of the owners on the F10 Threads is how BMW *does not* acknowledge certain problems, leaving the Owners to fend for themselves.

I have yet to see more than a small handful of W212 owners show that they've have any of those Bulletins apply to, or worse yet, show up on their cars.

The Links from the F10 Forum aren't acknowledged by BMW, but are accumulated by real world owners.

 

[Giannis]

Bulletins or not, factory issued or customers reported, they are still problems/faults of the product.

The point is, not to have faults, and not who admitted it first!

 

[K-A]

True, but Bulletins don't always affect real world reliability (usually a small number of cars affected, which are acknowledged then fixed and prevented from future production). For example, the F10 has a host of Bulletins itself which are NOT any of the issues posted in that consolidated list from owners.

Bulletins are acknowledged, then fixed, therefore usually applying to a very small minority of owners (unless it's a massive recall).

All products will have their faults, but what determines reliability/quality is how prevalent it becomes to real world owners, i.e how many people report it Online, and to services like J.D Power, etc. None of these on their own is absolute, however when they add up together (like they have with the 5-Series), it's when I personally start determining a car as being a quality issue.

 

[Giannis]

So, you are saying that, if something doesn't affect many owners (how many are considered many? not a fact IMO) or if it is fixed quickly (how quickly is quickly? not a fact IMO) it's not described as a problem.

But if it is BMW that doesn't admit it, it's a problem?

 

[Guibo]

I don't think the drop in quality is as drastic as the opening graph illustrates. In absolute terms, BMW's quality has improved since 2007 in terms of problems per 100 vehicles, which is what those bars actually mean. It went from 182 problems/100 to 164. The "problem" is that in relative terms, the industry on average and BMW's primary competitors improved a lot; industry average dropped from 216 to 151, which is now only slightly better than BMW. The reality is that, with confidence factors taken into consideration, there's probably not a whole helluva lot of difference in the reliability between a Mercedes and a BMW. All cars have improved substantially. Today's absolute worst-ranked marque (MINI) is on a par with the average worst from 2007, based on problems/100; if anything, that too should be considered a real cause of concern for BMW as MINI serves as a feeder marque into the BMW brand, and sour experiences there can last a long time. Future customers might be lost forever.
As for the others, well, MB had only one real way to go and that was up; probably the cost-cutting years for them really did hurt and that is borne out in the chart. Which means the JD Power results, while not all-encompassing for all markets, probably holds some validity within the countries studied. MB made commitments to improving quality (in reliability) and it shows. BMW, being in a loftier position at the time, probably did not have such pressing concerns and has kept reliability development at similar levels, or slightly worse as the cases of hpfp failures indicated.

 

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

The Bangle Era is what totally screwed BMW. The e9x generation e6x generation were both fails in terms of quality. The cheap plastics used were far from BMW quality. BMW has improved interior quality significantly and you don't have to look any further then the new 5 series to see that.

 

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

As far as quality goes, this just shows how bad BMW is cost cutting and how bad quality has gotten:

HOOD NOT LINING UP and BUMPER QUESTION...

So my bumper is not aligned..

Hood out of alignment

how does your hood line up?

Again, just the Bangle Era's problems.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Some younger BMW fans see him as a leader and will follow his path,

Do you seriously think this? What planet are you on?

 

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Do you seriously think this? What planet are you on?

Omg, siggy time.

 

[Guibo]

As far as quality goes, this just shows how bad BMW is cost cutting and how bad quality has gotten:

A handful of threads isn't going to prove that problems are isolated only to Bangle era BMWs. I could probably show you pages upon pages of threads involving problems with BMWs before the Bangle era. Look at where BMW ranked in terms of PP100 in JD Power's 2003 survey (using model year 2000 data):

Back then, well before the Bangle era, BMW's had nearly 100 more problems per 100 vehicles. By comparison, today's BMW rating of 164 PP100 is roughly equivalent to the best from that year (Lexus at 163 PP100).
Also, lower quality interior compenents might show lower rankings in IQS results, not so much VDS results where mechanical deficiencies are highlighted. It's not like the E36's were paragons of quality in terms of materials against MB/Audi anyway.

 

[Bartek S.]

My 335i convertible has small problem with passenger door - small leaking when raining since I both the car. Tried to fix this problem. My dealer told me that many of them have this problem even M3 convertibles and they cannot fixed that. They tried many times and is even worst. Small quality issue.

 

[chonkoa]

You do realise Chris Bangle had nothing to do with manufacturing/processes/parts/quality control...

 

[Monster]

My friend bought a brand new E89 Z4 but he sold it after one year and 7 dealership visits for all sorts of minor issues.

 

[speed_kills]

With BMW it is mainly engines and some left over idrive frustration. The whole direct injection + turbo thing is haunting them. M

And the Fuel Pump thing in the N54. That was a mess.