Quote:
Originally Posted by DefSR
It's not that much better on the Japanese front. My 4Runner has had quite a few issues with it, the most major being the differential pinion bearing crush sleeve crushing a bit more and killing the pinion bearing. This is a common issues, and stems from Toyota saving a few bucks by using a thin crush sleeve instead of the solid pinion bearing spacer. The driver's seat only has a few motors that still work on it, things rattle all over it, and I have a rear axle creak that I just cannot track down.
These really aren't uncommon issues (in fact, the 4WD transfer cases seem so unreliable that's about all you see on 4Runner forums!), but the guys on Toyota forums have drank the Kool-Aid in a big way, and still proclaim their vehicles as super reliable. Nevermind that about half the production run of the 4th generation had MAJOR headgasket issues - like 40%+ failure rates. The guys that pay $3-4k for that fix still proclaim them as a reliable truck, and a headgasket repair at 90k miles is "normal maintenance." HAH! 
I do think BMW under engineers some components for no real benefit, but I blame that on German engineers generally not being willing to admit when they really screw up. It's been a common theme in my engineering career. Thankfully most issues are "relatively" minor, but definitely annoying. |
But respectfully, that's one car model. I've had a cross section of BMW models that are all having issues, not just one model with one problem. And frankly, to say the problems are minor is just not accurate. Prior to the mid 2000's, the level of repliability was acceptable with all the BMW's I had. After that time, it's been a completely different ownership experience on all of them.
I had to do a complete engine rebuild at 55k miles on an x5 because multiple engine seals failed. BMW Claimed this was normal. Repair cost $5k at the dealer
The I drive system went on another at about 65k, car was completely unusable. Repair $3-4K
The pano roof broke on all x3's and the x5. The cost to repair each one at an INDY shop, $2k each and he only did it for me because he knows me, otherwise he tells people to go to the dealer for that one because it's a pain. Not to mention, that failure caused the amp to get flooded and short for the radio. Repair for that was $500-$1000 and it required the dealer to "register" the new amp, even though it was installed. You have to fix the issue, as the cars begin to flood if you don't in the rain.
One x5 had the complete 4x4 meltdown. Again, thousands in repairs, and it returned a second time.
Anyone remember the dreaded x3 transmission problems in 2007? The non-shifting transmission that was "operating accordingly design" when you spoke with BMW but was getting drivers close to killed trying to merge into traffic?
Recent hood failure took 15 hours to resolve, dealership wanted to charge for 1/2-1 day just to open it.
I'm sorry, the problems are NOT trivial, they are not annoyances, they are complete failures and expensive repairs.
Yes, cars break and have failures. But The small fleet of BMW's my family currently owns has broken more often then any other brand, with repairs that have cost multiples of other brands as well due to proprietary crap and software on the BMW side, or just plain nonsensical pricing on parts or labor.
In my opinion, BMW now has the koolaid drinkers if we think any of these is even remotely acceptable. Any there always does seem to be a few members that will jump to "the defense of the brand". Like I said, I did love the cars and the driving experience. My ownership experience has soured over the course of the last 5-8 years though, and my time owning any of their products is likely coming to an end.
These level of issues are not normal nor acceptable. Worse in my opinion, BMW's lack of ownership of the problems and their unwillingness to help customers when their design or quality is at issue is reprehensible. For example, we ALL know that pano roof is a defective design and has been for years. Flooded cars, damaged interiors and electronics. Yet, BMW still maintains there's no issue and will not help any customer with problems the moment your warranty has expired, even when 50% of the owners are having the same problems.
That's a company no longer deserving of my hard earned money. Certainly, everyone else is free to make their own priorities, but that shine has certainly dimmed for me.