View Single Post
  #1  
Old 11-20-2011, 04:24 PM
JCL's Avatar
JCL JCL is offline
Premier Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 11,851
JCL will become famous soon enoughJCL will become famous soon enough
Quote:
Originally Posted by 140.6 View Post
Completely understand where you are coming from, however I respectfully disagree. While the actual innovation/functionality of the given technology will be quickly outdated it will function as designed provided there are not glitches for a very long time.

Having said that if there are computer related issues my bet is, I could be wrong here and if I am so be it, that reprogramming the car is much cheaper than replacing an engine. Now that assumes a catastrophic failure in the engine but that is what we are talking about here in terms of long term reliability.
I agree that the functionality will generally continue operating as designed and built, but I think that history has shown that there are glitches. And the glitches that matter aren't just in the technology (ie Nav, back up sensors, cameras, HUD, etc) but in the integration of the various technologies. That is what has parked vehicles over the past few years. Look at the example of battery charging. Pretty simple concept, you have a storage battery, various devices run off it, and the alternator charges it. Voltage drops to a certain point, and the regulator causes the alternator to charge the battery. This has worked for 80 or so years. But BMW has put all of their computerized modules on a common data bus. They have a sleep mode. If a single module does not enter sleep mode, the vehicle stays 'awake' and you have a flat battery after several days of parking. It is one or more of the various computer modules that cause that. And the more modules you add to the mix, the greater the odds. The E70 has an 'energy management system' that takes a book to describe. And it is that system that has caused factory buybacks, brand dissatisfaction, etc, to the point that dealers started giving out battery tenders and advising owners to plug them in at night. For both gasoline and diesel models.
__________________
2007 X3 3.0si, 6 MT, Premium, White

Retired:
2008 535i, 6 MT, M Sport, Premium, Space Grey
2003 X5 3.0 Steptronic, Premium, Titanium Silver

2002 325xi 5 MT, Steel Grey
2004 Z4 3.0 Premium, Sport, SMG, Maldives Blue
Reply With Quote

Sponsored Links