Parking Brake malfunction

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by ukwildcat

But everyone told me the HUD would be useless - and nothing could be further from the truth. It is undoubtedly the single most used feature in my X5, next to Park Assist. To others it's probably a useless gadget - "what kind of driver are you if you need blah blah blah."

Just to be clear, I don't mind extra gadgets, such as HUD, increasing the complexity, particularly when it's an option. I do not have HUD for a couple of reasons, but when I test drove an X6 with HUD, I found it to be helpful and I would use it if I had it. If the HUD stops working, it isn't going to affect the ability of the X5 to function as transportation, so that feature is simply one of cost vs. benefit.

But I do have an issue when they make things needlessly complex which are fundamental to the operation of the vehicle and increase the odds of getting stranded for limited, or non-existent gains. Over the past few years I have seen quite a few people who have posted reports that they were either stranded, or at a minimum had to make a dealer visit due to a malfunctioning parking brake on an X5. I don't recall seeing any posts of a person that's been stranded due to a malfunctioning manual/cable brake.

The AUTOHOLD function, if I remember correctly, really has nothing to do with the parking brake (unless you shut off the engine), it simply has been integrated into the button/system, i.e. you could have a manual parking brake and still have autohold. My understanding is that the autohold uses the normal service brakes, and not the parking brake to accomplish its task, i.e., BMW could have gotten the benefits of autohold without making the parking braked needlessly complex and prone to malfunction. If someone knows otherwise, please correct me.

I don't mind additional complexity, and the associated lower reliability, for things like traction control, DSC, etc., but when one talks of systems that can strand you and require a flatbed recovery, I think the benefits need to be significant before adding complexity.

P.S. Here is an example of where I think BMW has taken a step backwards from performance in the name of luxury:

"Fading Assistance - This function assists the driver in applying the braking force when the brake temperature is very high due to an extreme driving profile which requires a higher braking force in order to achieve the required braking effect."

Frankly, if I am using my brakes so hard that they are starting to fade, I would like to know it by noticing increased braking pressure is required. With the X5 automatically compensating for the brake fade so that you don't notice you are overusing the brake, it would seem to me that it would be much easier to get yourself into a bad situation going down a mountain road.