Poor quality BMW Sensors/computer

[Nim_rod007]

Hello,

I have a 96 328i. Seems like over the last three years I have had to replace just about everything on it - alternator, radiator, computer module, and now the speed sensors for ABS.

I was wondering if any of you have had any bad experiences with your bimmers. It is a shame that such a good brand name woud make such bad cars. My in-laws have Lexuses that never seem to break down. :mad:

[Kaz]

This is normal for BMWs.

[Nim_rod007]

This is normal for BMWs.

I am looking at 2001 325xis...should I just forget about it and buy a safe Lexus?

[Kaz]

I am looking at 2001 325xis...should I just forget about it and buy a safe Lexus?

If you want a reliable piece of transportation, probably.

[philippek]

Lexus makes great appliances.

[alpinewhite325i]

did you make this post from a computer that was made in 1996?? Of course not.

nothing electronic is meant to last for ever.





How many nine year old Lexus's do you see on the highway???
I see alot of Lexus's that are around 9 yrs old.

The ES300 comes to mind.

[philippek]

I see alot of Lexus's that are around 9 yrs old.

The ES300 comes to mind.

Yes, that is one fantastic Toyota Camry.

[Kaz]

How many nine year old Lexus's do you see on the highway???

Loads.

More than 10-year old BMWs.

[johnf]

did you make this post from a computer that was made in 1996?? Of course not.

nothing electronic is meant to last for ever.I am writing this on a computer built in early 1997. It is a Mac, however, and has not yet been taxed to death by "trustworthy", "industrial strength" software with its uninvited consequences. That's not to say it doesn't have its problems if I were to look hard enough. (http://www.happynowhere.net/mac_parody.php) (WARNING: Following this link while drinking a beverage may be hazardous to your monitor and keyboard. ;))

Well designed electronics can last and be used for a good long time. Consider, for example, the Pioneer 10 spacecraft. NASA finally stopped receiving data from it 31 years after it was launched, probably not because its electronics have failed but because the fuel in its isotope reactor has so decayed it likely can no longer supply enough power. That vehicle saw much worse conditions than any of ours will ever see.

More down to earth, the vacuum tube PID heating system controller in my parent's house gave faultless service for more than 40 years. They would have been happy to keep it but everyone who understood it, probably including its designers at Honeywell, have apparently all retired!

To hark back to BMWs, the problem with ca. 1990s-era automotive electronics is that a certain amount of it was new to its designers. Consequently, they sometimes discovered better and worse solutions through trial and error with the dealer and customer serving as the unwitting laboratory rats.

[my3rdbimmer]

your car is almost 10 years old dude.... sensors go bad.. i had a 10 year old lexus ls300 before this and i assure you i had to change some sensors and other wear parts.. the lexus is not as sophisticated as your bmw is and does not hold a candle to the fit, finish and over all quality of your bmw... take a ride in one... they are very un-refined for the price... this sophistication does have its draw backs.. there is more to go wrong with it.. it is a price you have to be willing to accept. If you want an easy car to maintain buy a honda..

[alpinewhite325i]

your car is almost 10 years old dude.... sensors go bad.. i had a 10 year old lexus ls300 before this and i assure you i had to change some sensors and other wear parts.. the lexus is not as sophisticated as your bmw is and does not hold a candle to the fit, finish and over all quality of your bmw... take a ride in one... they are very un-refined for the price... this sophistication does have its draw backs.. there is more to go wrong with it.. it is a price you have to be willing to accept. If you want an easy car to maintain buy a honda..


Unrefined??


Are you sure you had an LS300?

:bustingup :bustingup

[Nim_rod007]

your car is almost 10 years old dude.... sensors go bad.. i had a 10 year old lexus ls300 before this and i assure you i had to change some sensors and other wear parts.. the lexus is not as sophisticated as your bmw is and does not hold a candle to the fit, finish and over all quality of your bmw... take a ride in one... they are very un-refined for the price... this sophistication does have its draw backs.. there is more to go wrong with it.. it is a price you have to be willing to accept. If you want an easy car to maintain buy a honda..


Sophistication at the cost of quality is a price that I believe is too high. Its the same argument that the Big 3 in Detroit made against the Japanese cars and look where they are now. Jaguar made the same argument and customers have voted with their feet.

BTW, I test drove an ES 300 the other day...it drives beautifully. How can you even make the argument that Lexus does not hold a candle to BMW vis-a-vis quality? It does not break down and its electricals do not keep blowing up.

[BMW528i_Bilal]

Sophistication at the cost of quality is a price that I believe is too high. Its the same argument that the Big 3 in Detroit made against the Japanese cars and look where they are now. Jaguar made the same argument and customers have voted with their feet.

BTW, I test drove an ES 300 the other day...it drives beautifully. How can you even make the argument that Lexus does not hold a candle to BMW vis-a-vis quality? It does not break down and its electricals do not keep blowing up.

Hey, what do u expect from a 9 year old car?, everything you mentioned is normal for every car out there. Even lexus, my cousin used to have a lexus had same problems when the car was 5 years old. what do u expect, problem free driving without maintaining? , my friend if you don't appreciate German quality, go buy yourself a dime a dozen Lexus and see how reliable that car is and sell your BMW to somebody who actually respects such a car and doesn't trash it for routine problems.

[BMW528i_Bilal]

Sophistication at the cost of quality is a price that I believe is too high. Its the same argument that the Big 3 in Detroit made against the Japanese cars and look where they are now. Jaguar made the same argument and customers have voted with their feet.

BTW, I test drove an ES 300 the other day...it drives beautifully. How can you even make the argument that Lexus does not hold a candle to BMW vis-a-vis quality? It does not break down and its electricals do not keep blowing up.

Hey, what do u expect from a 9 year old car?, everything you mentioned is normal for every car out there. Even lexus, my cousin used to have a lexus had same problems when the car was 5 years old. what do u expect, problem free driving without maintaining? , my friend if you don't appreciate German quality, go buy yourself a dime a dozen Lexus and see how reliable that car is and sell your BMW to somebody who actually respects such a car and doesn't trash it for routine problems. :thumbdwn: :mad:

[johnf]

I think most people understand there are lots of parts on the car that can't last forever. What is annoying is that a fair number of failures on the E36 are the result of engineering and manufacturing defects – and sometimes you get the impression that BMW doesn't care. Do you realize that they once knowingly installed 90 000 defective thermostats in the E46 rather than stop production and wait for good parts? It is that kind of indifference during design and production that degrades the reliability of a car and convinces people to buy a Lexus.

[Nim_rod007]

Hey, what do u expect from a 9 year old car?, everything you mentioned is normal for every car out there. Even lexus, my cousin used to have a lexus had same problems when the car was 5 years old. what do u expect, problem free driving without maintaining? , my friend if you don't appreciate German quality, go buy yourself a dime a dozen Lexus and see how reliable that car is and sell your BMW to somebody who actually respects such a car and doesn't trash it for routine problems. :thumbdwn: :mad:

Bilal Dude Chill!!! :thumbdwn:

First of all stop this baloney about your so-called cousin's 5 year old Lexus having problems. My Bimmer has been giving me problems since the last 4 years. It is outrageous to suggest that in this day and age a car with less than 50k miles on it should have its computer module replaced, or a car with less than 60k miles should have its radiator replaced. For crying out loud, even Kia doesn't have so many problems.

And yes, when you pay for a luxury brand one does expect problem free driving for at least the first 75k miles. And who mentioned anything about not maintaining it. I take it to a BMW dealership for servicing and pay 7.5 times what I would pay for any other car. :mad:

As far as German quality is concerned, if something breaks down so often...its not good quality...is it?? :tsk:

[Bmwcat]

BMW sensors seem to fail faster than other cars I've owned. If you're handy with a wrench and a voltmeter it's no big deal. But the BMW engine and transmission are worth the price of admission, IMHO! :D

[my3rdbimmer]

yes i had an ls300 and the ride was fairly harsh it's cornering although excellent was not to the same grade as my bmw. the over all feel of the driver compartment was inferior. there was an abundance of engine noise and road noise in comparison. in my opinion my ls300 overall was not as good as my 328i. as far as quality goes. i haven't had this car long but my past bimmers had their problems as far as wear items go but over all they where very, very good quality vehicles.. i am not dissing lexus they are extremely reliable nice cars just not in the same league as a BMW as far as refinement goes

[BMW528i_Bilal]

Bilal Dude Chill!!! :thumbdwn:

First of all stop this baloney about your so-called cousin's 5 year old Lexus having problems. My Bimmer has been giving me problems since the last 4 years. It is outrageous to suggest that in this day and age a car with less than 50k miles on it should have its computer module replaced, or a car with less than 60k miles should have its radiator replaced. For crying out loud, even Kia doesn't have so many problems.

And yes, when you pay for a luxury brand one does expect problem free driving for at least the first 75k miles. And who mentioned anything about not maintaining it. I take it to a BMW dealership for servicing and pay 7.5 times what I would pay for any other car. :mad:

As far as German quality is concerned, if something breaks down so often...its not good quality...is it?? :tsk:

Believe it or not, Lexus does have problems too. A long the line you do get a lemon, even with Lexus. If you don't like your BMW just sell it, and buy a Lexus. Sorry to hear about your experience with BMW. I own a 1996 BMW 318i. Since than I have had no problems with the car, except the 02 sensors, and normal wear & tear (tires, Brakes, Service). Now my car has 250,000km with no problems at all. Once again sorry to hear about your experience with BMW. :(

[my3rdbimmer]

ask any toyota mechanic about the head gaskets in the supra/ ls300 engines. if they go they go early like 70,000 miles..

[BMW528i_Bilal]

Wish to clear something up. I did have a problem with my bmw 318i which i totally blame myself for doing. Recently, i put it away for the summer, and failed to start it up once in a while, and the cars battery ceased up. I Sent the car to the BMW dealership where it got a new battery, new rear brakes, and a full inspection 2 service which costed me $1700. I blame it on myself, for not taking care of my car in the first. The car is back and runs and drives excellent. I have learned from my mistakes. Now i start my 2000 BMW 528i, every other day, and drive it every week. which i put away for the winter. :)

[Silver328i]

Try a Mercedes.

[Greg220]

Another thing to keep in mind is that owners of Lexus and Benz definitely don't drive their cars the way like most BMW owners do :drive:

[Mr.Tough.Pants]

Hey, what do u expect from a 9 year old car?, everything you mentioned is normal for every car out there. Even lexus, my cousin used to have a lexus had same problems when the car was 5 years old. what do u expect, problem free driving without maintaining? , my friend if you don't appreciate German quality, go buy yourself a dime a dozen Lexus and see how reliable that car is and sell your BMW to somebody who actually respects such a car and doesn't trash it for routine problems.


BURN......soo true

[bmw325]

We seem to have this debate over and over again: Does BMW make "high quality" cars?

There are many different ways of measuring and thinking about "quality", so its a tough question to answer. From a design, haptic (feel of various buttons/hardware/plsaticss), handling, ride and powetrain perspective, I think they do make high quality vehicles. From a reliabiilty or durbailtiy perspective, they do seem to have more problems than a Lexus. So, in that sense, they're not so high quality. It would be nice if we could have both, but so far no car maker has really succeeded. Whenever I look at a Lexus, there's always something slightly "chintzy" or cheesy about it that I can't really put my finger on. It doesnt "feel" or look as high quality as a BMW. But, its likely to have fewer rattles, and fewer mehcnaical/electronic problems. I'm still a sucker for the quality "feel" that the Germans seem to be good at (VW/Audi are the masters of this game). With the latest GS, I actually think Lexus has gotten closer to replicating that German "quality" feel. At the same time, BMW seems to be losing some of that intangible "quality" feel w/ their newer cars, so in the future, I'll probably have an easier time chosing a Lexus over a BMW.

I don't really think there's much truth to the statement that BMWs have more problems ecause they're driven harder. The Lexus IS is now one of the highest rated cars in both JD Power and consumer reports (say what you will about these),and I'm sure their owners drive them just as hard if not harder than 3series. And, how many premium pkg automatic BMWs do you see on the road driven in the same manner as all other cars (a lot).

ONe thing that always irritates me about Japanese cars is the doors-- why are they always so light and flimsy feeling, and why do they shut in such an unsatisfying manner, and why do the interior and exterior door handles have such a "squishy" action to them? The Japanese are good at copying, but they seem unable to copy the German door "experience".

[Mr.Tough.Pants]

lol
:thumbup:

[Silver328i]

We seem to have this debate over and over again: Does BMW make "high quality" cars?

I don't really think there's much truth to the statement that BMWs have more problems ecause they're driven harder. The Lexus IS is now one of the highest rated cars in both JD Power and consumer reports (say what you will about these),and I'm sure their owners drive them just as hard if not harder than 3series. And, how many premium pkg automatic BMWs do you see on the road driven in the same manner as all other cars (a lot).

I agree there, since I baby my 328i but sometimes let it rip and I have never had any problems with it whatsoever, except a damaged undercar wire pack. Not one single problem with sensors, engine, clutch, driveability, power accessories, etc.