BMW is extending a UK recall of its cars after the BBC's Watchdog found that vehicles could cut out completely while they are being driven.
It is recalling 312,000 vehicles: the BMW 1 Series, the 3 Series, the Z4 and its X1 petrol and diesel models made between March 2007 and August 2011.
BMW initially recalled 36,410 petrol cars last year over safety issues.
It said it now recognised there may have been similar problems in cars not covered by the first recall.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44050686
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Ah!
So, that's why I saw Zero driving so slowly the other day. It isn't just his age.
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Plus there's the spontaneous cars catching fire even if the ignition isn't on, I think these are included in the recall as well.
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2007 is a long time ago in modern car life terms, I understand. Is there an age limit, over which they ignore faults discovered to be common?
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>> 2007 is a long time ago in modern car life terms, I understand. Is there
>> an age limit, over which they ignore faults discovered to be common?
>>
I would have thought that any "common" manufacturing based problem would surface way before a car gets to 10 years old. I think there is probably an element of PR in the BMW response.
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>>s there an age limit, over which they ignore faults discovered to be common?
I don't know, but I'd guess it's related to being sued. I'd probably also guess that once a company knows about it, they have to act on it, and since the number of cars must decrease with time, it's probably cheaper to recall.
I don't think there is any duty to continue to examine old vehicles without cause, but if a device/part/thing shows up as faulty in an existing model, then I'd guess they have to go after every existing example of that fault, however old the car it is in.
When the tobacco companies were sued for billions they didn't lose because their products harmed people, they lost because the *knew* their products harmed people and did nothing about it.
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>>>>>s there an age limit, over which they ignore faults discovered to be common?
>>>I don't know, but I'd guess it's related to being sued.
That would be my assumption. My 525 was 15yrs old when it was recalled for a new driver's airbag. At retail parts prices and labour it must have been a greater proportion of the car's value.
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>> 2007 is a long time ago in modern car life terms, I understand. Is there
>> an age limit, over which they ignore faults discovered to be common?
>>
Not sure about an age limit for ignoring faults, but I had a 1988 BMW 325 touring between, I think, 2006 and 2010. It had an outstanding recall on it for a replacement coolant tank cap which I discovered when I took it to BMW for a ‘value’ service. So BMW we’re still fixing cars 20 years or so old then...!
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>> Plus there's the spontaneous cars catching fire even if the ignition isn't on,
www.bbc.com/news/business-43987134
No-one does fires like Vauxhall.
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>> Ah!
>>
>> So, that's why I saw Zero driving so slowly the other day. It isn't just
>> his age.
No its yours and your eyesight, it was that smudged blur that passed you.
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Like something an uncannily similar colour off a hot shovel...
;-)
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Thatwasme thatwasme....in response to Zeddo.
Although it may have been Z in his camo green mobile
Last edited by: legacylad on Thu 10 May 18 at 16:39
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>> Thatwasme thatwasme....in response to Zeddo.
>> Although it may have been Z in his camo green stealth mobile.
There fixed that for you.
Tho "cloaked Romulan warbird" will do
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 10 May 18 at 17:08
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I don't like the look of the BMW blower regulator repair of cutting wires and crimping butt connectors, seems like a case of jumping off the horse onto the donkey.
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Problem goes back to March 2007? Then some lucky people have survived over 10 years driving a potentially lethal car. All road users are in danger from these cars. How come the 300,000 plus affected vehicles have not be taken out of service?
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If one person has been killed as a result of this fault in ten years then that's a one in three million chance of a similar occurrence next year.
I'll file that under "too small a risk to bother about"
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I've not read the whole thread - I've been away on holiday.
Am I right in thinking the death referred to is someone crashing to avoid a broken down BMW? Because that BMW could have broken down or stopped for other reasons.... or it could have been a car made by another manufacturer.
Maybe the death was due to not paying attention to road conditions far enough ahead and taking action to avoid the car too late?
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They are now recalling an extra 88,000 cars.
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PLUS
Cars going on fire whilst switched off - some wiring & a switch of some sort need replaced - according to the BBC motor engineer the cables & switch were both below spec for the current going through them.
I bet the BMW Franchise owners will be chuffed with several hundred cars, some on their last laps, blocking their forecourts, admittedly over a period of months. The "free safety upgrade"- BMW garage maybe getting the equivalent of £30 an hour.
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I used to love Lada warranty work. Retail less 10% labour, plus parts at trade +10%, IIRC.
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>> I bet the BMW Franchise owners will be chuffed with several hundred cars, some on
>> their last laps, blocking their forecourts, admittedly over a period of months.
If they had anything about them, they'd capitalise on a the fantastic opportunity that having all those people, many of whom wouldn't normally go to a dealer, through the doors presents.
But they probably won't. Never ceases to amaze me that sales rarely interacts with service customers at dealers. I guess they must sell enough cars already.
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Sat 19 May 18 at 14:14
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>> fantastic opportunity that having all those people
I'd query that - not many car owners of 7-14 year old BMW cars are in the market for brand new BMWs IMHO.
There will be the odd one owner/ never raced or rallied BUT the majority will have had multiple owners & in many cases semi-lunar / lunar miles.
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Mine has an outstanding recalll, sorry, quality improvement action, for something to do with the roof. But as it’s going in for it’s first service in a couple of weeks it can wait. I thought that the Merc was very reasonable service cost wise - the BMW knock it into a cocked hat. First service will be taking place at 22,500 mikes and 22 months. The cost? £208, and that includes a courtesy car!
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The E250 CDI estate I had from new in 2011 through to 2016 was traded in with just shy of 190,000 miles on it two years ago, after a further year, from checking MOT records, someone had put another 40,000 on it and it'll shortly be coming up for another MOT on its 7th birthday. I shall check to see if it's had another busy year when that information is available.
Makes me wonder how long it'll go on. It would be reasonable to surmise that whoever has it now is still using it for some business related purpose, possibly a taxi I'd guess, but of course it could be anything.
Certainly when I parted company with it, it was still looking great and running well. It does make me wonder if we bail out of cars much earlier than we really need to based on values arrived at by how quickly older models rusted or suffered major mechanical problems.
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Given the mileage seen on German taxis your E class was only just run in when you got rid of it!
It is a bit of a vicious circle. Few people need a new car, but many people want one. That’s fine. And manufacturers need to keep production lines full and sell more cars. So the incentives to replace are compelling. Which leads to more used cars, at lower values, which means people are happier changing. “It’s only worth £x, not worth keeping, something expensive might go wrong†etc etc
An I imagine you’re an outlier insofar as it replaces pretty much like for like? One of the first S212s and one of the last? Many of us are tempted by the inevitable advances cars over the years :)
i’ll be keeping the BMW for a while yet. It’’s a compact, rwd 6 cylinder convertible that does me just fine.
I do on the other hand *need* to buy a new car, as the rather smart looking Ibiza FR that i picked up on March 2nd for my partner has just been written off :O
Before... ibb.co/eNpxOS
After...! ibb.co/gCkoty
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Oh heck, that's a shame ! Hope everyone is ok?
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Only one person in the car, and he is fine. The wall and car on the other hand ;)
22 week lead time for a replacement!!
As an aside, LV (our insurer) have been absolutely brilliant. The crash happened Thursday midday. They assessed the car Friday and declared it a total loss. New for old obviously as it’s under a year, but because the lead time is so long we have the choice of just getting back what we paid for it. The claim will be settled Monday if that’s the route we go down!
Last edited by: PeterS on Sun 20 May 18 at 12:05
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Over enthusiastic youngster driving?
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It is (was) a nice colour. I never used to like burgundy cars but I can feel one coming on sometime soon maybe. Perhaps it's an age thing. If I ever start liking beige ones I'll seek more professional help though.
;-)
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Mercedes do a red called Hyacinth red for the C and E class I think, that looks quite similar...
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>> Over enthusiastic youngster driving?
>>
Nope; a 46 year old man... nothing else involved! Well, except a bend, a rather solid stone wall and a sign warning of the bend ;)
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Oh dear. Glad no serious injury.
I really like Mazda ‘Soul Red’ and Renault offer a similar metallic red....sometimes I regret not opting for Carmine Red on the Barbiemobile, although it cost quite a few ££ more.
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Oh dear. Sorry to hear about the accident. How did you like the Ibiza? Was it the 1.0 or the 1.5? Considering one (1.5 TSI) as replacement company car for a Golf GTD which is starting to feel rather expensive in terms of BIK. What sort or MPG did the Ibiza give? Anything you didn't like about it?
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>> Anything you didn't like about it?
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...apparently, the steering is a bit "vague"....
;-)
(You can replace a car, Peter, but not the driver)
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>> (You can replace a car, Peter, but not the driver)
Exactly! Although, it is (was) fitted with attention assist, which obviously didn’t!! Though the car had apparently braked itself to reduce the impact. And, at the end of the day, if you can walk away from a fairly heavy collision with an inanimate object in what is, in modern terms, a small car, without serious injury then I think that’s pretty good.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 21 May 18 at 02:05
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>> Oh dear. Sorry to hear about the accident. How did you like the Ibiza? Was
>> it the 1.0 or the 1.5? Considering one (1.5 TSI) as replacement company car for
>> a Golf GTD which is starting to feel rather expensive in terms of BIK. What
>> sort or MPG did the Ibiza give? Anything you didn't like about it?
>>
Thanks :) It was bought to replace the out of warranty A3, but we wanted as many of the toys that the A3 had. And it needed to be auto, which only comes with the 115PS 1.0 engine. It’d only done 2,000 miles so I wouldn’t read too much into its fuel economy, which was hovering around the 50mpg mark last time I looked.
That one was an FR with optional panoramic roof, full LED headlights, reversing camera, climate control, keyless entry, 18†wheels and adaptive cruise. As standard it’s got Nav, Apple CarPlay. Cruise, etc. A nice car, and didn’t feel very much smaller than the A3, though the interior was obviously cheaper looking/feeling. We did spec the Alcantara interior as well, but it was build without it by mistake...
Dislikes? It didn’t have any grab handles at all, front or rear, which it hadn’t even occurred for me to check. It didn’t have electric rear windows, and they can’t be specced as an optional extra. Same goes for heated seats. And I’m not a fan of touchscreens in cars in general. Though at least in this one the climate control has tradional buttons. It’s got folding mirrors, but you have to,hold the remote (or touch the door handle for a few seconds) for them to operate. They’re not one-touch.
Likes? Rides and handles very well, with a comfortable driving position, but more road noise than the A3. It came with Bridgestone tyres, which might be partly to blame. Performance is brisk enough for the type of car I think - 9ish seconds or so to 60, and the DSG box suits the engine. I thought it looked good (though that Desire Red paint is £650)
As a heads up, the 1.5 is currently not available to order...
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Too late for the edit... but:
Also, discounts are around the 20% mark and have been since it was launched. Which is what makes it usefully cheaper than the worse looking and equipped Polo. Though the new A1 is on sale later in the year... ;)
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Glad he's OK Peter, probably still a bit shook up though.
In Germany a few months ago we were upgraded to a CLS Shooting Brake hire car. Walking to the bay number there were two CLSs, one in a lovely metallic burgundy colour that really suited the car, probably the Hyacinth you mention. The other was in a bland grey. Guess which one was ours :-(
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Upgraded to a CLS? That’s impressive. I bet you didnt pay for an i10 ( or similar).
My VW Golf ( or similar) transpired to be a Renault Captur. Hardly similar n terms of build quality.
Maybe next time...
Had to fill it with gasoline again today....I’ve not done the maths but suspect it’s not very economical being thrashed fully loaded around the countryside. My 90yo mums used to it, having fond memories of being chauffeured in an old RS2000 in years past. Game old girl !
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Thanks for the positives and negatives. I'm a little way off changing the Golf, so the closed order book isn't currently a problem. Sounds like a decent motor. Just glad nobody sustained any major injuries.
Agree that for some reason the new Polo just doesn't look right. I think the rear lights are too small and somehow it just looks ungainly. Can't be had with the 1.5 TSI unit either, last time I checked.
Last edited by: Mr Moo on Sun 20 May 18 at 22:33
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aside, LV (our insurer) have been absolutely brilliant. The crash happened Thursday midday.
>> They assessed the car Friday and declared it a total loss. New for old obviously
>> as it’s under a year, but because the lead time is so long we have
>> the choice of just getting back what we paid for it. The claim will be
>> settled Monday if that’s the route we go down!
>>
Just to close this out, LV did settle in full on Monday. In fact, they settled more than in full... The list price of the car as delivered (well, collects...) with options was £21,025. Yes, £21k for a supermini... :O
After discount that was £18,780
Taking SEAT Finance gave me another £1,500 off
And because it was originally ordered with an Alcantara interior but built without I got a cheque for £250 from SEAT as a goodwill gesture (as well of course as not paying for the option I’d ordered)
So in all it cost me £17,030 plus a few quid in interest on the finance, which I’d settled just before we went on holiday.
LV settled at £18,575 which is what a new one is after discount, minus the excess of £250. So £18,325 in the bank
Somewhat surprisingly they haven’t cancelled the policy now they’ve paid out; I’ve got 28 days to transfer cover to another car. As luck would have it the BMW insurance is up for renewal in July, so just a bit too late.
Glad I didnt bother with GAP, tyre and wheel protection, paint protection etc etc cover though. I’d be down at least £500 ;)
The driver is still recovering...
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Is it worth cancelling the existing BMW policy?
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>> Am I right in thinking the death referred to is someone crashing to avoid a
>> broken down BMW?
>> Maybe the death was due to not paying attention to road conditions far enough ahead
>> and taking action to avoid the car too late?
BMW's delay in recalling UK cars with an electrical fault contributed to a driver's death, an inquest has found.
The German firm only recalled cars in the UK after Narayan Gurung died when his car crashed into a tree to avoid a broken-down BMW on Christmas Day 2016.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44409501
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But the driver that died would have probably crashed if he came up behind any car that had stopped. It didn't need an electrical fault to have been stationary - driver could have been ill, parked stupidly, run out of fuel, ....
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Probably but not relavant.
The car was there because of a known fault. Without that fault it wouldn't have been there and the driver wouldn't have died.
Lots of contributory negligence of course, but the share remains.
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Peter - if you don't want to wait, you might well get a good deal on a current Audi A1 in stock at a dealer: we did for SWMBO in December 2016 and deals should be even better now that it's about to be replaced.
Hers is a manual but you can have the excellent 1.4 TFSI 125 bhp petrol engine, which suits the A1 so well, with DSG if you want it.
Glad nobody was hurt.
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Audi Worthing are seeing what they can find in stock / arriving soon. The A1 only has a 12 week lead time, though of course it is being replaced in December. I do like the current one, but I worry I’ll regret it come January ;)
Also, my mother has an A1...!
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What sort of cars are on your/his shortlist this time Peter? Any key criteria?
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>> What sort of cars are on your/his shortlist this time Peter? Any key criteria?
>>
Perhaps I should start a new thread - I’ve gone slightly of topic on this one ;)
Watch this space!
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Just a minor drift. A big thumbs up from me for LV Insurance, but on a commercial property that suffered a huge flood in March. Paid up without fuss via an excellent loss adjuster. Renewal came and the premium remained the same.
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BMW - Recalling over 300,000 cars - Duncan
