BMW updates 90% of EVs sold in the US over power software bug BMW is starting off 2023 with a recall of 90 percent of the EVs it sold in the United States in 2022 thanks to battery software that could cause loss of power while driving. According to BMW's recall notice [PDF], certain model year 2022 and 2023 BMW iX, i4 and i7 vehicles in the US have a bug in their battery electronics …
My 1989 BMW runs on Dinosaur Juice(tm) and it predates airbags, computerised controls, and yes, even the internet cars.
It is a mechanincal car, that does car things, and does them well.
From here on out, I will only buy cars that are older then this one.
I have been working with computers from long before the car was made, but I do not want my work to interfere with the driving experience...
"Pure Driving Pleasure" as the Bavarians used to call it in days of past...
From safety (airbags, side impact bars, ABS) to performance (traction control), convenience (auto wipers, auto full beam dipping), and frugality (more efficient motors), I think I prefer more modern cars. I can do without beeping because I don't have the seat belt on, or lane auto-correction however.
I agree 100%. Currently many of us drive sedans as fast, and as good handling, as previous-generation sports cars. Sports cars are now faster than supercars from just a two decades ago...and modern supercars? As fast as F1 cars from the '90's.
And they are all safer and more reliable doing whilst doing so, too.
Old cars are interesting to look at and nice to put around with / in during your leisure time. For day-to-day operations, give me a modern (well, say, within the past 15 years) car any day.
"It is a mechanical car, that does car things, and does them well."
Up to a point. Even in the 1980s there was a fair bit of electronics in cars. It depends on the model, but many BMWs of the era would have an Bosch Motronic or Jetronic digital engine control units.
Certainly those were excellent cars, but the modern ones are more powerful, more comfortable, less polluting, safer and more reliable. And you can still have fun driving them.
modern ones are more powerful, more comfortable, less polluting, safer and more reliable
More powerful, less polluting and safer, yes.
For the two other points, having owned an E36, an E46 and a F31, it's open to discussion IMNSHO. Another criteria should be also the driving pleasure.
...and that's why intelligent people lease BMW's (regardless of fans' claims of "reliability"). Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz haven't been long-term reliable for over a decade - initial quality, sure. Reliable within the warranty period, almost always 'yes'.
Dependable and reliable over the course of a decade of ownership? They'll get back to you on that...
My 1988 Toyota Tercel died every morning while driving. Carburator air/fuel ratio was managed by a computer made of vacuum driven components and an equally crude electronic computer. Working together? No. The vacuum computer's changes corrupted the parameter mapping that the electronic computer learned from prior feedback. That was not so bad as long as the feedback loop was active.
The feedback loop needed a few seconds to work when coming off idle. Any change in conditions caused the car to stall in the middle of intersections, usually when a truck is coming.
A very complex hack was applied by Toyota to give the vacuum computer more gradual, finer grained adjustments. It didn't really work. To top it off, the atmospheric vents for this vast system of vacuum circuits was right next to the crankcase vent - the thing that coughs up a fine mist of oily soot.
Fixing car bugs with a software patch is modern magic.
Fixing car bugs with a software patch is modern magic.
The fact that it can be done over the air, however, is very scary. Especially if BMW's security software is written to the same standards as their power control software seems to be. Somehow I think it won't even be that good.
There's a bit of definition drift at work here. Essential updates seem to be covered by the same legislation that compels recalls if they were in mechanical parts, so I think the word "recall" must be seen here in the context of "legally prescribed" update because there's a safety risk.
I think legislation needs to be adjusted to indeed distinguish between a physical fix and a patch that is mandatory because it affects vehicle safety but as BWM apparently relies on Microsoft code I must admit I would personally feel a lot safer if the updates were not OTA but in a garage where they could maybe roll back to a previous version. IMHO, a Blue Screen of Death is not exactly a good thing to have in the systems that control your ABS brakes and steering.
That said, the one recall Tesla should have is the full removal of Fools Suck at Driving, as FSD never had any formal approval - and neither did other road users choose to be around a system that could kill them..
I prefer a dealer visit - I can't see what comes in over the air, and there is AFAIK no accountability for errors. If I go to a dealer I end up in a situation where a supplier does something to my car and carries legal responsibility for the consequences - in other words, they pay a bit more attention to what they do and I can go back if not all is well.
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