Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Suture

macrumors 65816
Feb 22, 2007
1,003
213
I felt the same, but their sales numbers skyrocketed. Beauty is subjective, I suppose. I was a huge fan of the E39 M5. I think that car was perfect.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lowendlinux

bunnspecial

macrumors G3
May 3, 2014
8,352
6,495
Kentucky
The ignition switch problem popped up when the people had heavy items on the key ring. The ignition switch assembly had a spring I believe it is that was too small to handle the weight. The weight would cause the ignition to turn out of the run position.

If all you had was the ignition key, fob, and a few keys( house key, etc) on the key ring, the ignition issue most likely would never expose itself.

GM knew of this issue all the way back during development of the Delta platform( Cobalt, HHR, etc) and did nothing about it. And you bet the CEO change from Ackerson to Barra was a calculated move before they finally did recall it.

For a LONG time my car keys have been only my car keys. In other words, it's one key ring with the ignition key and keyless entry fob. I even keep them separated per car.

I do this for a couple of reasons.

One is that I'm switching up cars often enough that I don't want the "baggage" of carrying keys for every car I own. Plus, if I'm parking a car somewhere-such as at a friends house-and am going to be away(even if for a few hours) I always like to leave my car keys "just in case" and it's a lot easier to hand over just the ignition/fob than everything.

I have about 80 bajillion keys for work, and my main key ring is in and out of my pocket constantly during the day-I don't like putting the wear and tear on my car key.

I also have never thought that the weight of that many keys is good for the ignition switch.

Finally, I don't like a big key ring rubbing on my leg or banging against my dash.
 

A.Goldberg

macrumors 68030
Jan 31, 2015
2,549
9,715
Boston
It was also caused by faulty gas pedal assemblies as well as floor mats.



Ummm.... Toyota did the same thing. They hid the floor mat and gas pedal issue until the SUA accidents got more national attention. Why do you think the DOJ fined Toyota $1.2 billion over the SUA fiasco? Because they failed to disclose the issue when they knew about it. GM just got away with it for longer and they knew about it since development of the Delta platform where Toyota discovered it after the fact and hid it from there. Which is why their fine is expected to exceed the $1.2 billion that Toyota got.

I am not going to discount Toyota's reliability. They are reliable. But they are a company and like GM, Ford, etc hid defects because it was cheaper to deal with the issue individually than issue a recall.
I just saw that article now about the fine. My overall point is nearly all cars have recalls. In most cases the number of people affected is very small. There's no such thing as a perfect vehicle. Not even a Daewoo.

I think the most reliable engine BMW ever made was that small I6 they put in the 3 series before the change over to forced induction

I was eying a mint 1 owner 2011 BMW 328XI with nearly 71,022 miles, and I'm still hesitant on trading in my Chevy Cruze (loves this car for what it is) for it

635654853998238252.jpg

635654853929130252.jpg

635654853949098252.jpg


They also have a 2013 BMW550I MSport with 86,000 miles for like $36,000... (talk about resale value)
635643598917304781.jpg


I really want this car but that twin-turbo V8 is garbage and thirsty from what I read on the bimmer forums.. it will stay in the shop, So I can afford 3 series maintenance.. if I can take apart a Pratt & Whitney JT8 than an NA I6 should be cake, but 5 series maintenance would bankrupt me lol with that high pressure fuel pump, twin-turbos and valves crapping out

I'd be a little leery of the high mileage. I've haven't heard great things about the old V8 used in the previous E60 5-series reliability wise, but in the E60 generation the V8 was NA and wasn't much more powerful than the 535 twin turbo V8. I have an 09 E60 535xi and it's been a bit of a hassle in terms of reliability. A lot of things require BMW's computer to reset things and clear codes which is annoying. The car drives fantastic, but the maintenance bill doesn't offer the same thrill that driving it does. Considering the price of a new 550xi M-Sport, I'm not sure the resale is that impressive. The mileage is high, but it is a 2013.
 

quagmire

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2004
6,984
2,488
I just saw that article now about the fine. My overall point is nearly all cars have recalls. In most cases the number of people affected is very small. There's no such thing as a perfect vehicle. Not even a Daewoo.

Agreed. Never judge a company on the amount of recalls. Judge them for how they handle it because every single automaker will have recalls.
 
Last edited:

AustinIllini

macrumors G5
Oct 20, 2011
12,699
10,566
Austin, TX
Agreed. Never judge a company on the amount of recalls. Judge them for how they handle it because every single automaker will have recalls.
If that were the case, no one should buy a GM ever again. They knew about the ignition switch issue while it was killing people.
 

quagmire

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2004
6,984
2,488
If that were the case, no one should buy a GM ever again. They knew about the ignition switch issue while it was killing people.

And no one would be buying Ford's or Toyota's if judgments always meant a lost sale. But oddly enough the consumer doesn't seem to have an issue with either recalls or a company acting negligent. Neither GM's or Toyota's sales have been negatively impacted by these scandals.

But GM deserves the scathe it gets from its handling of the mess. They should have fixed it when they knew about it in development. They should have issued a recall earlier than they did. They should not have thrown Barra to the wolves with the CEO change right before the fiasco unfolded.
 

bunnspecial

macrumors G3
May 3, 2014
8,352
6,495
Kentucky
But GM deserves the scathe it gets from its handling of the mess. They should have fixed it when they knew about it in development. They should have issued a recall earlier than they did. They should not have thrown Barra to the wolves with the CEO change right before the fiasco unfolded.

The whole GM handling sounds like the infamous Ford Pinto memo from the late 70s-in other words, it's cheaper to deal with the wrongful death suits than to fix the problem.
 

puma1552

Suspended
Nov 20, 2008
5,559
1,947
IMHO Chris Bangle ruined BMW design

I felt the same, but their sales numbers skyrocketed. Beauty is subjective, I suppose. I was a huge fan of the E39 M5. I think that car was perfect.


stop living in the past. the pre-bangle era cars looked great and the E39 was a beautiful car, but this was 15 years ago now, the cars look horrendously outdated by today's standards.

Not that what BMW is building today looks anything but cheap/gaudy/same old worn out M-sport bumper ******** shoehorned into everything from a 2 series to an X6, but still. The box era is long, long, long gone.
 

lowendlinux

macrumors 603
Sep 24, 2014
5,460
6,788
Germany
stop living in the past. the pre-bangle era cars looked great and the E39 was a beautiful car, but this was 15 years ago now, the cars look horrendously outdated by today's standards.

Not that what BMW is building today looks anything but cheap/gaudy/same old worn out M-sport bumper ******** shoehorned into everything from a 2 series to an X6, but still. The box era is long, long, long gone.
The cool part is I'm allowed to live in the past. I simply don't have to buy something I don't like because it's new.
 

iLog.Genius

macrumors 601
Feb 24, 2009
4,925
479
Toronto, Ontario
Those were great engines. Silky smooth, sounded good, and the powerband was very usable.

The N52 engine so underrated and overlooked because of the N54/N55 during the same period. As good as the N55 is, it's a shame that later generations won't get the opportunity to experience any BMW naturally aspirated straight-six unless they find an old one. As far as modern BMW goes, the E90 330i is the ideal car for me. Naturally aspirated inline-6, 255HP/241TQ, manual transmission and RWD. Heck, I would take an E82 128i with slightly lower output but in a smaller package.
 

Suture

macrumors 65816
Feb 22, 2007
1,003
213
stop living in the past. the pre-bangle era cars looked great and the E39 was a beautiful car, but this was 15 years ago now, the cars look horrendously outdated by today's standards.

Not that what BMW is building today looks anything but cheap/gaudy/same old worn out M-sport bumper ******** shoehorned into everything from a 2 series to an X6, but still. The box era is long, long, long gone.

Good thing we are all allowed to have opinions...

I just said it's my favorite, not that it will win any beauty contests. It's hard for a car to age gracefully, but the E39 M5 is my favorite for the overall package.
 

MatthewLTL

macrumors 68000
Jan 22, 2015
1,684
18
Rochester, MN
And no one would be buying Ford's or Toyota's if judgments always meant a lost sale. But oddly enough the consumer doesn't seem to have an issue with either recalls or a company acting negligent. Neither GM's or Toyota's sales have been negatively impacted by these scandals.

But GM deserves the scathe it gets from its handling of the mess. They should have fixed it when they knew about it in development. They should have issued a recall earlier than they did. They should not have thrown Barra to the wolves with the CEO change right before the fiasco unfolded.
The GM ignition switch was said that it would ONLY cost $.50 more per car to fix it when they knew about it!
The whole GM handling sounds like the infamous Ford Pinto memo from the late 70s-in other words, it's cheaper to deal with the wrongful death suits than to fix the problem.
The Pinto was befor my time so i cannot comment on that.
The cool part is I'm allowed to live in the past. I simply don't have to buy something I don't like because it's new.
I agree with you 100%. I don't like what "new" cars offer. If I were to ever get one the 1st thing i would do was disable/remove all the bogus stuff. An example would be having the factory stereo ripped out and replaced with a simple aftermarket CD Deck.

CAR UPDATE: I GOT A ESTIMATE FOR FIXING MY BRAKES AND THE BRAKES WILL BE FIXED NEXT MONTH.
 

D.T.

macrumors G4
Original poster
Sep 15, 2011
11,050
12,467
Vilano Beach, FL
Ever drive a 2011 or newer Mustang with a manual trans? It looks like it would be a fun second car.

Yessir :) In fact, I'm [very slowly] shopping a Mustang for my next ride, specifically a 13/14 Shelby GT500 convertible (all GT500s are manual). I've never owned a Ford product but I like what I'm reading/seeing.

It would be my primary car, but I work from a home office, so it's not really a DD.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Suture

D.T.

macrumors G4
Original poster
Sep 15, 2011
11,050
12,467
Vilano Beach, FL
Wow; I see that's been a widespread issue. I can't find out if there was a fix for it or not, so that's a deal breaker. Thanks for the heads up!

I believe there was a later "silent revision" that squared some of this up. Maybe '13+ models? My buddy's GT convertible has been solid as a rock, I know it's at least a '12, and another friend who runs a Boss 302 pretty regularly on track beats the heck out of his, no issues to speak of.

That being said, it's comforting the GT500 uses a Tremec 6060. :)
 

lowendlinux

macrumors 603
Sep 24, 2014
5,460
6,788
Germany
When did Ford start sourcing Getrag trannys from China? There's a factory about 10 miles from my house here in no where Bavaria and their HQ is about a 30 minute drive from my work apartment.
 

Muscle Master

macrumors 6502a
Oct 15, 2010
581
113
Philadelphia
I believe there was a later "silent revision" that squared some of this up. Maybe '13+ models? My buddy's GT convertible has been solid as a rock, I know it's at least a '12, and another friend who runs a Boss 302 pretty regularly on track beats the heck out of his, no issues to speak of.

That being said, it's comforting the GT500 uses a Tremec 6060. :)
When did Ford start sourcing Getrag trannys from China? There's a factory about 10 miles from my house here in no where Bavaria and their HQ is about a 30 minute drive from my work apartment.

Yes.. I think the issue was from 2010-2012/13.. And that's what the ford guys was talking about.. Gotta head to the forums to dig deeper
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.