Martyn, sorry to hear Amy is being rejected. I had my sights set on a car like it. But the devil is in the details. I took a lot of arrows for saying I was very concerned with the electrical system. It turns out my views were well founded. I doubt a replacement car will be much more reliable than Amy was. The problem is in the design of the system and is common to all the cars. Some are affected now, but all will be in time.
What BMW did was try to simplify things by making them more complicated. What they did is similar to a USB system on a computer. They have a single DC supply with digital signals controlling things at the ends. This might work fine on a desktop computer, but can you imagine how vibration, heat, cold, humidity, dust, etc., can affect it? The ECU apparently checks things constantly, and if it thinks it receives a signal, it responds, resulting in the windows operating by themselves, doors unlocking, etc. In the end, the battery goes flat.
The ONLY way to cure these problems 100% is to eliminate the ECU for everything except the engine management, the handling package and alarm. Everything else should use a conventional wiring system that has been in use for over 60 years and is proven to be reliable. But knowing how stubborn a large company can be, I won't hold my breath waiting for it to happen. |