BMW have announced they are recalling 8,080 of its 5 Series Gran Turismo models due to a petrol tank sensor issue.
The car which began selling at the back end of 2009 and in Spring 2010 has a fault which causes the car to think there is petrol in the tank when there is none, possibly resulting in breakdowns or drivers damaging their vehicles.
BMW blamed the bug on moving sensors getting stuck against the tank wall preventing them from giving an accurate reading.
The German manufacturer has said it knows of no accidents or injuries that have occurred due to the problem and that the recall is voluntary.
A BMW representative also added that that company found the flaw themselves thanks to their “vigorous pre and post testing” and that they reported the problem to the correct safety authorities themselves.
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BMW has been dropping hints over the past few months about its forthcoming Megacity electric car and the latest points to an unveiling at the London Olympics in 2012.
A Source from BMW revealed that the German manufacturers see the Olympics as a major global audience to show off their new product.
Will this be too late though? By the time the Olympics come around there is likely to be a few electric cars already in production, some even shipping.
Offerings from Chevrolet and Nissan have all been given a release date of pre-2012 but with BMW being the solo Automobile sponsor of the 2012 games they will already have had a good two years build up of advertisement prior to the Olympics starting.
All that is known about the BMW electric vehicle is that they have put huge amounts of time and money into researching carbon fibre as a way of offsetting the battery weight, as they are aiming for a 35-k-Wh battery with an anticipated range of around 100 miles on one charge.
The development currently known as ‘Project I’ will be the first in a family of electric vehicles and is expected to be priced at in excess of £20,000.
Interested in making your current car more economical, rather than buying new replacement parts take a look a second hand ones that breakers have removed from other vehicles. It’s cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
It is the start of the 2010 Geneva Motor show and many manufacturers including BMW are looking to a brighter future in 2010 and beyond. Motor shows are an ideal place to show off concept cars and in this case it is the concept BMW 5 Series Active Hybrid, which is set the dynamics of hybrid technology to a new level. New BMW cars on show, includes the new BMW X5, the new BMW 3 Series Coupe and cabriolet. There are new engines for the BMW 1 series coupe and convertible.
The Geneva motor show is live form the 4th March to 14thy 2010, and expect an atmosphere just that little bit more positive than last year. BMW continues to drive technology to the next level to give you a driving experience of a lifetime.
The latest TV advert from BMW states that every BMW is designed and built for the Joy of the driver. It goes through the whole range of BMW’s amd includes some from the past also, to show you it is all about emotions and every BMW is a form of joy created for that purpose. You can see the making of joy from the BMW website here, but if you don’t want to leave our BMW blog you can see it the completed version just below..
There is not doubt that owners of BMW’s love driving where possibly a Mercedes it is more about being driven.
BMW are normally not associated with press regarding bad manufacture or customer service, but this week saw a BBC report on its TV programme watchdog that criticised some low profile wheels fitted on many models of BMW. Many BMW drivers have found themselves having to fork out for replacement wheels as cracks have appeared on these expensive allow low profile rims. To compound the issue when customers complained to BMW, they got little luck in terms of free replacements; they were informed that they must have driven over pot holes hard. The BMW drivers all denied this saying, that any driving was no more than the norm and they had never had any issues with this before with any other car. It was expressed that BMW do not have this issue in any other country and so believe it is the state of UK roads and heavy driving rather than the quality of the wheels. However BMW owners disagree stating that other cars do not have this issue and it must be a manufacturer’s defect.
No clear answer was delivered during the show as BMW have not yet backed down on the issue, the only course seems to be for all buyers to come together and go to BMW using a third party. There was one example where a BMW owner had taken BMW to court and had won.
This is unusual for BMW a company that prides itself in the joy of driving and building quality cars that last a long time, this programme may get people think twice about buying or leasing a new BMW in future.
BMW is a major player in the leasing market and many will want to know what the solution is when choosing a business car, it may be that Audi or Mercedes get the deal, unless it is sorted soon, there is currently nothing on the BMW website as a reply.
If you lease a BMW you should contact your provider to establish who owns the car and where the responsability lies.
