BMW Problems

If a minor collision sets off all 12 airbags in a 7 Series BMW it could well be written off.Not because of the crash damage but because of the cost of replacing the airbag and seatbelt systems.An Airbag Mobile Reset Service spokesman said the cost of replacing the airbags, the damaged trim and replacing the pre-tension seatbelts on a 7 Series could easily amount between $30,000 and $40,000. “I know of BMWs in Sydney that have been written off because of this cost,” the spokesman said.Airbags are in the news as Australian road-safety campaigns are expanded, but British road safety group, the Guild of Experienced Motorists (GEM), says many people had no idea what happens when airbags deploy or the dangers the bags pose if occupants are unaware of their presence or operation.GEM Motoring Assist says the airbag is a great safety feature and used in conjunction with a seatbelt can often prevent serious injury. But GEM boss David Williams says unless people have experience of the quick-inflating devices, drivers and passengers could panic in a crash.GEM member Matt Day described his first experience of an airbag deploying when he and his wife were involved in a crash.“We were thankful for the extremely fast deployment of the airbags,” Day said. “They seem to have deflated again before I realised they had inflated. What's more, the seatbelts did their job and we didn't get thrown forward.”Day said that when the airbags inflated his car filled with smoke from the mini-explosion, which was necessary to deploy them.“I could sense the car filling rapidly with smoke and my initial reaction was to get out. I screamed at my wife to get out, too.”Day's reaction is typical but based on a lack of knowledge.The airbags are inflated by a small explosion and white smoke or fine powder often fills the car because the airbags have a big hole in the base to allow gases to escape.“The airbag has inflated and is already letting the air out of the big hole usually before the driver or passenger has hit them,” the AMRS spokesman says. “At the same time in most modern cars an explosive charge has gone off down by the seat where the seatbelt is mounted at the base of the seat. This pulls the seatbelt tight. So there can be lots of noise and the smell of burning which often frightens people.”Airbag Mobile Reset Service website warns of airbag dangers.“Airbags inflate in a fraction of a second and with great force. This means if the front-seat occupants of the car are not properly seated and strapped in with seatbelts or are obstructing an airbag compartment with part of their body, they may be injured. There have been reports in the US of children sitting in the front seat or lying in a rear-facing child restraint mounted in the front seat being crushed to death by airbags in low-speed accidents, which they might have otherwise survived."“According to the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority, it is common practice to carry small children in the front seat in the US and Europe. In Australia they're generally in the back because our child restraints usually can't be fitted in the front seat. As long as this doesn't change we shouldn't have the same problem with children being injured."“However, Australian adults still need to be cautious — there have been reports in the US of airbags causing bruises, broken arms, eye damage and adult fatalities."“But they do save lives. Despite the occasional problems, airbags in most cases do prevent serious injury and save lives. For example, General Motors Holden says there has been a 'dramatic' reduction in facial, head and chest injuries to occupants of airbag-equipped Commodores involved in accidents.“The US-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has also compared driver deaths in airbag-equipped cars with cars without airbags. The research found there were 23 per cent fewer deaths in airbag-equipped cars involved in frontal and front-angled crashes.”Have you had any problems with your airbags? Let us know by filling out the bottom field. 

M spells 'magic'where BMWs are concerned, particularly when it’s accompanied by the number ‘5’. In the case of BMW ‘M’ is the universally recognised symbol for the company’s ‘M Sport’ special tuning arm, which takes ordinary BMWs and transforms them into some of the greatest sporting models yet seen.It began in the 1970s with the M1 sports coupe, but gathered pace in the 1980s with the release of the first M3 and its bigger brother, the M5.The E34 M5 was the first of the line that continues with today’s awesome model. While the current M5 is well out of reach of most of us the earlier models like the E34 are also awesome sports sedans and much more affordable.MODEL WATCHThe M5 first appeared in local showrooms in 1990 when we were given a taste of sophisticated sports motoring in the form of the E34 model. That first model ran for barely three years before it left the market, to return in 1999 in the later E39 guise.The E34 5-Series was a great car to begin with which makes it a perfect foundation for the M5.The great thing about the M5 is that it’s barely recognisable as anything other than a regular 5-Series. The external changes are subtle so only the informed would pick it as something special.There is a subtle front airdam and side skirts, but no wild wing on the boot. The alloy wheels are larger than those on the regular 5-Series and there’s an M5 badge on the grille, but that’s about it.At the M5’s heart is the wonderful BMW six-cylinder engine. At 3.5 litres the 24-valve double overhead camshaft six is silky smooth and the extra tuning by BMW Motorsport makes it sing even sweeter.The power peaks at 232 kW at 6900 revs while the torque peaks with 360 Nm at 4750 revs. It’s red-lined at 7000 revs, with an electronic limiter set at 7200 revs to keep the most enthusiastic drivers in check when the engine feels as though it could happily rev on forever.When pressed that’s sufficient to propel the four-door flyer to 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds, and cover the standing 400-metre sprint in 15 seconds, before hitting an electronic wall at 250 km/h.The real strength of the M5 is its ability to cruise at very high speeds over long distances, it’s really built to burn on the ’bahns of its homeland.BMW offered the M5 with a five-speed manual transmission only. It had a slick shift that was precise and a joy to use. Through the gears it would do 60 km/h in first, 100 km/h in second, 155 km/h in third, 209 km/h in fourth and 250 km/h in top.Under the understated skin lay MacPherson Strut front suspension and semi-trailing arm independent rear suspension, tweaked of course by BMW Motorsport to produce response and balance that is nothing less than awe inspiring.Big discs at both ends provide powerful braking while standard antilock electronics deliver added safety.Not surprisingly the M5 came well equipped. Leather-trimmed powered sports seats were standard along with a sports steering wheel, climate control air-conditioning, trip computer, premium sound, central locking, and a sunroof.IN THE SHOPThere are few flaws with the M5. The engine is bullet-proof, but needs proper servicing, even more so if it’s been driven hard.The reality is that most of these cars are bought by people who rarely push them to the limit of their extreme capabilities so most are kept in good condition.The most common problem is the gearbox, in which second gear synchro is a weakness, so check carefully for any reluctance when trying to select second.On such a high performance car it’s important to use good tyres and brakes and they will be expensive, so be prepared to spend some money on maintaining the performance.IN A CRASHRecent surveys of cars in crashes suggest the E34 BMW is average in both protection of its occupants and its impact on those in cars it hits.In its favour the M5 has the steering, handling and braking prowess to avoid collisions, but without airbags its secondary line of protection is a little lacking by today’s standards.OWNER’S VIEWSimon Ansell has owned plenty of exotic performance cars, like an Audi Quattro, Lancia Delta Integrale, BMW M3, and a couple of Golf GTis, and says his M5 is one of the most fantastic cars he’s owned. He has restored it to as new condition as the previous owner lived in the country so it got a bit stone chipped. It has had a new gearbox, but other than that big job it has had a relatively trouble free run. One of the things he likes about it is that only motoring people know what it is and it is still so quick for a car of its size. The engine is an absolute gem and sounds sensational when run to the red line.LOOK FOR• subtle styling hides performance potential• superb six cylinder engine• possible synchro problems in gearbox• silky smooth performance• understated looksTHE BOTTOM LINEOne of the best sports sedans ever made if you can afford it.RATING90/100

Survival is a strong motive for action, as it was for the new Compact hatchback version of BMW’s E36 3-Series. It’s really quite simple, to survive as a carmaker you have to grow. The bigger you are the better your chances of staying in business, and BMW as a small to medium sized car company in world terms had no option but to make their cars more affordable so more people could buy them.The risk if they didn’t was to be swallowed up by one of the big players, like Ford or General Motors who were out to add to their portfolio of models.BMW was in the envious position of being an aspirational brand, one people wanted to park in their driveways even if the range was out of their reach.The 3-Series was the people’s BMW, but even that became a stretch for most people as its price rose. The 3-Series now is a real aspirational model in the range, and more affordable models have been introduced below it.BMW’s first move to make their cars accessible to more people was the 3-Series Compact introduced in 1995.It’s most unlikely that BMW will ever offer a model in the sub-$30,000 price range, that would sully the image of the brand as an aspiration purchase.That’s the trick for a company like BMW. You want more people to buy your cars because volume makes for more profit, but you can’t afford to have too many cars out there because that could damage your brand image.The 3-Series Compact was the company’s first, careful step in making a car that had a more affordable sticker while retaining the appeal of the marque.One look at the Compact and you can see the strategy. Viewed from the front it looks for all the world like a regular 3-Series, there’s the same kidney grille, the same bonnet, the same front guards and bumper, and most importantly the same blue and white spinner badge. Clearly a BMW. But viewed from the side or the rear and it was all new with its tail shortened into a hatchback.The shortened tail made no difference to those who wanted to park a BMW in their driveway, it looked like a 3-Series, had the badge, and the shortened tail was even attractive to most people on seeing it for the first time.What mattered most was that it was priced below $40,000 and that opened the door to BMW ownership for more people.Parked alongside its sedan brother the Compact was 233 mm shorter despite sitting on the same 2700 mm wheelbase. That meant the interior was roomy for front seat passengers, if not quite so roomy for those in the rear seat.The hatch arrangement resulted in quite a large boot space, which in combination with the 50/50 split-fold rear seat delivered a flexibility perfect for carrying just about anything you needed to move.Under the skin the hatchback was all BMW. A 75 kW 1.6-litre single overhead camshaft fuel-injected four-cylinder endowed it with modest, but adequate performance.There was a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed auto, the latter dulling the performance somewhat, but a popular choice with buyers none the less.The suspension was a familiar combination of MacPherson Strut at the front and semi-trailing arm independent at the rear.It rode and handled well, and with ABS-assisted disc brakes front and rear, it also stopped well.At launch there was just the single model offering, with standard air-conditioning, central locking, power steering, power windows and mirrors and AM/FM radio cassette sound.Remote central locking, rear head rests and traction control were added to the list of standard features early in 1996 when it was renamed the Hatchback.The Contour was added in January 1996, and brought with it standard alloy wheels, metallic paint, leather steering wheel and fog lamps.The BMW badge is enough for some people to stretch their budget to buy it without considering the costs of service and servicing a prestige car can be more expensive than other cars. The result can be compromised servicing, so check for a service record, one that hopefully has a history of servicing by a BMW dealer or acknowledged specialist.Look specifically for things like regular oil changes, annual coolant changes, and annual brake fluid changes, all of which keep the BMW ticking along as it should.Brakes tend to need replacement at intervals of 50,000 km or so and original equipment BMW rotors are expensive. Aftermarket rotors are available which will do the job, but you won’t find these on offer at BMW dealers.Lift the oil filler cap and observe any sludge, a sure killer of engines, and a sign that the oil hasn’t been changed.The 1.6-litre M43 engine has a timing chain as do most modern BMW engines so there’s no requirement for servicing in that area.Generally the 3-Series is a well built and robust vehicle that will do quite high mileages without too much trouble.The Compact had dual front air bags standard, and was given front side airbags in 1998, which provided an impressive secondary crash protection system, over and above the primary protection afforded by ABS and traction control.The E36 rated better than average for occupant protection in the 2004 Used Car Safety Survey, and average for its impact on the occupants of cars it hit.• Prestige of BMW badge• good resale value• cute hatchback styling• flexible boot space• good ride and handling• good crash protection• modest performance from 1.6-litre engine• service records a mustStylish and practical hatchback for the young or young at heart that comes with a BMW badge.