BMW's "overturning"? The problem is not limited to the propeller shaft

Image source: Du Ge

Photographed at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2023

Not long ago, at the 2024 CCTV 3.15 party, the traditional luxury car brand BMW was "named" because of the abnormal noise of the transmission shaft, and then quickly issued a statement to apologize to consumers.

It should have been a quick response worthy of praise, but because BMW insisted that the phenomenon would not affect driving safety and had no intention of recalling, it did not get the "understanding" of the majority of netizens, but instead attracted continuous complaints, forcing the BMW Group's official Weibo to have selected comments.

And, after the issue came to light, the number of complaints about other aspects of BMW also accelerated. Only on the car quality network platform, choose the "BMW" brand, March 15-March 21 The number of complaints reached 39, and the problems reported by car owners are not only abnormal noise of the drive shaft, but also car failure, engine oil leakage, antifreeze leakage, etc.

Last year's Shanghai Auto Show's "mini ice cream incident" is still in front of us, and now it is suffering from quality torture, can BMW, which promotes "home in China", still keep the signboard of the century-old store?

1

"German quality" changes flavor ●

German cars have always been known for their stable quality and excellent performance, and as a representative of German manufacturing, BBA, including BMW, is considered to have strict standards in vehicle quality, whether it is material selection, process manufacturing or assembly quality, it is highly praised.

However, now, under the impact of the market, Seiko inheritance does not seem to have completely landed. With BMW being "named" by CCTV on March 15, consumers have begun to re-examine the so-called German quality.

According to the video content of CCTV's 3.15 party, many BMW 530Li owners reported that they heard frequent abnormal noises from the bottom of the car during driving, which made them feel uneasy. It was confirmed by the maintenance personnel that it was the abnormal noise of the transmission shaft, which was a quality problem.

The sound also made BMW and 4S stores sit on pins and needles, because it is not a small probability event that similar problems occur, and even because of the transmission shaft problem, BMW has launched multiple rounds of recalls before.

For example, in June 2017, BMW (China) Automotive Trading Co., Ltd. filed with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China to recall some imported BMW X5 and X6 series vehicles, involving a total of 86,778 vehicles.

The reason for the recall is that the oil seal of the front propeller shaft bearing of the vehicle may slip out of the design position after long-term use, and in some cases, the cross joint of the propeller shaft may break, which is a safety hazard.

In 2019, BMW (China) Automobile Trading Co., Ltd. once again recalled some imported BMW M3 and M4 vehicles due to transmission shaft problems, totaling 279 vehicles.

Even so, it seems that the problem of BMW's driveshaft has not been completely solved. "Rim Visibility" queried the automobile complaint platform Cheqq.com, and found that from 2023 to the present, the number of complaints that popped up from the search keywords "BMW" and "drive shaft" reached 689, which is a "stubborn disease" that is difficult to treat.

BMW's problems are far more than the drive shaft, and vehicle failure, engine oil leakage, and antifreeze leakage have also become typical problems, which have been repeatedly mentioned by car owners.

For example, the leakage of antifreeze has been complained about by car owners on the car quality network with a high frequency, with 25 cases since the beginning of this year alone, involving models including BMW 3 Series, BMW X1, BMW i3, and BMW 5 Series.

Among them, some car owners reported that they bought a BMW i3 on November 14, 2023, and went to the 4S store to check on December 30, 2023 and found that there was an antifreeze leak. After confirming the problem, he found that many BMW i3 owners had encountered similar problems before this and reported them to BMW, but BMW did not deal with it and continued to sell it.

It is understood that antifreeze leakage will have an impact on the heat dissipation of the car, making the engine temperature too high and damaged, and the cooling system will freeze and crack in winter. Therefore, this will affect safe driving, which is not a problem that can be ignored and makes car owners miserable.

Not only is there a high incidence of complaints, but it can also be seen from the number of recalls that today's BMW is difficult to match the reputation of German Seiko in terms of quality control. According to the statistics of "Rim Visibility", in 2023, BMW will issue a total of 325,300 recalls in the Chinese market, while its sales in China last year were 824,900 vehicles, and the recall accounted for about 39% of the total sales.

Although the recall reflects the sense of responsibility of the enterprise to a certain extent, the quality control problems reflected cannot be ignored. BMW's "German quality" is a golden signboard, and the purity is probably going to be a question mark.

2

"Home in China" was slapped in the face? ●

In fact, in the competition in the luxury car market, BMW in China has deeply realized the benefits of in-depth localization development, so it has continuously upgraded its strategy in China.

As early as the end of 2021, BMW held the "2022 New Year Online Annual Meeting", which outlined the new Group strategy with the sentimental theme of "Home in China", hoping to align the company's development with China's development goals and accelerate the promotion of electrification, digitalization and sustainable development.

On the eve of the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, BMW Group Chairman Philip Zipzer said at the "Imagine the Future Night" event that China is BMW's largest single market, and during the period, he frequently sent golden sentences, including "BMW is in China", "BMW's confidence and commitment to China has never wavered", "whoever can attract Chinese consumers today will win the world tomorrow", etc.

However, the slogan "Home in China" seems to have been repeatedly "slapped in the face" in later years. The most memorable thing about "Rim Visibility" was the MINI ice cream incident that occurred during the Shanghai Auto Show last year.

At that time, some netizens broke the news that at the BMW MINI booth at the Shanghai Auto Show, visitors were treated differently by the staff when they took ice cream, and foreigners went to collect it as a "warm introduction", and Chinese went to collect it as "it has been distributed".

Later, as the crisis of public opinion intensified, it was on the hot search several times, and BMW MINI urgently issued an apology statement, saying, "The lack of meticulous internal management and the dereliction of duty of the staff have caused everyone's unhappiness, for which we sincerely apologize." We review ourselves and improve management, strengthen internal training, and strive to provide good service and experience to each of our friends. ”

Even if netizens don't buy BMW's official apology statement, time will always smooth out some emotions. It's just that what I didn't expect was that after a year or so, BMW would come out again to apologize because of the exposure on March 15.

Similarly, this apology did not win the "recognition" of consumers and netizens. First, BMW insisted that "the company has previously conducted technical verification on the abnormal noise of the transmission shaft and will not affect driving safety", and only said that "it can be solved through maintenance, and BMW will bear all related maintenance costs". This made consumers feel that the apology was very perfunctory, and they did not come up with sincere measures.

Second, BMW's small actions on social platforms are very "mysterious". After the official Weibo of the BMW Group issued a statement, it turned on the selection mode in the comment area under the dynamics, and all the comments shown to everyone were "BMW's after-sales service is very good", "The car is a little small, the voice is normal", "BMW's reply is in place in a timely manner", "BMW's response speed can be seen in the company's attitude" and other similar supporting remarks.

On the other hand, in the retweet area, because it cannot be selected, it shows a different scene, such as "I dare not release a bad review", "The selected comment is like receiving money to reward stinky feet", "BMW does not cheat the poor", "It would be nice if the problem could be solved so quickly" and other remarks abound.

It is known that the problem of abnormal noise of BMW's driveshaft has been complained by many car owners for more than a year, and it is reasonable to ask questions, if the March 15 party is not exposed, will BMW continue to choose to remain silent? So, when shouting the slogan of "home in China", how can Chinese consumers believe it?

In 2023, the Chinese market contributed 824,900 vehicles to BMW's sales, accounting for about 32% of its overall global sales, making it the most important overseas market. Looking at the attitude of the BMW brand based on this figure, it is inevitable that people are a little "chilling".

Author | Lee Lee

来源 | 车圈能见度（CarVisibility）