I just got the latest JD Powers Initial Quality Survey (IQS) results and cannot believe were BMW ranks. It is a very sad day when BMW ranks in the bottom 3rd of all auto makes with respect to quality in the eyes of owners.
*** SEE ATTACHED ***
For those not familar with JD Powers IQS, this is a survey of actual BMW owners, not the opinon of the publisher.
Hey you guys at BMW - WAKE UP!!!! Other cars makers may not be able to pass you on the track, but they sure are kicking your a** in the quality race.
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| Reply » Sad Era for BMW Quality |
Wow, nothing like getting spanked by the Big 3. Thats embarrasing.
JD Power is god to most auto manufacturers. In a previous job, whenever we had potential JD Power quality issues, it meant late late nights at the office and all weekend. But then, those companies rank near the top of the latest rankings.
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| Reply » Sad Era for BMW Quality |
It's not what you think. The IQS is worthless now. They began factoring "ease of use/ergonomics" into the rating system last year. The legions of idiots out there who can't figure out how to use a simple point-and-shoot system like iDrive are killing BMW on the ergonomics mark.
In fact, there was even a note (at the time) that BMW in particular scored very high on fit and finish/build quality but lost a ton of points because buyers didn't like the control interface on most of the electronic features. Porsche has the simplest electronic implementation of any high end manufacturer; combine this with a fairly solid build quality score and it's easy to see why they place at the top. See Saab at the bottom? I'm willing to bet they dropped numerous spots simply because they don't place the ignition on or near the steering column.
Of course, there are those of us who dislike iDrive (like me) simply because it attempts to solve problems which never existed in the first place. BMW should've made iDrive optional across the range, as it is on the 3 and 1.
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| Reply » Sad Era for BMW Quality |
AKHBHAAT is right. The survey now includes both problems and perceived problems. I suppose there is merit in studying and reporting user-friendliness in today's more complex cars but I think including it as part of the IQS survey results was inappropriate and misleading on the part of J.D. Power.
Check this out:
http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto...73.A10504.html
Or, I'll quote the relevant section:
For the first time since 1998, Power analysts revised this year's IQS to reflect ongoing changes in today's vehicles and the overall automotive market. The goal was to make the study "more detailed, finite and particular," explained Joe Ivers, JDPA's executive director of quality and customer satisfaction. Among the notable changes this year, the IQS separates actual defects from design flaws. The result of that specific change can be significant. Based solely on actual defects, BMW would have come in third in the 2006 IQS. But it suffered from a variety of consumer-perceived design flaws, including its oft-maligned iDrive, as well as ergonomic issues with the new 3-Series. Combining the two categories, BMW fell to the bottom third of the 37 manufacturers included in this year's IQS, with a problem count of 142.
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| Reply » Sad Era for BMW Quality |
Quote: | I suppose there is merit in studying and reporting user-friendliness in today's more complex cars but I think including it as part of the IQS survey results was inappropriate and misleading on the part of J.D. Power. | No doubt - these findings should be placed into seperate surveys.
For whatever complaints I've had about BMW doing this or that (the occasional bad part design, etc), I've always found their cars to be near the top of the game when it came to actual fit and finish. Everything looks and feels solid and generally continues to do so even as the car ages.
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| Reply » Sad Era for BMW Quality |
As I recall, if complaints about iDrive's usability were not included, BMW would have placed third or fourth or something in this study. Hardly cause for concern.
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Sad Era for BMW Quality