This was a curious article. The article suggests that the rush to include more and more sophisticated electronics (such as Navi systems) causes more complaints and reliability problems, even among the top-rated makes:

Gadgets Sell Cars But Hurt Quality Image

I haven't seen any stats to support that. I wonder if all cars are worse off to make top-rated makes still look good compared to less reliable makes?

 

This is the reason MB is in trouble. They always try to be the first with every gadget and it has led them into trouble because they rolled it out when it was not needed or before they got it right. Besides the styling the biggest compliant most folks have with the new 5 and 7 series BMW is the iDrive system. Acura's NAV system is not far behind in that kind of integration (everything eventually gets controlled via the NAV screen) and hope that they get it right and make it reliable. I'm sure that in a few years folks will be repalcing the screen (from wear or failure - just the nature of it) but hopefully that will improve also. And of course like all software realted matters (as BMW already has found out) you will forever be on the changing software upgrade cycle (which will be MY independant). What version of TSX you have - we're at V1.0 now!

 

The biggest complaint I heard from the 5 series is the non-linear steering that they implemented. People are running into curbs.

 

I agree with biker. Electronic and electrical reliability problems for the most part is a German problem. For some reason, most German cars have those problems.

Some MBs who have DBW and BBW (brake by wire) reportedly have had their BBW system fail and crashed because of that. How dangerous can it get?

 

Consumer Reports surveys hundreds of thousands of owners with questionaires each year. Based mainly on reliability, as of this year they recommended zero (0) Audi models, one (1) BMW (and it's the "old" E39 5-series!), zero (0) Mercedes models, one (1) Porsche, one (1) Saab, one (1) VW and two (2) Volvos.

By way of contrast, CR recommends ten (10) Acura-Hondas and twenty (20) Toyota-Lexus models.

Having driven my "best of the bunch" Volvo 128,000 miles I can tell you how the Euros manage to accomplish this. Volvo does stuff like use environmentally-friendly but owner unfriendly electrical solder and glue. They proudly proclaim that their wiring harnesses are assembled by the develomentally disabled (true story). Not a reliabiity issue but annoying, they also uniformly use a brittle, water based paint so that my car now looks like its been blasted by a shotgun. The paint on my wife's Honda has been much, much more durable. I don't see any of this changing, because I don't see the Europeans changing the way they think. They also bring their thinking along when they build plants elsewhere, like the Mercedes and BMW plants in the US, the VW plant in Mexico, and BMW in South Africa. It took a few hundred years for the Roman Empire to collapse completely, so Europe has a while to go, but the trend is firmly in place.

 

I don't read CR much, but base on other forums, many people even dont count CR recommendation about cars, cause CR seems doesn't like almost all Euro cars. For BMWs and MBs, they already have the top quality among Euro cars, I drive 3 BMWs, none has major problem even electrical one, I also drive 3 Hondas also no problem beside oil changes. If you want reliable car(s), regular maintainences should be done.

Why Hondas and Toyotas have more reliable cars, cause they don't invent technology gadgets, they just follow and refine them, like Odyssey, one of the latest minivan for the market, has become the benchmark for minivan, now every minivan makers follow Honda's.

 

If you think this is bad just wait until BMW's will start steering for you!
Don't laugh, this is actually going to happen in a couple years. The new adjustable ratio steering will be combined with DSC to actully adjust the wheel angle in an oversteer/understeer condition. Although I'm sure this will be safer for the majority of people out there, I still want to do my own steering thank you!

 

That's the reason if I ever buy the new 5 I won't get Active steering (there goes the Sport package with it) or an AT for that matter. And as few iDrive related items as possible. The problem is that even Honda/Acura will be forced (due to competition) to start offering what the others do. The problem there is that with Acura it's a all or nothing proposition. With BMW at least I can say no thank you (for now) but when the 2008 TSX or TL comes with Active steering you probably won't have a choice not to get it. Up until recently most of the options have sort of made sense but we are getting in the automotive world to the point of diminishing returns. Every time a new model comes out the car rag editors and manufacturers claim how the body is x% stiffer, it goes 0-60 x sec faster than the last model, its more comfortable, etc you get the picture. For how long can this keep up before the x is meanigless or we get a car carved from a solid chunk of titanium that travels at the speed of light.

 

Consumer Reports has called the old E39 BMW 530i the best car they ever tested, so I don't know that they don't like 'em!

They fail to recommend the Euros only based on reliability and durability. I've owned Saabs, the Volvo and a Porsche over the past 20 years, maintained "by the book" or better, and I've never had a major mechanical problem with any of them either, just a bazillion little annoying ones. This is in contrast to the Honda that has had zero, absolutely no problems, big, small, or mid-sized.

Beyond oil changes, the maintenance on the Porsche and Volvo has mostly not been the sort of stuff I could do myself, requiring either special tools or a direct connection back the factory computer in Sweden.

On the TSX I don't see much that I can't do myself, right up to and past the 110,000 mile service.

 

"Customer complaints relating to engines are falling, but those related to electronics - particularly navigation systems - are rising," JD Power President Stephen Goodall told Reuters.
Complaints about navigation systems ranged from the quality of their directions to their failure to recognise roads under construction."

Looks like the new TL is in a lot of trouble with Bluetooth, XM radio, voice-activated nav, and any/all gadgets it has as standard equipment. I have the 01MDX with nav and so far haven't any problems except getting the damn thing updated. That's not particularly related to the quality of the electronics but to the quality of Acura's customer service. For me, it about the software not the hardware.
I've taken several J.D. Power's surveys on my MDX and I don't recall any questions about the nav system. They mostly wanted to know how long did it take for an interval (very expensive) service and whether the mech did a good job and do I like the tires.

And I think I heard the same argument from the finance person who wanted me to buy an extended warranty.