Toyota: Too Much Electronic junk!

Bugs bite Mercedes quality
Glitches lead to go-slower approach

By Diana T. Kurylko
September 15, 2003

FRANKURT -- Top executives at Mercedes-Benz admit that a wave of
increasingly complex electronic products proved so difficult to debug
that the German automaker is modifying its first-at-all-costs
approach to technology.

Quality glitches caused by Mercedes' Comand system proved maddeningly
difficult to fix two years ago, forcing the automaker to boost
product testing by 50 percent.

Problems with Comand, which integrates the onboard navigator,
entertainment system and phone, forced Mercedes to buy back 2,000
E-class sedans from U.S. customers. The quality glitches also created
tensions with Robert Bosch GmbH, a key Mercedes supplier.

This is the first time Mercedes-Benz has acknowledged the widespread
quality problems. During an interview with Automotive News at the
Frankfurt auto show, a top company executive said Mercedes is working
hard to improve its ranking on consumer quality surveys.

"We have a problem because we are the technology leader," said
Juergen Hubbert, the DaimlerChrysler board member responsible for
Mercedes cars. "We were not talking about (the improvement) because
you have to see it. On the next survey you will see we are on our
way."

Hubbert was referring to J.D. Power's most recent Initial Quality
Survey, which measures a vehicle's quality three months after it is
purchased. The survey, which was released in spring, ranked Mercedes
15th among brands, barely above the industry average.

Detective work

Problems began to crop up two years ago, when Mercedes-Benz had
trouble integrating Comand's features. Bosch supplied the system's
navigator.

When Mercedes-Benz connected Comand's electronic systems, the screen
would go blank and systems would malfunction. The system created
other glitches. For example, the system inadvertently would activate
the electric seats and drain the battery.

A Bosch source says Mercedes asked the supplier to integrate Comand's
features after Mercedes had trouble doing so. But the effort to debug
Comand strained Bosch's engineering resources.

According to a Mercedes executive, Bosch placated its angry customer
by firing a top executive in its Blaupunkt unit, which produces
navigators, radios and other electronics. The Mercedes source did not
name the executive, and the Bosch spokesman declined to comment.

But it is known that senior Bosch executive Stephan Rojahn left the
company without explanation late in 2001.

Rojahn, a highly regarded manager who was on Bosch's fast track, was
responsible for Blaupunkt. Rojahn later joined Durr AG, a
manufacturer of paint equipment.

Sporadic failures

Comand's quality glitches proved difficult to track down. The
electronics would fail sporadically, making it difficult to identify
and fix problems.

"When you looked into it, it never happened again - until the next
time," Hubbert said.

As problems persisted, consumers began to downgrade their opinions of
Mercedes quality. According to J.D. Power data, Mercedes owners
reported 132 problems per 100 vehicles, just above the industry
average of 133 problems.

"Seven out of our top 10 problems are with electronics,
communications, telematics, radio, telephone - activities where we
had put a lot of electronic systems in the car," said Hubbert.

The good news, according to the company, is that the electronics
problems have been fixed.

"What we have and what we deliver to the market is of significantly
higher quality than it ever was," said Hans-Joachim Schoepf,
executive vice president for Mercedes-Benz's car development and
engineering.

To improve quality, Mercedes-Benz increased its product testing by 50
percent. "We do more testing than we ever did, especially with
debugging," Schoepf said. "The real problem is that we underestimated
the debugging phase in new electronics systems, especially
multimedia."

The company also redesigned its Comand system so that it can diagnose
a problem without the customer's intervention.

"If something happens in the system, it repairs itself," Schoepf
says. "You won't see it as a customer."

Mercedes also has dispatched employees to its suppliers to become
technology experts. The company has assigned staffers to Motorola,
Nokia and Siemens, among others.

"If you want to work together with your supplier you have to have
expertise," said Schoepf. "Otherwise, they can tell you anything."

Schoepf also says Mercedes made sure that dealers were kept informed
so that they could fix vehicles as they came in for service.

Mercedes-Benz eventually changed suppliers, awarding the navigator
contract to Harman/Becker Automotive Systems.

Bosch's other contracts with Mercedes have not been affected.

"It was clear the multimedia side has nothing to do with the fuel
injection, sensor or the engine control unit," Schoepf said.

Technology leader

The experience has not deterred Mercedes-Benz from its goal of being
the auto industry's technology leader in safety and fuel economy.

For example, Mercedes considers its Pre-Safe crash avoidance system,
which activates the brakes when it senses an impending crash, to be a
key safety technology.

But company executives are debating the need to adopt less essential
technologies quickly. For example, Mercedes-Benz has not moved
quickly to introduce Internet access or text message service.

Mercedes executives are troubled by the brand's drop in quality
ratings. But Joachim Schmidt, head of worldwide sales and marketing,
argues that customer loyalty remains high.

"We have problems but ... we are very successful in terms of sales
and we are very successful in terms of brand awareness," Schmidt
said. "We have the highest loyalty rate in the automotive industry."

Schmidt says Mercedes dealers have been able to fix nearly all
problems.

"We have customers that have high expectations," he says. "There is
no sign that the situation is grave. Our image is great."

Peter Schroeder <com> vomited violently forth in
news:com:
 


Do you think it has anything to do with the size of Dieter Zetsche's
mustache?

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TeGGeR®