This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Over the course of the last year, the steering in my BMW Z-4 has felt like I have to fight to stay on the road. It is jerking & pulling the car off center making it very difficult to drive and feel safe. The steering wheel also "sticks" rather than rotating smoothly when I turn to the left or right. This condition is progressively getting worse, I was driving on the interstate last week at approx. 55 miles/hour and several times the car swerved hard pulling me into the next lane of traffic coming very close to causing an accident.
The steering sticks and is hard to control. The steering seems to have lobes/sticking points in the steering and sticks at certain points and then lets go making it hard to control. The vehicle is very hard to steer and has jerky catching points as you move the wheel while going down the road.
I have noticed that when the outside temperature is over 90 degrees my steering sticks and you have to jerk the wheel to get it to unstick. It especially noticeable when you are taking a gradual curve and you try to straighten out the car. I have been told it is likely the electronic power steering but have not had it checked. It is so dangerous that I will not drive in hot weather until I get it fixed... I just can't afford several thousand in repair bills. Btw, there are only 23,000 miles on the car and I have had it since it was new.
The contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. While driving approximately 55 mph, the contact noticed that the steering wheel began to stick and jerk to the sides on its own. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test. There was an investigation under NHTSA action number: PE10020 (steering:column steering:electric power assist system) that may be related to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 33,000.
- Shallotte, NC, USA
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On this particular occasion, the electric steering binds or gets stuck while in center position and makes it difficult or impairs the ability to change lanes on the highway. On this occasion, I was travling at a relatively low speed and was changing lanes and because of the steering problem I jerked the vehicle and hit a car in the other lane causing minor damage to my vehicle. This problem comes and goes and gets worst in the warm to hot weather. I have contacted BMW in both Massachusetts and Florida with no help from dealers. My vehicle has 79,000 on it now which isnt a lot of miles for a 2003.
Bought this car in June 2011 with approximately 86000, so it is very possible the problem had shown up prior to this date/mileage. During very hot days, the steering "sticks" and is difficult to start movement, resulting in jerkiness and swerving on the road. Once motion on the steering wheel is initiated, it is possible to continue movement smoothly. But when you stop movement, it will stick again. This makes it very tedious and annoying and possibly even unsafe to make even just the normal constant minor adjustments while driving straight. Often times, jumping from one side of my lane to the other, and back.
The contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. The contact stated that when driving at various speeds, the steering wheel would seize abnormally. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The current and failure mileages were 74,000.
When driving at speeds above 40 mph steering has definite sticking spots creating hazardous control. This problem is not predictable sometimes drives fine other times with no warning problem occurs, making the safety issue even more grave. Fear of lane swerve and possible collision. BMW service could not replicate problem and says they have no knowledge of a problem existing. Upon investigation it seems I am in a large group of BMW Z4 owners experiencing this steering problem. I urge you to investigate this issue before someone is hurt, maimed or even killed.
I have been having difficulty with the steering system on my Z4. This began several years ago and has been intermittent at first but the degree of difficulty in the steering has been increasing from month to month and where it now is beginning to feel unsafe. The steering sticks while navigating through curves and does not always return to neutral position. Othertimes, it sticks and one needs to pull it back to correct the steering. It is quite unsafe and my wife and I are very concerned, not only for our safety, but also others who may be victimized by head on collisions. After checking out my compliant with my BMW certified mechanic, he tells me there is a real problem with the steering mechanism on this car and checking through the mechanic's web site, there appears to be no one that knows how to repair the system, short of taking out the entire steering column and replacing with a new one. The cost of this would amount to $3,000 or more. The mechanics feel this is a poor steering design and should be fixed by BMW. He told me to be very careful when driving this car for it is possible the entire system could break down at any moment.
Steering is sticking badly. Inspected by independent mechanic and told is defective and unsafe. With the vehicle under 20,000 miles the mechanic said is clearly a defect with the electronic steering.
The contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the steering would drift from side to side. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 81,000. Updated 03/21/12 updated 05/11/12
I purchased the vehicle new and 3 years after purchasing the vehicle, the steering became extremely tight with a lot of resistance in the steering wheel while driving. This "sticking" steering wheels makes the vehicle difficult to drive and hard to keep from wandering. I took it to the dealer, it was still under warranty, and the steering mechanism was found to be defective and was replaced. Several years later and now out of warranty, I noticed this same problem started back up. It should be noted that I would rarely drive the vehicle and have only put 4000 miles since 7/06) the past several years. At this point, I do not drive the vehicle due to this problem the problem seems to be worse as the outside temperature increases. This defect makes the vehicle dangerous to drive since the vehicle tends to wander back and force due to the steering wheel sticking. The repair is in the thousands of dollars and I have been hoping for a recall since I have read of many other owners experiencing this same dangerous problem.
When the car stay outdoor for a long time on hot sunny day, the steering wheel become very hard to turn. It is noticeable at any speed. Highway speed is dangerous because the car is hard to keep on a straight line. The problem does not appear when the weather is cold. I bought the car from usa but I live in Canada. The addressee that I wrote is where the car was bought new. Sorry for my poor english.
The steering on my 2003 BMW Z4 is very erratic. The car feels like it wants to turn itself left or right, and often feels like it is fighting itself to turn. When driving over the slightest uneven road, the steering will pull and swerve on it's own. At slow speeds, it requires constant attention to keep the vehicle driving in a straight line. At highway speeds it has become a white knuckled scary experience. Under breaking, the car will swerve immediately to the left or right.
The contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver in a straight position when driving at highway speeds of 60 mph and above. The failure recurred most often when driving in warmer weather. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on numerous occasions and various repairs were performed. The steering box was replaced, but the failure continued. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 12,000.
The power steering assist has failed on the car making it very difficult to steer. Luckily it failed while on a straight part of an interstate as my daughter was driving the car and this severely frightened her. She did not overreact and we took appropriate measures to get the vehicle home. Online research indicates that this issue was being investigated by NHTSA in 2010 but can not find any indication that an actual recall is in place. This is a very dangerous thing to happen, especially in a state with a lot of winding roads (Tennessee). I purchased the car used last year and also had a water pump failure that resulted in a blown engine. I wish this issue had been investigated also as I understand that it is a common failure with this particular engine. There is also a problem with the speedometer and fuel gauges reading incorrectly. I read that one owner was contacted by BMW North America after they filed a complaint regarding the power steering with NHTSA and BMW voluntarily fixed the problem for the owner. I hope I have the same luck after posting this complaint. Thank you.
Steering becomes intermittently "sticky". first symptom is that when I turn the wheel normally nothing happens. As a result, I turn the steering wheel more and then suddenly the car turns. Immediately, I have to turn the wheel back the other way to avoid going off the road. The problem is repeated when I turn back in the other direction and I essentially end up weaving down the road. When I brought the vehicle in to have it checked after the first occurrence, the symptom couldn't be reproduced by the servicemen who looked at it. In retrospect, I've realized that I was always having the car checked when it was cool out (mornings & I lived near lake superior), but the problem seems to occur only when it is hot outside (over 70 to 80 degrees). Since I couldn't solve the problem, I have dramatically reduced my driving with this vehicle. However, after recently moving to a different part of the country, I mentioned the problem to a new serviceman last month. He said this was a well known problem with the Z4 steering bearings. After spending some time searching on the internet, I was shocked to see how many people have reported this same problem (including to this website). I have never heard of a similar problem with any other vehicle; it certainly seems to me this is some sort of design flaw. It is hard to imagine steering bearings wearing out due to normal "wear and tear" with only 34,000 miles on the vehicle. Please recall this vehicle asap and force BMW to fix the problem before someone is killed!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Philadelphia, PA, USA