2003 BMW Z4

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. *TR

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. *TR

TL* 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. *TR

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! *TR

AFTER BEING PARKED FOR A FEW HOURS IN THE SUN ON A HOT DAY (OVER 80 DEGREES) THE STEERING STICKS. IT IS MOST NOTICEABLE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHERE IT BECOMES VERY DIFFICULT TO MAKE FINE ADJUSTMENTS SO IT IS HARD TO HOLD THE CAR IN A LANE. THIS HAS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES AND IS A PREDICTABLE PROBLEM WHEN THE TEMPERATURE IS HIGH AND THE CAR HAS BEEN PARKED IN THE SUN. *TR

THE STEERING MECHANISM AND WHEEL SEEM TO STICK. THE STEERING WHEEL DOES NOT TRAVEL SMOOTHLY WITHIN THE NORMAL STEERING RANGE. WHEN THE CAR IS BEING DRIVEN ON A STRAIGHT LINE... SUDDENLY, YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO KEEP THE CAR GOING STRAIGHT, WHICH CAUSES THE DRIVER TO ATTEMPT TO CORRECT AND TYPICALLY CAUSES THE CAR TO MOVE ERRATICALLY FROM SIDE TO SIDE TO KEEP THE CAR CENTER ON THE DRIVING LANE. DRIVING THE CAR UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS HAS BECOME A BATTLE TO KEEP THE CAR STRAIGHT ON THE ROAD. OVER CORRECTIONS ARE INEVITABLE AND THIS CAN CAUSE LOSS OF CONTROL AND ACCIDENTS/COLLISIONS. *TR

IN HOT WEATHER THE POWER STEERING GETS EXTREMELY STICKY AND WHEN MAKING A TURN SUCH AS ON AN EXIT RAMP THE STEERING WHEEL HAS TO BE PULLED TO RETURN IT TO THE STRAIGHT POSITION WHICH RAISES THE DISTINCT POSSIBILITY THAT THE CAR COULD GO RIGHT OFF THE RAMP IF NOT CAUGHT. THIS PROBLEM ALSO CAUSES SWERVING WHEN MAKING SMALL STEERING CORRECTIONS ON THE HIGHWAY, THE CAR CAN SWERVE INTO ANOTHER LANE. DEALERS ARE UNWILLING TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AND THE ON-LINE Z 4 FORUM INDICATES THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM APPARENTLY DUE TO DESIGN FLAWS. *TR

I HAD THE STEERING ON THIS VEHICLE GET WORSE ON THE INTERSTATE AFTER I FILED THE FIRST COMPLAINT. I CONTACTED BMW USA AND TOOK IT TO THE BMW DEALER. I WAS TOLD BY BMW USA THAT MY PROBLEM WAS THE DEFECT THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF. HOWEVER, THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY WILL NOT REPAIR ANY OF THESE VEHICLES UNLESS THERE IS A RECALL. IS IT GOING TO TAKE A FEW MORE FATAL CRASHES FOR THE SOMEONE TO STEP UP AND FORCE THIS MANUFACTURER TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM? EVEN THOUGH I AM THE SECOND OWNER OF THIS CAR, IT WAS PURCHASED IN FLORIDA WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO ENJOY A CONVERTIBLE. HOWEVER, THIS FAILURE OCCURS AT TEMPERATURES ABOVE 77 DEGREES. NOW THAT I KNOW OF THIS PROBLEM, HOW CAN I PASS IT ON TO ANOTHER WHO MIGHT NOT BE AN EXPERIENCED DRIVER AND JOIN BMW IN BEING THE INSTRUMENT OF THEIR DEATH. *TR