2003 BMW Z4

I HAVE STEERING PROBLEM ON MY 2003 BMW Z4 2.5I. I BOUGHT IT ONLY A YEAR AGO ON MAY 2018 WITH 58,000 MILES ON IT. DROVE ONLY SEVERAL THOUSAND MILES AND STARTED GETTING THE STEERING PROBLEM. IT KEEPS PULLING EITHER TO THE LEFT OR TO THE RIGHT. I CONSTANTLY STRUGGLE TO MAKE STEERING ADJUSTMENTS SO I CAN DRIVE STRAIGHT. SOMETIMES THE STEERING FEELS LIKE IT IS STUCK. I ALREADY SPENT SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS REPLACING THE FRONT END SUSPENSION BUT IT DID NOT FIX THE STEERING PROBLEM. I SEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND MANY OTHERS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE IN THE FOLLOWING BLOG: - HTTP://WWW.BMWCOOP.COM/2010/07/06/STEERING-PROBLEMS-FOR-BMW-Z4-IN-THE-U-S/ IS THERE A RECALL IN THE WORKS TO FIX THIS PROBLEM? THANK YOU, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

MY 2003 BMW Z4 HAS VERY TIGHT STEERING WHEN DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT 65 MPH, AND I NOTICE THE PROBLEM IS MORE COMMON ON WARMER DAYS. LAST WEEK AS I WAS DRIVING ON A WARM DAY, I NOTICED I HAD TO REPEATEDLY PUT SIGNIFICANT EFFORT IN ORDER TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL ON A TURN ON THE FREEWAY, AS THE STEERING WHEEL KEPT STICKING. WHENEVER I'VE APPLIED THIS SIGNIFICANT EFFORT TO GET AROUND THIS ISSUE, THE STEERING UNSTICKS AND THEN TURNS TOO MUCH. ON THAT DAY, I WAS VERY CLOSE TO HITTING THE CAR IN THE LANE NEXT TO ME, CAUSING THE CAR NEXT TO ME TO SWERVE A BIT AS WELL TO AVOID ME. IT WASN'T THE FIRST TIME THAT THIS HAPPENED TO ME WITH THIS CAR, AND IT WAS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS. I TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP AND THEY SAID IT'S A VERY COMMON ISSUE WITH THIS CAR AND THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. I BELIEVE BMW, WHICH PRIDES ITSELF IN THE QUALITY OF IT'S VEHICLES, SHOULD TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE, AS IT'S A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN FOR DRIVERS OF THIS VEHICLE. JUST BY DOING A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH, IT'S VERY APPARENT THAT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH EARLY YEAR Z4'S.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW Z4. WHEN THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE WAS ABOVE 80 DEGREES, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC TO BE DIAGNOSED; HOWEVER, THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO RETRIEVE A FAULT CODE. THE DEALER (THE BMW STORE, 6131 STEWART RD, CINCINNATI, OH 45227, (513) 271-8700) WAS CONTACTED AND AN APPOINTMENT WAS SCHEDULED FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING AND REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 42,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW Z4. WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED IN HOT WEATHER, APPROXIMATELY 85 DEGREES AND OVER, THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED TO TURN. WHEN IT FINALLY TURNED, IT JERKED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LUXURY IMPORTS OF BOWLING GREEN (325 THREE SPRINGS RD, BOWLING GREEN, KY 42104, 270-745-0001) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT A NEW BATTERY WAS NEEDED FOR THE ELECTRIC STEERING. THE TECHNICIAN REPLACED THE BATTERY, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL. THE FAILURE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 21,000.

I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR SINCE 2003. WHEN THE WEATHER WARMS UP, THE STEERING GETS STIFF AND JERKY. THIS CAR HAS QUICK STEERING AND MAKING IT JERKY INCREASES THE RISK OF RUNNING INTO SOMETHING OR SOMEBODY. I HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THIS TO BE A PROBLEM AND MENTIONED IT TO THE DEALER WHEN THE CAR WAS UNDER WARRANTY WITH NO HELP. AS THE YEARS HAVE GONE BY, THE PROBLEM HAS GOTTEN WORSE. WE HAD A WARM DAY OVER THE WEEKEND AND I TOOK THE CAR TO WORK. WHEN LEAVING, THE CAR FELT DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS DURING THE FIRST FEW MILES OF DRIVING ON A WARM DAY, THE STEERING WHEEL FEELS STIFF LIKE THE POWER STEERING ISN'T WORKING. WHEN YOU APPLY MORE STEERING FORCE, THE STEERING SUDDENLY JERKS QUICKLY AND YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE OUT OF CONTROL WITH THE CAR, YOU OVERSTEER.

WHEN TURNING AT LOW SPEEDS, LIKE INTO PARKING SPOTS, THE STEERING WILL LOCK UP, CUT POWER TO HEAD LIGHTS, RADIO. THIS IS INTERMITTENT. FIRST STARTED AT 70K MILES, NOW AT 90K MILES THE STEERING COLUMN IS PRETTY MUCH DEAD. ALSO AFTER THESE HICCUPS HAPPEN MY CAR WONT TURN OVER WHEN I TRY TO START IT UP. I WAIT A COUPLE MINUTES AND IT'LL START UP THEN . STAY AWAY FROM THIS CAR OR ANY EARLY MODEL BMW WITH ELECTRIC POWER STEERING. BMW ALSO DOESN'T WANT TO OWN UP TO THEIR LACK OF ENGINEERING AND RECALL THIS TOTAL PILE OF CRAP...TISK..TISK.

STICKY STEERING WHEN THE CAR IS WARM OR AMBIENT TEMPERATURE IS GREATER THAN ABOUT 75 OR 80F. AS THE TEMPERATURE INCREASES, THE CAR IS MORE DIFFICULT TO STEER SMOOTHLY. IT EXPERIENCE A STICK/SLIP BEHAVIOR WHICH CAUSES CONTINUAL OVER CORRECTIONS. THIS HAS BEEN A KNOWN ISSUE FOR YEARS. I HAVE NOTICED THE STEERING ISSUE SINCE BUYING IT SECOND HAND IN 2007. BMW DEALERSHIP SAYS THE ONLY WAY TO FIX IT IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN AT MY EXPENSE. I WON'T LET ANYONE DRIVE THE CAR IN WARM WEATHER.