I own a 2004 bmw z4. I have noticed in the past that the steering "sticks" sometimes on the highway....typical light-touch attempts at straightening out my path don't do anything, the wheel doesn't turn. If I put more pressure than usual into the turn, the car "snaps back" and turns, but turns too far due to all the pressure I'd put on it. It's a real road hazard. I just read in the newspaper about how this is a common problem with them and is being looked into, so I would like to register my official "me too".
2004 BMW Z4 steering complaints
Page 12 of 14: complaints 311 to 340 of 378, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Steering wheel "sticks/catches" both to left and right of top center. Problem is only evident when temperatures are above 80f and at speeds above 40 MPH. Have experienced this problem since buying the car over two years ago but it is sporadic. Have taken it to the dealer several times but they were not able to duplicate the issue until this week. Dealer was finally able to experience the problem and will replace the entire steering column (scheduled for week of 7/12/2010). Bmw will pick up cost of parts but I must pay for labor.
2004 z4 steering sticks at unpredictable times causing several near miss incidents due to loss of control of the vehicle. I must yank the wheel hard to turn the steering wheel. Happens at low and high rates of speed.
I have a 2004 bmw z4 3.0. When driving on a hot day the steering seems to "stick" in turns making it difficult to control. The car has approx 20000 miles on it.
Steering on my 2004 bmw z4 3.0i sticks.
I have a 2004 bmw z4. I am writing to make a complaint about the way the vehicle steers. When at higher speeds, you have to use more force than should be to steer the vehicle. This then causes over-steering of the vehicle. I also wrote a complaint to bmw of america about this concern.
The steering on my wife's 2004 bmw z4 becomes "sticky" in hot weather making it somewhat hard to control.
In warm weather my bmw z4 steering sticks. You have to really pull the wheel to get it to "unlock." I've almost smashed into several people in adjacent lanes because of this. A recall needs to be issued.
2004 bmx z4, steering became unresponsive while driving at highway speeds. Over correction to regain control narrowly avoiding traffic and center divider. At slower speeds it felt like there was no steering fluid in car. Very difficult to turn. Bmw dealer had replacement steering column in stock it took 2 days to replace at a cost of $2942.02.
The power steering on my 2004 bmw z4 periodically becomes very firm while driving, making it difficult to smoothly make minor corrections to the direction of travel. One time it was so severe that in the rain I ended up briefly loosing control of the car. Thankfully I managed to regain control without hitting anything or any one. My partner and I have since been very attentive to the steering in this car and have noticed many anomalies, especially in high temperatures. Repeated inquires at the dealership -- including test drives -- have turned up no identified problems as far as bmw is concerned.
I have a bmw z4 2004 with 24000 miles. The car has a serious steering problem so I am afraid to drive it. This car will not steer straigt and wonders all over the road. I took the car to bmw dealer and they wanted $2500. To look at it.
I own a bmw z4 and recently heard the news of possible steering problems. I am experiencing these problems now. My car has 26000 miles and the steering seems to stick and release as I turn through gradual turns. The feeling is very noticeable.
I am stuck with a 2004 z4 with the sticky steering syndrome. After it is warmed up the steering sticks in position and is difficult to move from point to point. We had been driving for 50 or 60 miles with the top down and the heater on so the engine was warmed up. That is when the issue first appeared and we almost had a head on accident on highway 101 south of cannon beach, oregon. The syndrome seems to appear only after the car is warmed up. We bought the z4 one year ago at about 37000 miles and the current mileage is 42667. Bmw regional management has decided not to support any reduction of their $3259.00 charge to replace the steering mechanism which is supposed to fix the problem. The sticky steering syndrome is well known as a safety hazard on the federal safety agency site and elsewhere on the web yet nothing has been done about it to this date. This looks like another toyota like safety issue. Is the federal safety agency listening or does someone need to die before a recall is issued?
Sticky steering in warm weather.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. While traveling at speeds of 25 MPH, the steering wheel became increasingly difficult to steer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the rack and pinion would need to be replaced. There were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 32,000.
After the car sits in the hot sun (anywhere above 75 degrees) the steering starts binding/locking up at all speeds. Although it seems to be worse when driving at hwy speeds. When driving around a slight curve the steering does not return to center as it should nor is it easy to get the car to straighten back out. I have to force it back to center which usually ends up causing me to over correct and move close to or in the other lane. I first noticed the problem last summer, but since I only drive the car on weekends I didn't pay much attention to it last summer. It was fine during the winter, but got significantly worse when it got warm this year. I took my car to bmw of nashville and was told that the problem was the steering column and that it needed to be replaced. (I'm currently waiting on the replacement column to come in and be replaced) after doing some research about the problem I've found that there are hundreds of other z4 owners that have experienced the same problem and bmwna has not acknowledged that there is a problem. I contacted bmwna myself and although they didn't acknowledge there was a problem, they did offer me a 10% discount on the $3900.00 repair. I believe this is a factory defect in the car and that they all should be recalled before someone gets killed if there haven't already been fatal accidents.
I recently purchased the z4 used with ~60k miles. As the weather has warmed up in nj recently I have noticed the steering become sticky. The warmer it is the more prevalent the problem. When the steering locks it is necessary to jerk the wheel to break the lock resulting in an over correction. It is difficult to keep the car centered in the lane and I'm worried this will result in a serious accident.
In warm weather (> 75 degs f)steering becomes stiff. Difficult to keep car on straight track. Steering will not self-center. Safety concern at highway speeds.
My vehicle is a bmw z4, 2004 approx. 43,000 miles. At highway speeds, only occasionally at lower speed, the steering binds when I attempt to turn into another lane. The degree of binding varies, I have not encountered a positive lock; I always have been able to force the steering free to execute the turn. The incident date is merely the most recent.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. While driving at approximately 55 MPH, the contact noticed that the steering wheel stuck when driving above 50 MPH. The failure occurred daily if the temperature was above 65 degrees. It was difficult to keep the vehicle centered. The vehicle was at an authorized dealership at the time of the complaint and the dealer suggested that the entire steering column be replaced. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that they were unaware of that particular problem. The failure mileage was approximately 42,500. The current mileage was approximately 43,000.
Steering sticks, usually during warmer weather, 70 and above.
I have a 2004 bmw z4 and it experiences the same 'sticky' steering in hot temperatures that are described on this forum url http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e85/5246978-1.html. The bottom line is that when it gets hot outside, the steering feels like it locks for a moment when you are driving down the road. This has happened on numerous occasions. While it has not caused an accident, I believe that it has the potential to cause an accident.
My 2004 bmw z4 is experiencing a problem with the steering becoming sticky when the car has been outside in the sun in summer weather. The steering locks in a position such that it takes extra pressure to turn the wheel. When sufficient pressure is applied to break out of the sticky position, it results in a sudden jerk in the steering, like an overcorrection. At highway speeds, this issue is eventually going to cause a high speed accident, possibly a fatality. This is not an isolated incident; it is a widely reported problem. If one googles "sticky steering z4" there are thousands of hits returned. Yet bmw has yet to acknowledge this problem.
Bmw z4 2004 sticking steering. The steering gets knotchy, sticky, or locking when trying to make micro-steering adjustments while driving at highway speeds(60-70). The problem exists when the ambient outside temp is greater than 60 degrees. The steering locks and has to be budged to change steering direciton. It gets worse with hotter weather. This is a big safety issue and with all the other reported claims of the same issue, this should be looked at for a recall. Bmw diagnosed the problem to being the eps module being defective and said the whole steering column will need to be replaced. This is a $3400 fix. The car has ~46k miles. I would not expect steering to break within 46k miles and reading over other complaints this is a much wider issue than this one z4. Please investigate this issue due to the safety implications.
2004 bmw z4 (e85) 3.0i manual with sport package - steering becomes sluggish and hard to initiate a turn - only occurs after radiant heat is applied (ie.....left in the sun for an hour) - does not change if sport suspension is engaged - humidity is not relevant, only direct sunlight - guess is a bushing/bearing heating up in the rack assembly - happens during summer months if left in direct sunlight - directly related to ambient temperature (80 degrees less noticeable than 100 degrees) - at 100 degrees outside temperature and in direct sunlight for an hour, some people may not be able to turn the steering wheel at all (safety hazard) - dealer reported summer 2009 and they said "symptoms not reproducible" - contacted bmw USA and they made a note, but advised of no recall.
While driving the car the steering starts to lock up and its hard to make the go in a straight line. The car steering sticks like tires are in a strong groove. Takes a significant pull to bring back to center. This could cause a accident due to steering defect.
2004 bmw z4 purchased brand new off the showroom floor. Practically from the beginning, noticed unusual handling of the steering under high temperatures. Living in tampa, fl this presents a continual problem. I've owned z 3's and z 4's since 2001. Sitting in hot temps, driving with heater thermostat on high, causes the steering to "notch"....or steer erratically. Presented this to reeves on several occasions with no results. Since there have been no fires, no accidents, no deaths, bmw and reeves choose to do nothing. I concur with the other 44 "complaints" listed on this report. Apparently one or two have been successful. In light of the toyota situation, bmw needs to be held accountable for their design flaws. To my knowledge there has been no class action. I intend to start one.
2004 bmw z4 purchased used in july 2009 with approximately 69000 miles. Noticed immediately that when driving the vehicle in temps above 75 ambient, or when vehicle has been sitting in sun for extended periods, steering becomes very "sticky" or notchy when making slight turns such as lane changes or slight curves. Steering seems to want to stick wherever the driver puts it and needs to have pressure applied to break the position. Appears to be a common complaint with a bmw known fix being a complete replace of the steering column. Vehicle is out of warranty and the fix too expensive. This seems to me to be a serious safety concern and should be covered under recall regardless of mileage. Email sent with bmwna was never responded to.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. It becomes difficult for the contact to control the steering wheel when the weather is cold; therefore; he doesn't drive the vehicle during the winter months. The dealers diagnosis confirmed that the steering column needed to be replaced at an estimate cost of $3,000. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 42,000 and the current mileage was 52,000.
Sticky steering similar to other complaints listed in this database. More evident in hot weather, but has begun happening in cold weather. Steering "sticks" in one location making it difficult to change the cars track. Steering does not return to center by itself. A dangerous and tiring driving condition.
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