The contact owns a 2004 BMW Z4. The contact stated while driving at various speeds in warm weather, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road. The contact continued driving with caution to his destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
2004 BMW Z4 steering complaints
Page 2 of 14: complaints 11 to 40 of 378, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The the vehicle sits out in the sunlight or its warm outside (usually over 80F) the steering wheel will get very notchy and “stick” towards the center position at highway speeds. This makes minor steering corrections at highway speeds very difficult to make without unintentionally leaving your own lane possibly into another car. This is very much a safety issue! This has happened on multiple occasions since the week after I got it in May 2022. Tonight its only 65 degrees and it was acting up (this is 2 hours after sunset).
The steering wheel is "sticky" and has play in it when you are driving it. It appears to have steering drift. I feel this car is not safe to drive and is hard to control. No warning messages have come on. When I searched online, it appears that many others are having trouble with their 2004 z4 steering.
I own a 2004 BMW Z4 2.5i I bought it used in 2010 with 22,000 miles. It was on a cool December day when I test drove the car and I loved it. No sign of any steering problems. On a warmer day after driving for a while I suddenly experienced a unexpected binding of the steering and almost binding ended up steering into oncoming traffic. This really scared me and I started investigating. Yes, this is a known safety defect, but BMW doesn’t do anything about it. the federal safety agency, which supposed to protect us from unsafe vehicles, did not do their job either. I am a retired Automotive engineer with Fiat-Iveco and the federal safety agency made my company recall vehicles for much less. The defect gets worse in hot weather and I don’t let my son, friends or anybody else drive the vehicle, as I am afraid that they could get hurt, aside from a liability issue on my side. I can’t really sell the vehicle with a known safety defect from a moral standpoint and I definitely would be liable should the car get involved in an accident caused by a known defect. BMW and the federal safety agency do your job before somebody gets hurt or killed! Doing nothing, will cost you more in Settlements and Reputation in a long run…the problem will not go away by doing nothing! Following site lists 137 BMW Z4 owners reporting problems related to steering column: https://www.carproblemzoo.com/bmw/z4/steering-column-problems.php This is a major design and safety defect and justifies a safety recall!
Whenever the temperature Is above 80 degrees the steering becomes very stiff with no power assist due to a design defeat within the steering column. The vehicle because very dangerous to drive due to the lack of steering control. This problem effects all BMW Z4s from 2003 to 2006. BMW wants the owners to have the dealer replace the steering column for $6,000. Please assist us in having BMW issue a Recall for a very dangerous situation they created with a defectively designed steering column.
Steering sticks causes excessive force to turn steering during highway driving
Unfortunately, I have a lot of problems with the steering wheel of my 2005 bmw z4. It is completely unstable. For instance: 1)it keeps pulling to the left, or to the right. It requires constant adjustments so that I could keep the car aligned, or centered. 2)I experience sudden jerks to the left, or to the right when the road surface is slightingly uneven. I can never predict which way the car pulls me. I struggle a lot to keep the steering centered when stopping at any red lights. 3) sometimes, the steering feels like it is stuck
I have a 2004 bmw z4 which I purchased used in 2016 with 67000 miles on it. Over the past 2 years, the steering has become sticky and hard to keep the vehicle in my lane when travelling straight. I have to constantly correct the steering as the car tries to pull either to the left or right. Also, it is hard to correct the pull, resulting in jerky driving or overcorrection. The problem happens when driving both straight and on curves. It seems to happen more often in warmer weather, but have experienced a slight problem even in cooler weather. It has occurred at both slower speeds and highway speeds. This problem began at approximately 80000 miles. I have owned the car 5 years and have put less than 20000 miles on it in that time period, so it is not driven excessively or under harsh driving conditions.
When the temperature reaches approximately 80 degrees the steering starts to stick and becomes jerky in order to stay in the driving lane. It gets increasingly worse as the temperature rises to the point that the car becomes difficult to handle. Over a period of time, while in route to my destination, it becomes exhausting to drive. It is very dangerous to be on the road in the summer, which is the best time for driving a roadster with the convertible top down.
Steering gets sticky intermittently, more common when vehicle is hot. Seems like a loss of power steering. Vehicle only has 42k miles. Difficult to maintain lane especially on curves and in city traffic. Very dangerous and unexpected.
The car experiences sticky steering almost all the time now. It is most pronounced when temperatures are higher. There is difficulty keeping the car in it's own lane. It has not resulted in an accident, but requires an inordinate amount the focus and control to keep the car moving in the correct direction. There is only 47,000 miles on this car and I do not think something like this should be left unrepaired by bmw. It has been getting worse as time goes on.
As I am driving this car my steering is sticking and jerking as I turn from left to right and back again. It is hard to turn and not smooth as it used to be. This problem occurs at high speed, low speed and on all road surfaces. I changed the tires hoping that would address the problem, however it did not help. It should not operate this way and it seems unsafe to drive. I see that many owners have complained about this ongoing safety problem, please advise.
The tracking of the steering sticks car was service last fall full inspection. Bushings were replaced. Shop foreman could not find anything wrong. The car was stored all winter climate-controlled garage. I took the car out yesterday and the sticky-ness and control of the car are difficult. I decided to some research and found 355 complaints about the same issue. Saw on some threads that bmw is aware of the problem. But never has been addressed. As a consumer taxpayer and doctor I am amazed that the federal safety agency has not investigated or issued a recall. This is a serious problem. This car hs less than 41,000 miles on it. This causes the driver to correct steering constantly the car wants to pull in different directions and very difficult to correct. This event occurs while driving on a straight path. I have owned at least 15 different automobiles driven countless others and this is not how a car should respond. I was astounded to see all the previous complaints. What is going to be done? I plan on contacting the bmw service department this week. In the meantime I hope you take this seriously before someone gets injured. My guess is someone already has. Whoever is reading this please take it seriously. Below I marked the date of yesterday. Please be reminded this has happened on multiple occasions last fall. As well as to 355 other drivers. Thank you, dr. [xxx] redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Steering locks while driving
When the car is warmed up the steering is sticky and prevents you from steering correctly and/or over-correct your steering. Multiple mechanics have looked at this and the factory lube used to grease the steering column components is inadequate. However, the only way to fix it is to replace the entire steering column ($4-5k for parts and labor). The steering column could fail at any time and cause the car to lose steering capabilities, very dangerous, especially at highway speeds. Apparently bmw is aware of the issue and has recalled 2006-2008 model years but not 2003-2005.
Steering feels like it locks up temporarily or sticks when driving. When the wheels is in a position, like normal driving in a straight line, any movement of the wheel is met with resistance, requiring a lot of force to initiate any movement. Because of this I can't even let my wife drive the car anymore. It is very unsettling when driving and I truly feel like this is a significant safety issue. Because of the excessive for needed to initiate steering wheel rotation, the result is unwanted lane movement and potentially unwanted lane departure. My research indicates this is a known problem. My car has less than 85k miles and is in excellent condition otherwise. Bmw needs to stand behind this increasingly hazardous design flaw and fix this car. I own three bmws and very pleased with their acknowledgement of other known issues. This steering issue is a safety issue and corrective action is needed. This is a design flaw. Please make your best effort to have bmw initiate corrective action. Thank you and please know your work is appreciated.
The steering is hard to control while driving. Almost locking up or very sticky sensation to it. Happens very regularly.
I previously filed a report about the electronic steering wheel column, poor steering, sticking prior to having it fixed on this date. I had not found the paperwork for it until after I submitted the report. The tracking # 11300634.
I had this car built and am the only owner. Initially, still under warranty, the car needed a new convertible top. After that, for years, I had a 'sticking' when I would steer the car making the car very difficult to control or turn. This deterred me from driving the car as much as I wanted, and certainly from taking it on any distance trips....basically enjoying the car. Initially I thought the car may need new tires or an alignment, but it was diagnosed as the electronic steering column. From reading bmw chats and forums, I found this was a very common problem. I tried to contact bmw directly, but to no avail. I finally had to pay for the repairs myself, costing over $3000. The other problem that has continued is the ABS brake light will illuminate for no apparent reason. I have had my mechanic look at it, but can't seem to find a definitive cause. Often when the car is turned off, and then restarted, the light goes off...but will sometimes, not all the time, come back on again, both at higher speeds and also during city, low speed driving. I baby this car so much, only drive it seasonally, and it seems to spend more time in the shop being repaired or maintained. I think it was a 'lemon' from the onset. Bmw was negligent in helping cover some expenses that many others have reported!
Power steering is intermittent. Almost never works when first started but after driving for 20-30 minutes, if I turn the car off and back on again, it works and the dash light goes out. I can even do it while driving, shifting to neutral, turn car off and then back on and the power steering comes back on. Very frustrating to drive like this ... And dangerous too!
1)it keeps pulling to the left, or to the right. It requires constant adjustments so that I could keep the car aligned, or centered. 2)I experience sudden jerks to the left, or to the right when the road surface is slightingly uneven. I can never predict which way the car pulls me. I struggle a lot to keep the steering centered when stopping at any red lights. 3) sometimes, the steering feels like it is stuck. After review online, this seems to be a very common problem.
This is a reoccurring problem which I have attempted to address through both local mechanics and bmw with no results. Essentially, while moving at slow speeds or stop and go traffic, the electrical system "shudders", all instrument lights illuminate, the transmission shifts to neutral, and the engine shuts down then restarts. The failure occurs on an irregular basis, affecting primarily the eps light, but may also affect all lights in the instrument cluster. Likewise, it may or may not move my transmission to neutral and if that happens, may or may not allow my to place it back in drive without shutting the vehicle down for several minutes. To date, both the alternator and the ignition switch have been replaced, no results. A brief search of popular bmw forums finds similar descriptions from other owners.
After starting car, eps light comes on and steering is very tight, near impossible to turn or maneuver in parking lots, etc.
When driving at highway speeds and more so when the temp is warm or steering column has warmed up the steering becomes "sticky", in that it takes an effort to overcome the spot it is in as opposed to smoothly moving/steering left or right. It is uncomfortable to steer with one hand (6 spd manual transmission) as it feels like you are going to over correct the steering when trying to make minor adjustments to maintain driving down the center of your lane. Especially when driving in heavy freeway traffic! I35w minneapolis, mn
Sticking steering when warm while driving
The vehicle has intermittent loss of power steering which makes it very difficult to drive, steer and control when in motion. I was able to avoid serious accidents by literally crawling along the side of the road with flashers on so other drivers would stay clear. This has happened on more than one occasion.
When going straight particularly at highway speeds, but other times as well, the steering is "sticky". The wheel wants to remain in the same position and it requires some extra effort to move left or right.
I have 2004 bmw z4 and have been experiencing "sticky" steering. It is especially unnerving when driving on highways. It appears to be a very common problem with this model. It is difficult to drive. I am deathly afraid the stickiness of the steering will cause to to over correct and cause an accident.
I have a bmw 2004 z4 with only 21000 miles. I started to developer a steering problem,. While driving the steering becomes difficult and choppy.hard to remain centered on the road and the wheel is unresponsive. I looked online and found many other owners with the same problem. I called corporate bmw . They do not acknowledge a problem exists. On line and on your site it shows hundreds with the same problem. Someone is going to get hurt or die. Bmw should own up to the problem and fix it.
Bought this car in may 2016 with 58000 miles. Almost 2 yrs later and less then 5000 more miles, steering is sticky! We bought an extra warranty, so we took it to an authorized bmw mechanic. He told us that the steering column is bad. And since it seems to be a common problem the warranty won't cover it. They want $4000.00 to repair it. Hundreds of complaints on this problem and bmw won't issue a recall!
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