The day I purchased my used 2004 bmw z4, I noticed a problem with the steering wheel "sticking". I called the dealer and was told it was normal with that particular car. Over the years, there are days that it drives normally with no steering problems, but for the most part, the steering wheel starts really sticking when the car is going over 20 MPH or I should say, it's harder to control the steering wheel at a speed in excess of 20-25 MPH. The bmw dealer where I live now told me that it was happening because I don't drive the car often enough. And it's true that I don't drive very often - I just rolled over 50,000 miles and the car is 14 years old. I have many times had to pull off of the highway or drive with my hazard lights on because I wasn't able to stay within my lane due to the steering problem. I get frightened to drive anywhere except the city streets near my home where the speed limit is under 40 MPH. I am going to contact the dealer here in ok again and see what they can do to fix this issue once and for all because my car has become unsafe to drive in a normal fashion.
2004 BMW Z4 steering complaints
Page 5 of 14: complaints 101 to 130 of 378, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have noticed on warm days the steering becomes sticky as if the power steering is coming on and off. This causes a over controlling of the car and makes it difficult to drive. I felt very unsafe. I took the car to bmw roadshow at memphis and was told the problem was the electric steering unit and will cost $4000 to repair. I researched the internet and was shocked at the number of complaints going back as far as 2009. I called bmw customer service and was told that it was not their problem. Someone is going to get hurt if it has not already happened. Bmw knows of this problem and has correct it in later models and they know how it fix the issue. It appears this is an age relate issue, not mileage, and these cars,2003-2005 are out of warranty. In my research I see that the federal safety agency is aware of this problem but has closed the issue. This is a safety issue and this investigation needs to be reopened.
This has been a continuous problem. I just had the front struts and other front end work done figuring it would fix the problem, it didn't. In researching the problem and talking with other bmw z4 owners, this happens on all 2003-2005 bmw z4. There is a problem in the steering column. It will cause an accident, especially when it happens a high speed. When the car has been running awhile (longer than 1 hour, most likely heat related), the steering becomes very, very stiff and feels like the steering wheel is locked, and to move the steering wheel you must exert an extraordinary force to make it move. The problem continues to happens at all speeds until the car sits awhile (cools off). At high speeds this can make you over correct and force you out of your lane. If I ever come up and an object in my lane (I.e. Tire fragment from a truck) and I have to move out the way and there is another vehicle in the next lane, it is very possible I could sideswipe that vehicle and cause an accident. The defect has been corrected in other vehicles by installing a new steering column from earlier year bmw z4 (2008 or earlier), so it seems that bmw knows of the problem and has corrected the defect. Bmw just needs to make it right with all the vehicles effected. I know from research that this has been looked at before (2010 or 2011) by the federal safety agency, but no recall was issued. This needs to be reopened and a recall implemented. These are low mileage and well maintained cars, and will still be on the road for a number of years. If this was on any other massed produced car (gm, faulty ignition), there would have definitely been a recall by now. I don't know how to tell you how serious this defect is, but it is dangerous! I will not allow anyone else drive this vehicle. Thank you!
Steering was noticed to be "notchy" while driving at highway speeds. Seems like steering is caught on something then breaks free. Initially thought is was low power steering fluid, but discovered this vehicle has electrical power steering. Further testing showed it happens at all speeds. The steering can become difficult to move and over-corrections occur when it breaks free. Fortunately no accidents occurred, although it is very possible that it could easily happen.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. While driving approximately 45 MPH in warm weather, the steering wheel became sticky and difficult to turn intermittently. The failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 09/14/15*lj updated 10/26/2017
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. While driving 60 MPH, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was unable to be driven when the incident occurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 94,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. The contact stated that the power steering warning light illuminated and the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was unable to be driven. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 140,352. Updated 09/01/15*lj the consumer stated the entire steering column needed to be replaced. Updated 10/27/2015
My wife took the car for a drive and right in front of our house luckily with no warn the steering electic motor failed. The bmw dealer says the eps is bad but the only way to fix the problem is to replace the whole steering column at a low discounted price of 3750. Not sure why bmw can't just replace the defective part. My wife could have been in very bad accident if this event happened on the highway or even on the regular roads.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. While driving at 55 MPH, the steering wheel turned in both directions independently. The contact had to constantly maneuver the steering wheel in order to keep the vehicle in position. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the steering servo column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 27,500.
I purchased a 2004 bmw z4 convertible 2 months ago. For the first month, the car drove perfectly. The last month, the car has become undriveable due to a "sticky steering wheel" and the steering wheel locking (the steering wheel will not move). I have taken it to 2 separate dealerships and they have told me that the steering column needs to be replaced. The car is quite dangerous to drive at the moment and after reading about this issue online, it appears to be an issue in which a factory recall was set to be released.
When driving the vehicle the steering constantly gets stuck on the left side and you have to straighten the car by pulling the wheel firmly to the right causing over correction. You have to constantly fight the steering wheel to keep the vehicle straight. Very dangerous and irritating.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. The contact stated that the steering wheel was unstable while driving. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.
Steering got sticky in a middle of a 90 degree turn nearly resulting in a crash as power steering motor failed temporarily. We understand this is a common problem for this particular bmw vehicle, especially on hot days. Today it was around 85 degrees f. We have owned the car for 5 months and this is the first time this problem occurred, likely because this is the hottest day since the day we bought it in september of last year. We understand that bmw has received almost 50,000 complaints related to this issue and we also understand that the federal safety agency has seen it fit to close their investigation. We are baffled by this decision as steering problems can be fatal and obviously the defect lies in the manufacturing process and should be corrected by bmw before fatalities start to occur.
Steering becomes tight and sticky ,hard to make it track straight. Will not return to center after making a turn.
Steering is sticky, meaning extra energy is needed to steer the car at speeds above 35 MPH. The vehicle will not track down the high way in a normal manner...
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the steering wheel locked without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician stated that the steering column should be replaced, however, the repairs should not be considered a permanent fix since the failure occurs during warm weather conditions. The failure recurred on various occasions. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 68,000. The VIN was not available.
Vehicle steering wheel locks. Driving on highway makes driving very stressful. Called bmw and they have no recall on this vehicle.
On warm days, vehicle steering is sticky, hard to turn. Feels like lose of power steering. Vehicle also pulls either right or left depending on last movement. Hard to steer back to center. Upon further research, problem has been found to be the steering wheel column, but no action or recall has been taken. It needs to be recalled.
On a warm day steering is sticky, needs a lot of effort and car feels unsafe to drive.
When turning steering, the steering stacks. Not all the time but it got worse recently so that it become very dangerous.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to shift gears. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the steering column failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 43,000.
The vehicle steering developed a sticky area that was very hard to get past. The steering was very hard to turn to avoid an accident. It continued and I slowed so another accident does not occur. The problem has continued at low speeds ,but not as bad. I just got the car and was driving home.
The steering has a hesitation. I have noticed it this summer around town, thinking the steering is just very tight since it is a sports car. Bmw did some rebuilding of the front end last fall and there was no issue in the steering at that time. On 9/06/14 I realized at highway speed I was pushing hard occasionally in a curve to activate the steering. Bmw gave the diagnosis on 9/24/14 that the steering column/electric motor r&r program eps (steering unit) -all, for an estimated fee of 3551.63. So bmw tells me they are sorry this has happened to my car and they offer me no assistance through the bmw company. I am not ready to pay this expense at this point. If the problem gets worse or to the point I fear for my safety, then I will have a repair made, at least at this point, I know I need to be prepared for hard steering on occasion.
The steering on this vehicle seems to stick at times and you have to jerk it back to center to keep it in line on the road. Once it starts, it happens all the time. I am real concerned about the safety of driving since it is hard sometimes to jerk it back in line or straight. This has been happening for many months now and I am very concerned and don't drive it as much now.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the steering wheel seized without warning. The failure occurred several times. The dealer determined that the vehicle experienced an electrical failure. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000. Updated 10/07/14*lj updated 3/23/2015
Steering sticks when temperature is warm. When driving have to pull steering back to center when steering either left or right. Usually occurs once temp is above 75 degrees. Difficult to keep car on road, have had multiple instances when almost went off the road. Extremely dangerous and have limited my driving of this vehicle due to the danger.
While driving my car I lost control of the power steering and it felt like my steering locked. I was able to pull over to the side of the road. I turned off the car and waited a bit after checking under the hood to see that I had good power steering fluid and the belts were good. I turned on the car again and still had no power steering. Since I was not far from home I carefully drove home fighting my steering all the way. I called my local bmw dealer the following day and they said they were aware of the issue and the repair was extremely costly. I did not realize how aware they were until I further researched the issue on the internet and was totally shocked to see hundreds of complaints concerning the same exact issue. Complaints that have been going on for years. I saw reports of multiple accidents. I can not believe that a recall was never issued on this item. It is absolutely mind boggling that such a defect is left to the consumer to pay when it is clearly a manufacturer's defect. Does a death have to incur for a recall? Aren't preventative measures just as important from the federal safety agency to help avoid future accidents and possible injuries?
The steering wheel "sticks" at various and unpredictable times. It will stick and resist going into a curve, then hold the car in the curve and need to be unstuck to bring the car out of the curve. The sticking is not exaggerated or impossible to correct, but some small amount of pressure is required to unstick the wheel from its directional course. Because it happens at unpredictable times it is unsettling and feels very unsafe on curves or when making lane changes. I've brought the problem to the attention of the bmw dealership on several occasions but they claimed they couldn't duplicate the problem on several visits. On the most recent visit the dealership conceded the faulty steering column, but argues that the age of the vehicle makes it ineligible for warranty coverage. I believe that faulty steering columns are a documented problem on z4 roadsters from 2003 - 2005. The car currently has 22,500 miles on it. Classifying the problem as resulting from age or wear is irresponsible. The steering column was designed or manufactured with this fault, and bmw should correct the problem at its expense before needing to record accidents or injuries.
On days over 75 degrees f, during highway driving, if I turn the steering wheel slightly and release it, steering does not return to top dead center. Instead, the z4 continues to turn on it's own until I steer the car back to a straight line. The steering wheel does not return to the straight-ahead position when I release it. A great deal of strength is required to steer at all when this happens. Power assist does not seem to work over 75f and the steering feel is notchy. On cool days, the steering is fine. This steering failure has been going on for several years, it is getting worse and is no longer safe. The dealer is not helpful. It is a us car and I live in canada. I thought you would want to know because there is a lot of discussion about this in forums. The cars are not safe to drive on hot days. Interim solution is: don't drive my z4 roadster on hot days?! So much for the ultimate driving machine.
In warm weather has a sticky steering problem as it seems to stick when you try and turn the wheel. And than releases with pressure and than you over steer. Have seen many people having same problem. Only time before this causes and accident.
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