2005 BMW Z4: jerking or lurching

Filed Jul 16, 2020 · Steering · 18,000 miles · HI

Steering is no longer smooth or safe, takes 2 hands and even on straight road has to be moved in jerks side to side, as if someone else is holding the wheel and fighting back when you try to turn wheel. Warm is worse and on highway at speed almost impossible to keep straight. On my drive monday had I had to make an evasive move I would not have been able to and would have been in a head on collision. In hawaii it is always over 80 degrees on highway. When first turned on in garage it is not nearly as bad. But after couple minutes it is nearly impossible to maintain chosen direction. Evasive action now impossible and told by dealer that an entire new steering column is required and that this is a very common problem in z4s from 2004-2006. Has only 18,000 miles on it. In flawless shape. In 2012 with 11,442 miles on the car the steering was doing the same thing. My father who bought the car new, the car took it to the dealer who replaced the entire steering column. Thus the car now has 7,000 more miles and again I am told it needs another steering column replacement for $6000. From investigating others who have had the same issue it is the unsealed bearing in the middle of the column that the lubricant dries and hardens onto. That bearing can be dug out, cleaned off and new lubricant applied. But this is only a temporary fix. The lubricant will dry and harden requiring another costly (quoted at $1700) opening and cleaning/lubricating. The 2007 models have had 0 complaints so somewhere along the way bmw fixed the unsealed bearing problem. I am asking for a new steering column with one of the sealed bearing assemblies to be installed by the bmw dealer at their cost.

Filed Jun 27, 2019 · Steering · 57,000 miles · MD

Steering wheel feels jerky when turned left or right and reaches a point where added force is needed to turn the wheel resulting in sudden moves of the car to the left or right respectively. Ambient temperature appears to affect when this happens, it was 94f today and car was parked in the sun for about five hours. Condition is life threatening and will change how often I will drive this vehicle. This problem is well documented in online forums but I have ot found a recall notice for it yet. My vehicle shows no outstanding recalls but I cannot verify if a recall has been issued for this particular problem and if my vehicle was taken in to address it.

Filed Apr 22, 2019 · Steering · 69,000 miles · PA

While driving the steering on the bmw 2005, z4 became difficult to guide or turn. To maneuver the car in a road driving lane, it was often necessary to forcibly turn the steering wheel. When that was done, the car would jerk to the side where the turn was being attempted. This often cause the car to veer into other lanes. It was repaired to avoid an accident and bmw has not recognized this problem as a safety issue. Bmw needs to take responsibility for this problem and issue a safety recall and either pay for the repair or reimburse any z4 car owner who paid to fix the safety problem and avoid an accident.

Filed Oct 29, 2017 · Steering, Suspension · 80,000 miles · NH

Steering column experience sudden jerks to the left, or to the right randomly making the car really difficult to drive safely. It's worse when driving on a highway. All tires psi are normal and tires just brand new. Car was aligned to discard everything. Even with many similar issues from other customers bmw is not accepting this failure as one to recall. But when I gets into the dealerships they diagnose that the hole steering column needs to be replaced at my expense. My car has only 86,000 miles and this is been happening since vehicle had 80,000 miles.

Filed Aug 4, 2017 · Steering · 50 miles · PR

Steering column experience sudden jerks to the left, or to the right randomly making the car really difficult to drive safely. It's worse when driving on a highway. All tires psi are normal and tires just brand new. Car was aligned to discard everything. Even with many similar issues from other customers bmw is not accepting this failure as one to recall. But when I gets into the dealerships they diagnose that the hole steering column needs to be replaced at my expense. My car has only 42,000 miles.

Filed Jun 29, 2017 · Steering · NC

When are you going to issue a full recall for the bmw sticky steering issue! For years people have been complaining on socials media and the federal safety agency that this is a very real issue and yet no recall! I have the issue. I can say at times in hot weather my car is almost uncontrollable. It is all I can do to keep my steering to go the way it is supposed to go without jerking and over correcting. I have had the car since 2013. I am the second owner. Everytime the temp gets above 80 the steering starts getting jerky and sticks. Just go to facebook. Bimmer forums. Everyone who owns a z4 is having these same issues. It is extremely expensive to fix. Bmw dealerships want to charge nearly 2000 for my 2005 bmw when this is a known issue. Unless you force bmw to be accountable people are going to get killed.

Filed Mar 26, 2017 · Steering · 47,000 miles · ND

My 2005 bmw z4 with 47,000 miles the steering after driving approx 65 MPH on the highway locks up while centered and you have to jerk it to steer straight which causes the power steering to over correct its very dangerous !!! So after doing some research on the internet it seems to be a very common problem so why is there no recall on this car before someone dies?

Filed Feb 21, 2017 · Steering · 55,000 miles · FL

Jerking stering

Filed Oct 26, 2016 · Steering · NC

Sticky / notched steering at highway speed. Feels unsafe jerks after about 30 minutes of driving. Just bought this used z-4 in september 2016. Only has 98000 miles service mgr tells me that the only fix is to replace the steering column at a cost of $4300. Issue should be corrected by a bmw recall before a serious accidents happens. Car is unsafe to drive and parked in garage.

Filed Oct 6, 2016 · Steering · 58,500 miles · MD

Sticky / notched steering. Feels unsafe jerks when temperature is hot or after about 30 minutes of driving. Just bought this used z-4 from bmw dealer 1 week ago. Only has 58000 miles which is low for 2005. Just came back from the dealer and the service agent tells me that the only fix is to replace the steering column at a cost of $4300. Waiting to hear back from dealers management since that is 1/3 of what I bought the car for. I can not afford to pay another $4300 for the dream car I finally got and only driven one week. From what I read and after seeing all the complaints, a recall should occur. Happens under normal driving conditions. Must be corrected by a bmw recall before serious accidents happen.

Filed Sep 14, 2016 · Steering · 36,000 miles · NC

In hot weather, while driving at any rate of speed, my steering is "sticky" or "notchy". The steering has a sticky place both left and right of center position. I have to jerk it to unstick the steering wheel. This causes an over correction and results in a dangerous weaving motion. I purchased this car earlier in the year and was excited because the mileage is only 36,000. I now understand why it has low mileage. It is terribly hard to stay a straight line in your lane due to this steering condition. I've researched and found numerous complaints. I think bmw needs to step up and correct this dangerous safety issue before someone gets badly hurt.

Filed Sep 7, 2016 · Steering · 14,400 miles · NY

In warm weather the steering on my bmw z4 is sticky and unresponsive at highway speeds. The steering becomes notchy and I am force to "unstick" the steering wheel by jerking the steering wheel to make minor lane corrections, this over steers the vehicle and I am then forced to unstick the wheel again and jerk the wheel in the opposite direction. This results in dangerously weaving through the lane close to oncoming and passing traffic. The vehicle is dangerous to drive in conditions warmer than 75 degrees fahrenheit.