My 04' E85 with 236K miles appears to have had the EPS motor/ECU die on it - the light is on and stays on, steering is stiff... for a long time, the light would sometimes stay on at ignition, I could then turn off and restart the car and it would go away... I did do diagnostics with DIS, it says there is No Communication with the EPS... any thoughts on other things I should check, or just proceed with finding a good used EPS ECU/Motor on eBay and moving forward with replacement?
04 E85 3.0i - EPS light on and stiff steering
- Thread starter james078
- Start date
The EPS ECU has failed. Don’t buy secondhand! No idea of its history.
Get yours out, send it to ECUTesting via their eBay ad and it will come back in around 3 days with a lifetime warranty for £295.
Where are you?
If close to me I’m happy to help or failing that PM me a contact number and I’ll talk you through it.
Fairly straightforward job tbh.
Get yours out, send it to ECUTesting via their eBay ad and it will come back in around 3 days with a lifetime warranty for £295.
Where are you?
If close to me I’m happy to help or failing that PM me a contact number and I’ll talk you through it.
Fairly straightforward job tbh.
I have same problem I'm not an experienced mechanic but enuff_zed gave me excellent help & support and I got my EPS motor off without any problems. Sent off to ECU testing for rebuild, they organized pick up by DHL included in the price! It went off yesterday. I'll update when it comes back.
Enuff_zed is soooo helpful. Gave me the confidence to do the job myself (had been quoted £900 + vat by a local garage. And that was only an estimate!).
Enuff_zed is soooo helpful. Gave me the confidence to do the job myself (had been quoted £900 + vat by a local garage. And that was only an estimate!).
raymond.harper
Senior member
In 2016 I was quoted £3500 to fix it!
That would have been a complete column change, which is the only way BMW or big Indies will tackle it. Ludicrous once you realise how easy it is to swap the motor.raymond.harper said:
And no need to go cutting that sacrificial section out of the lower dash either.
No problem at all.james078 said:Thanks for all the feedback!!! I have had this car since new, so we’ve been through a lot together… I live in the US (Texas) so not sure ECS is an option… haven’t seen any rebuilders here, LMK if you’re aware of any…
Will only cost you a return flight and I'll bring one over and fit it for you 8)
Easiest to get the seat out and steering wheel off for access. Disconnect the battery first and wait 20 minutes or so before unplugging them. If it’s an electric seat move it around to access all the bolts first, then battery off and unplug it.
Remove the steering column lower trim and the footwell trim panel.
Dive into the footwell and look up at the motor. There are two torx head bolts holding it on. An 8mm ratchet ring spanner (12 point) fits perfectly and is the best tool to remove the bolts.
First make an indelible mark across the motor, spacer ring and column. This will aid fitting and hopefully prevent any need for adjustment.
Unplug the big electrical connector on the motor.
The top two are impossible to see clearly so leave them for now.
Undo the bolts.
Carefully pull the motor out and manoeuvre it so the worm gear points downwards.
One cable is tied to the motor and you need to snip the ties to allow the motor to drop low enough to rest on the floor. Then you can see to plug the other two plugs.
On UK cars you have to push down the clutch pedal to give a little more clearance. I use the back of my head.
Not sure how this works on LHD though?
Refitting is the same in reverse.
Don’t worry about cable ties on that loom as long as it is routed correctly. Maybe take a photo before you start.
Don’t reconnect the battery until it is all back together.
If you can do it in a garage then drop the roof, much easier.
There is a chance the windows will need a reset as sometimes they lose their memory. Eady to check if they drop a few mm when you open the doors.
That’s it in a nutshell. Happy to send photos etc if needed
Remove the steering column lower trim and the footwell trim panel.
Dive into the footwell and look up at the motor. There are two torx head bolts holding it on. An 8mm ratchet ring spanner (12 point) fits perfectly and is the best tool to remove the bolts.
First make an indelible mark across the motor, spacer ring and column. This will aid fitting and hopefully prevent any need for adjustment.
Unplug the big electrical connector on the motor.
The top two are impossible to see clearly so leave them for now.
Undo the bolts.
Carefully pull the motor out and manoeuvre it so the worm gear points downwards.
One cable is tied to the motor and you need to snip the ties to allow the motor to drop low enough to rest on the floor. Then you can see to plug the other two plugs.
On UK cars you have to push down the clutch pedal to give a little more clearance. I use the back of my head.
Not sure how this works on LHD though?Refitting is the same in reverse.
Don’t worry about cable ties on that loom as long as it is routed correctly. Maybe take a photo before you start.
Don’t reconnect the battery until it is all back together.
If you can do it in a garage then drop the roof, much easier.
There is a chance the windows will need a reset as sometimes they lose their memory. Eady to check if they drop a few mm when you open the doors.
That’s it in a nutshell. Happy to send photos etc if needed
Finally got the chance to spend some time on my EPS motor removal today... the US/LHD scenario is a little different in case anyone hasn't encountered it yet...the knee level air bag module below the steering column needs to be removed to get access, its 4 bolts (T-27 torx) and a couple fasteners to pop loose plus wire connection(same connector as the steering wheel air bag)... the other difference is the bolts holding the EPS motor to the column are different, still working on those ( I think they are T-40 torx, might be bigger)... I am still working that part... to be continued...
