Hi my electric steering has failed and broken i am told i need a new steering coloum with the motor please can anyone advise me the best and cheapest place to get one i have seen bba reman do an exchange deal i just wondered if there was anywhere better any help would be much apprecaited.
electric steering failed help!
- Thread starter z4spurs
- Start date
Hi, sorry to hear you're having problems, It will help if you give details of the model and year etc as there are mods and even different systems depending on it being pre/post facelift or ///M model etc.
I saw you newbies post a couple of days ago saying you bought the car with known faults presumably you had idea about the steering and what was needed before you bought....... I hope
Anyway I would find out more about the exact diagnosis because it's unlikely that both the column AND the motor failed, it could be ££££££ or actually quite a small fault like connections or sensors.
Good luck
I saw you newbies post a couple of days ago saying you bought the car with known faults presumably you had idea about the steering and what was needed before you bought....... I hope
Anyway I would find out more about the exact diagnosis because it's unlikely that both the column AND the motor failed, it could be ££££££
or actually quite a small fault like connections or sensors.Good luck
As above 'I am told I need a new steering column....' by whom and why? Personally I like to know exactly what's wrong, is it a minor fault, etc. All to easy for people to point to a whole component replacement, although I do believe BMW replace the whole thing when there is a fault.
If it was proved a non servicable part then I'd get one from a breakers of same year and fit that. Not sure about things like column locks, etc. so that would have to be investigated.
If it was proved a non servicable part then I'd get one from a breakers of same year and fit that. Not sure about things like column locks, etc. so that would have to be investigated.
Hi guys thankyou for your reply firstly my car is a 2004 3.0 z4 the power steering isnt working at all i brought the car with the fault the person that has looked at the car has said there is power at the electric motor on the coloum but the motor isnt working so i guess this is the fault! as bba reman do an exchange unit i thought this must be a common problem but i am only learning about the z4 at the moment so any advice would be greatly apprecaited.
The whole steering column and ECU are sold as a single unit by BMW, and are sold as not being user-serviceable.
The cost for the steering column/ECU is around £1500.00 and BMW charge another £1000.00 for fitting.
The early (pre-facelift) cars can be susceptible to steering malfunction when the ECU becomes very hot - i.e. very hot countries or oddly colder climates when the heater is run very hot in the footwells when driving in cooler weather with the hood down. The footwell heater vents are right next to the steering ECU - great design, BMW :thumbsdown:
I suspect that most if not all early cars can be made to malfaction in this way ("sticky steering") - try driving 30 or 40 miles with the heater on full and see what happens
As for total shutdown of the power steering - I agree with above, could be anything from a cooked ECU to a dry connection - dealer needs to be more specific :wink:
The cost for the steering column/ECU is around £1500.00 and BMW charge another £1000.00 for fitting.
The early (pre-facelift) cars can be susceptible to steering malfunction when the ECU becomes very hot - i.e. very hot countries or oddly colder climates when the heater is run very hot in the footwells when driving in cooler weather with the hood down. The footwell heater vents are right next to the steering ECU - great design, BMW :thumbsdown:
I suspect that most if not all early cars can be made to malfaction in this way ("sticky steering") - try driving 30 or 40 miles with the heater on full and see what happens
As for total shutdown of the power steering - I agree with above, could be anything from a cooked ECU to a dry connection - dealer needs to be more specific :wink:
I know the ECU is on the column, but your problem is obviously more than than the transient malfunction I've referred to.z4spurs said:
Total failure of the power steering I would imagine could be caused by a number of things - the ECU is just one.
I would definitely get it checked by at least a couple of Garages and compare diagnoses before parting with any cash.
Why don't you just buy a complete unit from a breakers?
Hi guys i have my car all fixed now ended up replaceing the whole steering coloumn i managed to get one from a breakers. Next job is to lower the car and find a M rear bumper as the rest of the car is all M spec then off to the bodyshop to be stripped down and painted lamborghini orange!
Half Colin
Senior member
There's a brave man - you'll have to post some photos of that!z4spurs said:
z4spurs said:
Get one from a breakers - that was a good idea :wink:
Someone I know has just wrapped his Jag XF Lambo orange. Saw it last night and it was pretty cool.
:worthless:cj10jeeper said:
Easiest Herminator to just point you to the page on the XF forum. Lower half of P18
http://www.xfforum.co.uk/threads/5181-wkd1-s-customised-XF/page18
http://www.xfforum.co.uk/threads/5181-wkd1-s-customised-XF/page18
Thankyou for that the jag looks nice but i am going to do a repaint in the lamborghini pear orange which i have seen done which looks stunning! probably black wheels as well and the nice thing is my z4 is the grey-black under the bonnet and boot so no worries there with having to paint that as well.