Steering - notchy and stiff

Had this problem on my 2003 3.oi back in May this year when we had a hot spell.

However I oiled both the UJ's and have not expereinced it since, going on a 3,000 mile road trip in a few weeks so will probably add a bit more oil (i used standard engine oil), dont know wnhy the UJ's wouls help though really.. I guess they could get a bit dry being so close to the hot areas.
 
speed12 said:
Had this problem on my 2003 3.oi back in May this year when we had a hot spell.

However I oiled both the UJ's and have not expereinced it since, going on a 3,000 mile road trip in a few weeks so will probably add a bit more oil (i used standard engine oil), dont know wnhy the UJ's wouls help though really.. I guess they could get a bit dry being so close to the hot areas.
Click to expand...

Yesterday I started getting the effects of sticky steering so I started looking for a fix and found your post. This morning I did what you suggested and lubed the u joints...I used some Dupont Multi Pupose Spray Lube with Teflon that I had been using on my motorcycle chain. Now the steering is smooth and easy like it should be.
Hopefully that fixes it....I can spray those joints a couple of time a year to keep them from binding.
Thanks for the tip.
 
just wanted to add my name here if anyone decides to start keeping track of all of these incidents.

mine acts up too, it is mild, but it makes me nervous, and from what i read it's only going to get worse.
bought my z just under two weeks ago. a 2004 with 60000 miles on it. and i've definitely had the feet warmers on blast pretty often as we are just coming out of winter. never thought to make the connection before but since a few of you mentioned it, it makes sense.
 
Hi. I am new to the forum. My beloved and little used 2003 2.5SE one owner 34k miles revealed this problem today for the first time. It was 27 degrees and the problem only very slight....first action was to read this thread....not what I wanted to see but helpful thanks.

I will try the lube route first,not sure what the best oil/greasae is though?.

Knowing my local stealer I doubt they will even acknowledge that Z4s have such a problem, that was their attitude when I tried to get my wheels replaced, dreadful corrosion, stealer claimed never seen it before....star 108s 18inch all suffer the same fate.

It's disgusting even shameful that BMW will not recognize this as a safety issue. Over correction when it occurs is clearly really dangerous.Come on BMW we all know you monitor these forums- do the right thing (for once). :headbang:

Chrisbee
 
Theres a PUMA number (internal BMW reference) I stuck on another thread - PM me if you can't find it.

It pisses me off when these dealers play dumb the way they do.
 
lacroupade said:
Theres a PUMA number (internal BMW reference) I stuck on another thread - PM me if you can't find it.

It pisses me off when these dealers play dumb the way they do.
Click to expand...

Hi, just seen this - wondered if it could be related to my issue? if you could direct me to the thread, i'd be really grateful ....thank you :)
 
Many thanks for the link lacroupade.
I took forum's advice and used some lithium grease at the weekend, attaching a small paint brush to a 24 inch metal rod I was able to work loads of grease into the two UJs visible on the LHS of the engine. The top one is easy to reach, the lower a bit more difficult. Anyway so far the problem seems to have gone and the steering definitely feels better than before. Tried it with heater full on,then the air con full on etc (plus ambient temp was 27 degrees). I have worked some more grease in the both UJs this evening . Hopefully that has sorted it - but I worry the problem will return -it cant be that easy Cheap) to fix on a Z4. NB previously suffered dreadful tram lining on certain roads but resolved problem recently when I replaced the front tires with the latest Bridgestone RFTs, ( I only got 15,000 miles).

Anyway thanks for the link I will mention the problem and the detail in the link when I next speak to the dealer

PS Really great forum, glad I have joined so much helpful advice.

ChrisBee
Cheltenham
 
Hi there ,,, I bought myself a Z4 ten days ago, took the car out five days later with the roof down to get the wind in face,, lovely,,, but then the problems started ,after about fifty miles with the roof down , the notchy lumpy steering that BMW deny is a problem irespective of the fact that there are that many forums here and in america that state that the exact same problems were occurring on hundreds of these vehicles and even though BMW are replacing these steering columns that are under warranty in droves,,,, but they still deny that there is a problem , perhaps the hundreds and hundreds of us people who are saying exactly the same words must either be thick or making it all up , , what are BMW thinking of, dont they realize that if this is not sorted soon on a recall that word might even get out that they treat their customers abysmally , , so i spoke to the chester dealers this morning , , complete denial even though i know someone who has had this rectified at this dealership ,,, so i was given BMW head office customer services number, once again complete denial of any knowledge of this problem , even though they are renewing them on warranty, so they left me with no other option than to contact VOSA , they are a legal organisation who deal with these type of complaints especially if they feel that the problem could become a danger to the driver or any other road user , , i spoke to a gentleman called MR TUDOR who advised me to go on the VOSA website where I would find a complaints form that I should fill in and send straight back , then they can act on my behalf , , but they did ask if I could get other people with the same vehicle problems to contact them as well , this would then make the case much stronger to force BMW to set up a recall procedure , and he assurred me that they will act straight away to determin if the allegations are correct then they can put massive pressure on BMW before someone gets seriously hurt, ,The one point that Mr Tudor made was that anyone who contacts them to keep the amateur dramatics to a minimum ie (if it wasnt for my brilliant driving i could have hit ten cars and a bus full of children) and just give facts that IF you feel that the problem could be dangerous then state how and why ,,,, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you are experiencing the same problems as i do then contact MR TUDOR OR SOMEONE ELSE IN THE SAME OFFICE AT VOSA ON 0117 954 3300 , Thank you .
 
That's a shame you got no joy with the dealer. I went into Dick Lovett Swindon, nothing was too much trouble, they looked on their PUMA system and found the BMW record about this very problem, are calling them for warranty approval and then will book it in. The link to the PUMA number is further up this page...
 
Hello,

I just registered to this forum to get some info.
I bought my '04 Z4 3.0i 10 days ago with 29000miles. I paid half the cost of the car, and then while waiting to get the car, I run across a few posts on the net about the steering problem. I though it was some weird rare problem, so I just asked the dealer to check the car properly before I get it, and they said they did.
Now 10 days after, after leaving the car under the sun during work, I have for the very first time experienced this problem.

Let me start by saying that the steering wheel will never auto-center when driving on the motorways. Its a constant battle trying to keep it going straight, as if dead center is just not possible. this is not a major issue, all I do is keep my hand on the steering wheel and make tiny corrections. Please note that the wheels do not need alignment, if I do not hold the steering wheel and drive slow, it does go straight and does not pull to the left or right.

However, today I've noticed two weird things, one not so bad, the other really scary.
The steering wheel when driving on the motorway, will not return to its centre position as its supposed to. So if I start turning the slightest bit to the left lets say, and then stop holding the steering wheel, it will remain there and keep steering to the left. I know for a fact that this is not supposed to happen.

The scary part was that as I was turning the steering wheel, and the car would not steer right away. I then turned the steering wheel a bit more, and all of a sudden the car turned more than usual. It was not by a great amount, but I was doing less than 60 and it was noticable. It did not require alot of force or anything, it just felt like a broken PlayStation steerign wheel.

I am assuming that my dealer will not fix this, their 3 month free warranty does not cover steering wheels, steering columns or anything relevant to this (indepedant dealer). I am not sure if they have a legal obligation regardless of their warranty.

I have bought a BMW used car warranty which mentions that it covers steering columns and the steering system, but only if the problem did not pre-exist prior to the purchase of the warranty. In which case, when I take the car to be checked before the actual warranty commences, all I can do is pray that they do not notice the problem, so that I may later claim that this is a new issue (I know, not very honest of me, but from what I've read it costs 2500 to fix this).

Which leaves me to what I can do for now. I see quite a few people have temporarily solved this problem by applying lubrication to the steering joints/universal joints. I have found a post here in those forums http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37041&hilit=puma with pictures and an explanation, sadly I cannot find those joints under my hood. So I wanna ask anyone who can spare 5 minutes, to please take a few pictures from a bit further away and then a bit closer, so that I may also try this and see if it fixes the problem :)
 
One of your issues, not driving in a straight line on the motorway, I had fixed with an alignment. That took away the constant need for tiny steering corrections that were very annoying when the steering sticks on center.
I suspect you need a proper 4 wheel alignment to get the car tracking straight. These cars handle very well other than when the sticky steering kicks in.

Next, you just bought this car so go back to the people that sold it to you and demand they fix it or refund your money. You are within 30 days of purchase.

Tell them you have this problem with the steering and you want it corrected. You should have not to tell Porkies to get your car fixed. If they claim there is no problem with the car then you don't need to lie about anything. Get them to sign off that the car does not have any sticky steering problem. If needed show their signed letter to BMW for to prove there was no pre-existing condition.

They can't have it both ways...either they agree there is a problem or they can sign off that there is not.
 
Welcome to the forum and sorry to see your first post is a problem. I'd say the sale of goods act is your friend here. Go and talk to the supplying dealer and tell them it's a pre-existing fault and that you are either rejecting the car, or you want it repaired. If in doubt, get legal advice (probably included with your car insurance)

Four wheel alignment is what's needed on a Zed. If someone has "done it's tracking" they may well have messed it up. A proper alignment on Hunter gear will cost you about £90-100. You can find a nearby centre using http://www.alignmycar.co.uk but I'd advise you to get the supplying dealer to do this too. Having it done has totally transformed my car.

Don't take no for an answer on this, a steering column is £1650 plus fitting plus VAT

When you've got it sorted, come back and say Hi with a smile and some pics :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the advice :)
I called the dealer today, told him what had happened, and he recommended I take the car to "his" mechanic, which I did. Told the mechanic everything that has happened, from the tramlining to the sticky steering wheel. Funnily enough on my way to the mechanic the DSC and handrake warning lights came on. I'm getting the feeling that this particular car is a bit dodgy and that its previous owner did't bother to fix anything but decided to get rid of it by selling it.
For now all I can do is wait and see what the mechanic has to say, but I am not gonna let this go easy, I paid extra money due to the low mileage hoping this would be a car in a better condition than most other cars with higher mileage.
 
Hi !
I'm back. I didn't wanna start a new thread as this seems the most appropriate place for my problem.
So I called the dealer I bough the car from, took it to his mechanic, who claims that he has swaped my steering column for an '07 steering column.
I also asked the mechanic to align the wheels, which I very much doubt he did.

So now I keep having some of the previous problems. Although the steering now feels much stiffer and the steering wheel returns to the centre I have still a few issues:

1) The steering wheel has something like a dead-zone near the centre. What I mean by this is that when I steer just a tiny amount, it wont return to the centre position but stay there. This dead-zone is usually very small, just a fraction of a full circle (like 5m on a 12h clock) but it is most noticable in high speed cornering (more than 50miles) and can sometimes be a bit scary. Is that an alignment problem, tramlining, or is it normal for Zeds?

2) The car tramlines, ALOT ! Driving in B'ham city centre on Saturday and it felt as if the wheels were steering on their own. What can be done about this? Friends who own BMWs told me that most BMWs do that more or less but I am still sceptic. Will non RF tires change that ?
This is much more evident in bad motorways and almost unoticable on good tarmac.

I've had some other less important issues, but I plan on letting a couple of friends to drive the car and tell me whether Im imagining things or not.
Any advice or input is highly appreciated :)
 
If the mechanic tried to do a normal tracking there's a good chance he's buggered it up. You need a proper 4 wheel alignment on Hunter, Snap-on or KDS gear. Expect to pay about £90 from a decent tyre place and it's well worth it. Do make sure to ask them if they have all the tools to do a Z4, a few people have been to had theirs done and been told part way through that the people doing it don't have a tool.

You can start with http://www.alignmycar.co.uk to find a centre.

Tram-lining is a well known issue with RFT's. Check the pressures etc first, and the afore mentioned alignment will help too.
 
vortex said:
Hi !
I'm back. I didn't wanna start a new thread as this seems the most appropriate place for my problem.
So I called the dealer I bough the car from, took it to his mechanic, who claims that he has swaped my steering column for an '07 steering column.
I also asked the mechanic to align the wheels, which I very much doubt he did.

So now I keep having some of the previous problems. Although the steering now feels much stiffer and the steering wheel returns to the centre I have still a few issues:

1) The steering wheel has something like a dead-zone near the centre. What I mean by this is that when I steer just a tiny amount, it wont return to the centre position but stay there. This dead-zone is usually very small, just a fraction of a full circle (like 5m on a 12h clock) but it is most noticable in high speed cornering (more than 50miles) and can sometimes be a bit scary. Is that an alignment problem, tramlining, or is it normal for Zeds?

2) The car tramlines, ALOT ! Driving in B'ham city centre on Saturday and it felt as if the wheels were steering on their own. What can be done about this? Friends who own BMWs told me that most BMWs do that more or less but I am still sceptic. Will non RF tires change that ?
This is much more evident in bad motorways and almost unoticable on good tarmac.

I've had some other less important issues, but I plan on letting a couple of friends to drive the car and tell me whether Im imagining things or not.
Any advice or input is highly appreciated :)
Click to expand...

Non RFT Falkens sorted my epic tram-lining, instant. Either that or go with Continental RFTs which are more expensive but are apparently the dog's plumbs according to those who have them (tyres that is not dogs plumbs).
 
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