Zoe the Z4 is unwell (and been keyed!!) :(

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Emj12312

Member
 Farnborough, Hampshire
My poor Zoe is unwell... :(

Shes been pulling both to the left and right recently and the drive hasnt felt very safe or stable. Garage looked at it yesterday and couldnt see anything wrong with it! They changed the tyres from back to front and it seems better but not great? :driving:

So I need 2x new front tyres... They also said that it might just feel crap because its winter and roads are worse - does this seem legit to everyone? :tumbleweed:

The garage also looked at my window wipers as they stop quite high up, tried to adjust them previously but it didnt work. They are now better but they said if it happens again and they creep back up, I'll need a replacement motor for £250! :headbang:

And then when I looked at it properly last night, I saw that some twat has keyed it across the driver side bonnet...
Dont suppose anyone is in Hampshire and knows anyone good to get this out and repaired???

Pictures below for you to see, it looks worse when you see it properly as you can see that its quite deep in the middle!

:x :cry: Poor little Zoe. Hopefully she'll all be better soon!

E4F56809-B986-4634-9E62-36051795B284_zpscatukac2.jpg

AE516084-C2E6-4E51-8A6E-8DD00D573FDF_zpsylftjohj.jpg
 
Nooo that key is horrible, sorry to see that!!!! :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:

With regard to the instability - could it jus tbe tramlining - if the roads are particularly bad that you're driving on atm? DO you have runflats? - they can cause it too .. just for starters.
 
That's a really crappy thing to have happened, hope it gets sorted without too much fuss - if you have a ChipsAway or similar franchise near you they can usually sort things like this but ask for recommendations because, as with all franchise operations, quality varies between areas. I'd also avoid mobile units, you should get a better finish if they have a workshop/industrial unit where they can do the work.

As far as your tyre issue goes, assuming the garage have also checked pressures, tracking etc., and all are OK, are you running on run-flats as they can start to feel very 'strange' as the temperatures drop
 
Sorry to hear about the troubles - am sure some of our more competent detailers will be on soon to suggest remedies to that keying! For your wipers, there are details and a guide on here regarding reducing the grease buildup which sounds like your issue. Did it myself recently as I had the high parking position, solved it and only took 30 minutes.

For the twitchiness it might be tram lining, tyres, balance, tracking... whole range of possibilities. Have you had tracking done previously? Has the issue gradually appeared or is just happened all of a sudden?
 
That's not so great.. :-/ The pulling is going to be one of only a few things though.

Tyres (runflats?)
Tyre pressures
Suspension component (knackard balljoint or similar)

If it's really that bad, any competent garage should be able to test drive, then diagnose. As for the current place changing tyres from front to back, are you wheels not staggered? (i.e different widths front and back)
 
Sorry to hear your having troubles Emj. The tram lining is your main problem i would say. The scratch can probably be made to look a lot better without paint?!

The tramlining as said could be the tires. Have a think about ditching the run flats if you have them. I had this problem on mine non run flats made a big difference. I also changed my ARB bushes as they where worn out as where the front rear ball joints (lollipop bushes) If the garage has looked and they are ok then great might just be worth asking them though. The bushes are a known weak point. Other than that get the alignment checked out.

The wipers as said there is a good guide on hear relatively easy if you have a bit of an idea with spanners. If not i am sure there is a handy member near by who might be able to help? I am happy to help if you can make it to OX28.

All the best getting it sorted.
 
Yeh I have runflats on... The garage checked the tracking and suspension and all ok, also got the correct pressures because Ive checked them recently due to doing long journeys in last few weeks.

My 2x fronts are low so maybe when I change them, it will be better?

The problem with the steering has been gradual over approx last month? It started with the car pulling to the left which I thought was tracking, then it started to pull to the right as well and now its as if someone is sat in the passenger seat pulling the wheel while Im steering the car?!

The garage said they couldnt find any definitive causes for it and it seems partly better now that the wheels have all been swapped?

Thats my other question - I have on 225/45/17 runflats at the moment on all 4x wheels? I wouldve thought my rears shouldve been bigger like you mention?

Maybe I have the wrong tyres on for the size they should be!!

And for the keying, I hope the guys on here can help and maybe know someone or suggest something? I have gone back to a few people I know with pictures to see if they can hopefully help as I want to get her done asap to bring her back to normal again - dont want to see the big scar mark on her bonnet everytime I get in!

Thanks again guys :oops:
 
so sorry to hear about your bad luck! i had the same issue with the wipers and this turned out to be the wiper regulator! costs about £15 and easy to fit!
 
Ah, had an idea - if you only notice it when you're steering, it could be the 'sticky steering' issue, have you had your heaters on a high setting recently as this can make the symptoms appear? Its something to do with the electric power steering, its pretty common with the early Z4s apparently.

Also, you've got 17 inch 103s which are the same width all round, your tyres are the correct size. The tramlining tends to be much worse on 18s so if its not tugging the wheel from you one way or the other going straight then its 'sticky steering'!
 
Thats a few people that have said to get rid of the runflats! I thought it would be good to keep them on in case I did get a flat but I have breakdown cover so for a more enjoyable less rigid ride maybe I should ditch them?...

Well it goes from left to right if thats what the sticky steering is all about? I have had the heater on higher than normal last few weeks as its been bloody freezing lol.

Ill have a read on here and see what this sticky steering is all about!
 
Sticky steering is like the steering locks and requires a bit of force to move it - doesn't sound like your issue? As your issue has become progressively worse, I would lean more towards tracking/rod ends/bushes...

Oh, and before forking out on the wipers, look at this thread. May look a bit daunting, but is fairly straight forward, and as MM says, someone local should be able to help out?
 
hello Emj
there is a bloke in north camp who has a spray shop and he supposed to be very good ,i went along to get a price from him to do my aero skirts and bumper he was cheap aswell,But his work place is much to be desired you will see what i mean if you go and have a chat with him. he prob get your Zoe in and done quite quick too. he is down lysons ave opposite BARONS BMW service and parts garage
GT :thumbsup:
 
Emj12312 said:
Thats a few people that have said to get rid of the runflats! I thought it would be good to keep them on in case I did get a flat but I have breakdown cover so for a more enjoyable less rigid ride maybe I should ditch them?...
Well it goes from left to right if thats what the sticky steering is all about? I have had the heater on higher than normal last few weeks as its been bloody freezing lol.
Ill have a read on here and see what this sticky steering is all about!
Click to expand...

Put it this way - I've had runflats on both 18 inch alloys and 17 inch alloys, the tramlining (where the car is pulling you left/right when you want to go straight, the car is following ruts in the road left by lorries/buses etc) is much more apparent on the 18's than on the 17's - the higher sidewall of the tyres on the 17's is a bit more flexible and the 'ride' is much better. Personally, I wouldn't bother changing the tyres unless you are both (a)really unhappy with the ride and (b)you've always had the car pull left or right when trying to drive straight. I quite like the fact the runflats are a good bit tougher - I was in rural France once when one of them took a very hard bump to the side and still got me home, under the same conditions I'm confident a standard tyre would have left me stuck in the middle of nowhere.

If say, you're steering left or right (for example to change lane or to go round a bend) and the wheel is resisting you (you're fighting the wheel to make the car do what you want), then that is the key symptom of sticky steering. This might have only recently appeared as you've had the heaters on - the heat apparently warms up a control unit or something and this causes it to go a bit stupid (ok, not exactly detailed or technical) meaning the power assistance isn't quite assisting you. There are a few posts about this on here somewhere, I haven't searched yet. I've only noticed it a couple of times on my car in the 3.5 years I've had it (it's a 2003 car), it's only happened when the heating is on super toasty or it's a baking hot summers day. When the weather gets better I'm going to take a proper look at it.
 
It's fine when I want to go left or right it doesn't seem to resist, but it's when I'm driving straight and especially at higher speeds on motorways etc that it decides to have a wobble on me and try to go any direction it can!

Get there in the end lol
 
Emj12312 said:
It's fine when I want to go left or right it doesn't seem to resist, but it's when I'm driving straight and especially at higher speeds on motorways etc that it decides to have a wobble on me and try to go any direction it can!

Get there in the end lol
Click to expand...

ah ok - that's tramlining rather than sticky steering! :oops:

As the poster above mentioned, look at tyre pressures.
 
Off top of my head think I got 30 front 33 rears?

Don't quote me on it though / but always done them on same psi?
 
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