23 problems related to steering is tight have been reported for the 2003 BMW Z4. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
After the car was parked in the sun for 4 hours, the car was hard to steer. The steering was sticky and made it feel unsafe to drive. We researched on the internet and found this is a common problem for this year/model BMW Z4.
At 3844 miles in December 2017 I brought my vehicle for standard service at the BMW dealership where I bought it and I mentioned that the steering at times was sticking and it would take force to get it out of the locked position while driving. It was of serious concern. The BMW service consultant told me that it was a steering column problem and required replacement at $5,200. With only 3,844 miles on the vehicle I couldn't understand how it could happen. I am filing an official complaint and believe this should be a recall. The dealer charged me $1,911. 96 to replace sensors and faulty steering angle sensor. After the repair there was no difference with the sticking steering problem.
Takata recall as I was driving back home on highway the steering was stiff or hard, it makes it hard to steer to different road or a exit but when im diving on low speed uber 20mph it see like no problems. This is really dangerous for me and my family and I see many, many people also have thee same problem.
Steering is too unstable on straight driving. A sudden pull to the right/left and steering is not centering. Steering is stiff and hard to control.
When driving the steering is sticky especially when it is hot out. It is hard to keep the car straight without constantly moving the wheel right and left and you can feel the gap in the move. You feel a skip in the move. It makes it feel like the car is going to jump to far right or left. It has been doing this the last 3 years I have owned the car. My tires are new and well balanced so it is not the tires. It did this with the old tires and now continues to do it. You are welcome to come and drive it. This happens when in motion and trying to drive straight ahead. When making a reasonable turn it is fine.
My Z4 has about 70,000 miles on it and I just got it back in 6/20015 and I noticed when steering there is a sorta sticking problem with it and it kind a want to drift side to side ? now the steering indicator light comes on and its like a old type standard steering car. And when restarted it works for a little while and then all of a sudden it does it all over again. This would be a real problem for a older person if this would happen , may cause a sever accident . I did some internet research and I don't think this is a solo event for me. I did ask my local dealer and they said there was no recall on this car. As far as I can tell I am the 2nd owner ?.
Two years ago in the summer, I drove my car back on the highway and the steering wheel was very hard to move. It was a sticky steering situation. The weather was also very hot. This problem has continued even when I am driving slowly. The weather temperature seems to be the critical factor. Yesterday, I drove the car and it steered perfectly. The temperature was in the 70s. Today, it drove fine in the a. M. But in the pm when the temperature reached above 80, the steering was "sticky" again. I have found many posts on line describing this identical problem. The car is a 2004 BMW Z4. This problem has happened within the last 2 years but the difference between the drive handling yesterday and today was very obvious.
Date listed is an approximation. . . I bought the vehicle used and during the hot weather the steering felt like it was sticking. Now that I've owned the vehicle for a couple of years I can tell that when the vehicle is left in the hot sun the steering "sticks" which causes it to move erratically. This happens no matter the speed and is very dangerous. Due to the sticking I am very wary driving the car when the weather is hot and the car sits in the sun. I read that there is an investigation into this issue and want to include that my car is experiencing the same issue as listed in the investigation. This is a dangerous defect and the NHTSA should force BMW to fix the problem on the affected vehicles. I should not have to drive a vehicle that enough evidence is available to confirm there is a manufacturer defect.
Power steering did not move smoothly. On hot days the steering binds up. The steering wheel is hard to turn. A definite detent is felt in the steering, this detent requires extra effort to overcome, commonly causing oversteer and a back and forth track down the road. As car rolls down highway the small movements to go straight are unattainable as the steering is hard to turn as areas of higher resistance require extra force upon the steering wheel, and when the resistance is overcome the car steers to far in the desired direction and when a correction is attempted the same situation occurs. When the car is hot and this issue is present it is not possible to drive the car in a smooth straight direction. In attempting to maintain control I have on multiple occasions been nearly or slightly off the roadway and narrowly avoided several accidents.
The vehicle is usually kept in the garage. After sitting in the sun in temperatures exceeding 85 degrees, the car steering was hard to operate. It felt as though the steering was manual -- hard to turn on a curve and hard to turn left and right. This only seems to happen when the car sits outside in hot weather. I have not had the problem checked by my mechanic.
I was driving my 2003 BMW Z4 on the highway going roughly 65mph when I noticed the steering became very notchy and stiff, the car felt as if the steering wheel was sticking and not turning to center freely. Drving like this the car is difficult to keep in your lane, a very scary feeling when driving at highway speeds. The steering problem continued until I returned home and was still noticeable at city speeds, wheel still sticking around turns and not returning to center position after completing a turn. The problem occurred several times since then,not giving me a good sence of security when driving. This problem only starts to happen after or while drving at speeds above 60mph. I'm contacting you because I have read numerous complaints of BMW Z4 owners having similar safely problems. Please let me know if anything develops regarding a recall of any faulty steering equipment on this vehicle.
The steering on my BMW Z4 was sticking and hard to turn. The steering didn't want to return to center. While driving on the freeway through a curve, the steering was hard to turn, wouldn't return back to center and had to make numerous adjustment to keep the car within the lane. It was very unsettling and could easily have caused an accident. This has happened several time in the past and it seems to happen predominately on warm days.
The steering begins to feel sticky. It is hard to make steering corrections during normal driving without jerking the wheel either left of right. This appears to happen most often during warm weather. I noticed it last night during the cool of the evening, however. It was under 60 degrees at the time.
My 2003 BMW Z4 has a major steering problem. There is noise in the steering column area and the steering becomes very stiff and non-responsive at highway speeds. Its like driving a car with a power steering pump that is about to fail. The problem is much worse on hot days or after the car has been driven a lot. I took it to the only BMW dealership around here in indianapolis. They told me they couldn't duplicate the problem in the shop but it sounded like a defective steering column. The cost on a new column is $3500 plus many man-hours of labor charges to install it! I went on line and found out that this is a common problem with Z4s. So, here I sit with a $13,000 car that I can't afford to fix and I'm afraid to drive more than a few miles from home because the steering is so tight/questionable. This is a safety issue and BMW should be made to recall this issue!.
2003 BMW Z4 2. 5i. Steering feels sticky on warm afternoons. Feels like a "dead spot" in the steering gear.
Steering is sticky diring warmer weather and sticks on center and is difficult to turn from center.
Details: steering problem at 45+mph with vehicle, steering is very sticky going straight, constant corrections cause over steering, steering wheel does not return to neutral position on curves leading to dangerous conditions, tested to 75 + mph, gets worse at higher speeds of freeway driving. Just took possession of used vehicle. I think its just luck no body has been killed from running off the road or hitting someone. Please look at all the complaints with the same trouble.
Steering is sticking on my BMW Z4 when the weather is warm. I live in the mountains of north georgia and do not feel safe driving under these conditions. Based on looking at the online information into this problem this seems to be a defect in the Z4. Why would this not be recalled? the dealership immediately asked at what temperature this occurs. The dealership has quoted $3200 to fix the problem. This is not acceptable when it looks as if there are alot of Z4 owners with the same problem. The car is out of warranty and the mileage is low. Please help us who own these cars to get something done before someone gets seriously hurt or even killed.
On hot days(>75 f) the steering is very sticky. I feel unsafe to drive, especially on highway, because I'm afraid the car will lock on me. Replacing the entire column is bit too expensive so I limit my driving to colder days only, which doesn't make sense when you have convertible. It seems like many owners of 2003 BMW Z4 have similar issue. I've been hoping for years that BMW will have recall for this problem. This is such a nice car, and at the same time huge disappointment if it comes to performance and lack of response from the BMW to fix the problem.
Steering is sticking badly. Inspected by independent mechanic and told is defective and unsafe. With the vehicle under 20,000 miles the mechanic said is clearly a defect with the electronic steering.
The steering sticks and is hard to control. The steering seems to have lobes/sticking points in the steering and sticks at certain points and then lets go making it hard to control. The vehicle is very hard to steer and has jerky catching points as you move the wheel while going down the road.
Car sat in hot sun all day. Entered car to drive home and noticed steering was hard as speed increased upwards to 30 mph. As speed increased steering became very hard, requiring torque on steering wheel. At a stop the steering was normal, wheel could turn as always. At higher speeds up to 55 mph, when car wheels turned, the action was "choppy" or in increments rather than smooth and with the precision car normally had. It almost seemed like heavy weight on front of car. Checked run flat tires. No problem. Parked car at home. Two days later took vehicle to dealer and steering was normal. Dealer recognized a problem. Had same year and model with similar problem occurring daily. Could not duplicate the problem. Told me factory service bulletins said do not replace parts unless problem duplicated! dealer suggested I drive car until problem returned and then bring it in. They would do nothing until they could duplicate problem to perform diagnostic. Dealer not open 24 hours a day, other cars at same dealership with problem. Car was unsafe to drive when problem recurred. According to dealer, manufacturer is aware of problem, has technical bulletin out, but no parts replaced until failure occurs at dealership. Car being parked in sun by dealer to see if problem will duplicate. Car unsafe to drive!!! other cars there, same model and year with same problem.
When traveling on a highway, the car steering is very hard to hold straight, veering from left to right. I only have 32,000 miles on the car and it still happens. Service reps verify that all steering components are within specfications.