general problems of the 2003 BMW Z4 - part 1

Steering is binding up, very hard to steer and control. Car starts out running fine after parked in hot weather and restarted it is almost uncontrollable. Looking for corrective action. Only 39,920 miles on car. Would like to use it or sell it, can do neither in current condition. Steering column needed or components.

When outside temp is 80degrees or higher it becomes difficult to maintain the vehicle in the correct driving lane due to a stickyness in the steering wheel. I will not allow anyone to drive the vehicle when the temp is over 80 degrees . . . Sucks to have a convertable that you can't drive in warm weather!.

My girlfriend, [xxx] , purchased a used 2003 BMW Z4 2. 5i. It is pristine with 47k original miles. Always maintained, garaged and never driven in foul weather. I, [xxx] , drove it home for her and noticed the steering to be "sticky". This showed on the highway traveling at 65 mph. It was very unsettling to feel the car want to track in a direction that I could not control. I used "more force" to pull the steering wheel to get tracking correctly and stay in my travel lane. Lucking I did not overcorrect and lose control or cause and accident. Once it happened it continued to happen the balance of the drive on the highway and back roads. I've owned and driven many different makes and models of vehicles from Dodge, renault, Toyota, GMC, Chrysler, Volvo, Geo, etc. And never has "steering" been an issue. Once we got home I looked up "sticky steering" issue for the 2003 Z4 and this is a known issue. Driving this BMW was unsettling and unsafe. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Upon starting the car, power steering does not work making car unmanueverable.

Sticky steering steering wheel hard to turn and stops intermittently when outside temperature is hot.

The steering in this BMW Z4 gets "sticky" in warm or hot weather. It drives fine in cold weather. The steering has to be constantly corrected as it pulls to the left. It will not track in a straight line and needs constant corrections from side to side to compensate for the problem. If you do not pay close attention and correct the steering input, you will go off the road. On a warmer day after driving for a while I suddenly experienced a unexpected binding of the steering and almost ended up steering into oncoming traffic. This car is not safe to drive. The 2003 model has electric power steering. There are no codes or warning lights. I took the car to the local mechanic and he was easily able to reproduce the issue when he drove it less than 1 mile. This issue not only puts me at risk but others because of the constant correction of the steering to keep a straight. If you drive this car in warm or hot weather distances more than 20 miles then shut if off, then attempt to restart there is no steering at all. Please view the 2 websites listed below from BMW owners. Https://automotivesblog. . Read more...

Sticky steering after car warms up. Steers like a boat. Dangerous at highway speeds or winding road.

Car has 15,000 miles and always stored in climate controlled garage. Drove it today and within 1/2 mile the electronic power steering failed making it very, very hard to steer. Shut vehicle off and restart and the problem goes away but only for a minute or two and then returns.

During very warm days in the summer the steering wheel tends to stick during turns. It requires extra force to continue to turn the wheel which becomes problematic during a tight turn or on highway on-ramps.

On hot days the steering becomes sticky like there is a catch. It will also pull to one side or the other making it very dangerous to drive especially on the interstate.

I just purchased Z4. Did not notice any problem during test ride. On my way home during purchase steering became an issue. The car would be driving fine then what I would a dead spot would appear. The steering wheel will suddenly shift left or right what seems a few inches. This causes driver (me) to compensate to avoid going in ditch or crossing a lane or getting into an accident. This happened many times on my 70-mile trip home.

When the car warms up or has been in the warm sun the steering sticks. This creates a dangerous issue where the steering wheel will pop over rather than smoothly turning. The problem creates and oversteering that is very dangerous at highway spreed and in traversing corners.

Rigid steering with over correction, usually during warm weather. If going at highway/freeway speed, easy to loose control and may cause major injury. Experienced this today driving speed limit of 70 mph and decided to sound off. I hope BMW is not waiting to address this problem until something like this happens. Many other owners of same model car, and possibly all, are having the same problem but not complaining. It took today's experience for me to write.

I just purchased this 2003 Z4 from a dealer about a month ago. When I test drove it, it drove fine and the steering was smooth as you'd expect. It was a little chilly as it was still in the morning. By afternoon, during my 6hr drive home from the dealer, it got hot outside, as it is summer and all, and the steering started to become very jerky, causing me to swerve back and forth in the lanes. It has now become a dangerous car. The initial dealer from whom I purchased from played dumb and said they were unaware of any problems. Before buying this car, which has 57k mi on it, I did my research. Seemed like no major problems with it. Not until after I purchased it, and specifically searched �steering problems� did I discover this had been a BMW design flaw from the beginning and countless people have been dealing with this almost from the get go. No recall had been made, and now I'm stuck with a dangerous car. Going forward, I have notified friends and family, that should I get killed because of this defect, start litigation against BMW, as this is now documented by myself, as well as countless others.

On warm days the steering at higher speed gets hard to steer ; to the point of being unsteady. At lower speeds and cooler temps the hard steering can bs handled but is still troublesome. Need someone to talk to BMW.

I experience sudden jerks to the left, ot to the right when the road surface is sleghtingly uneven. I can never predict which way the car pulls me. I struggle a lot to keep the steering centered when stopping at any red light. Also make a weird sound when a try to turn right.

Steering gets stick and its hard to turn while driving.

Sticky steering issue. Known issue among countless other BMW Z4 owners. Presents considerable danger as steering will jerk either left or right for no apparent reason and without warning. Unbelievable that no recall exists for this known defect as it clearly puts drivers and those around them in constant danger.

Car is hard to steer when driving and BMW knows this issue, car is not safe to drive.

Tl the contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. While driving between 4 to 40 mph, the steering lost power without warning. The contact stated that the same failure was experienced several years ago. At that time, the vehicle was taken to kelly BMW (614-471-2277, located at 4050 morse rd, columbus, OH 43230) and repaired. The contact was not informed about the cause of the failure. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the recent failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired again. The failure mileage was 145,000.

On July 2018 BMW issued an important limited warranty information notice related to this vehicle. BMW would cover repairs to the front passenger seat occupancy for the srs/air bag system. Unfortunately this warranty repair will not cover my vehicle because the 15 year period does not include my vehicle that was put into service in January 2003. I believe that BMW should cover any 2003 BMW Z4 rather than cutting off those made in the prior 6 months. BMW refuses to cover. The other concern I have relates to the servo motor/electronic steering control unit. Recently this failed and I note that other Bmws have had this problem too. I believe your agency should determine whether or not this warrants a recall too. It is very dangerous to be driving and the power steering ceases to function. People will be killed. In my case the vehicle had been in the shop for unrelated repairs and when I picked it up the power steering was out. The shop had noticed the steering seemed tight and told me the unit needed to be replaced at a cost of $4,000. I was able to drive the vehicle home without incident. I had the battery replaced and the steering is back to normal. Research on the web indicated this is something that has happened with numerous other Bmws.

Car suffers from sticky steering making is so you feel like your incapable of doing smooth lane changes.

Since purchasing the car new in 2003, and since, the steering get very "tight" or "sticky" making the car almost undrivable. In hpot weather if is worse. It becomes very hard to steer the car as it requires extra effort to keep it straight or turn the wheel slightly to stay in a lane or turn. There are thousands of comments on the internet and BMW sites with this known problem with the BMW Z4s.

The steering wheel gets stuck while driving.

Steering wheel is very stiff and jerky and does not want to return to center. Making it difficult to control the vehicle. This only happens on hot days above 80 f, especially if the car is parked in the sun for a few hours.

I have owned this car since 2003. When the weather warms up, the steering gets stiff and jerky. This car has quick steering and making it jerky increases the risk of running into something or somebody. I have always known this to be a problem and mentioned it to the dealer when the car was under warranty with no help. As the years have gone by, the problem has gotten worse. We had a warm day over the weekend and I took the car to work. When leaving, the car felt downright dangerous during the first few miles of driving on a warm day, the steering wheel feels stiff like the power steering isn't working. When you apply more steering force, the steering suddenly jerks quickly and you feel like you are out of control with the car, you oversteer.

Vehicle stalls when attempting to move from a stopped position. Stalls at or in trying to move through intersections.

Steering jerks to the left or right while driving on city street or on hi way.

I have steering problem on my 2003 BMW Z4 2. 5i. I bought it only a year ago on may 2018 with 58,000 miles on it. Drove only several thousand miles and started getting the steering problem. It keeps pulling either to the left or to the right. I constantly struggle to make steering adjustments so I can drive straight. Sometimes the steering feels like it is stuck. I already spent several hundred dollars replacing the front end suspension but it did not fix the steering problem. . Read more...

Garbage! only way to describe the steering issue on my Z4. From tje unsealed bearing in the sterring colunn to the un- high performance engineering for tje overall steering system for the entire car. Waste of time and money putting power assiat steering on this little short car anyway. . . Hence why its not on the m series. My grandfather's 1965 truck ran truer than this death trap. Its a shame to have a great car and screw it up with the control of the vehicle, tje most important part😤😡😠. Car darts all over the road, constant corrections with public safety in jeopardy. This is a travesty in deed!!.

The contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4 roadster. While driving at any speed on hot days and when the heater was activated, the steering would become stuck without warning. When the steering wheel was turned, it would not return to the center position. The dealer (BMW of charlottesville in charlottesville, va, 434-270-8664) and the technician stated that the failure was a known issue. The technician stated that there was no recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure was not diagnosed. The failure mileage was approximately 37,000.

At highway speeds on warm days (80 or above) the steering does not return to the neutral position when small adjustments are made. The steering feels "sticky" or "notched" requiring the driver to re position the steering wheel to stay on the road. Tire pressures are in spec as is the alignment.

Tl-the contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. The contact stated that when the tempurture was above 80 degrees, the steering wheel seized on several occasions. The contact stated that the when the failure occurred the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed however, the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. The BMW store located at 6131 stewart rd, cincinnati, OH 45227, (513) 271-8700, was contacted and an appointment was scheduled for diagnosis and repairs. The manufacturer was not contacted or made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 42,000. Ah.

The contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. The contact stated while driving at various speeds in hot weather, the steering wheel became difficult to turn and would also jerk the vehicle into the next lane. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the battery to be replaced. The dealer replaced the battery however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. The contact stated that while driving at any speed in hot weather, about 85 degree and over, the steering did not turn and when it finally turned, it jerked, without warning. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the luxury imports of bowling green dealer (270-745-0001, located at 325 three springs rd, bowling green, ky 42104) where it was diagnosed that the steering was an electric steering and needed a new battery. The technician replaced the battery. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall. The failure was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000. Fe.