general problems of the 2003 BMW Z4 - part 2

Steering seems randomly unresponsive. You turn steering wheel an there is a lag. Feels like I dont always have control of my car.

Steering wheel sticks when the ambient temperature gets above 80 degrees. The steering wheel gets hard to turn and turn back straight. This happens when the vehicle is moving at speeds higher them 10 mph. The vehicle become unsafe to drive.

Sticky steering when it is hot weather. It is hard to steer and will not straighten up. Constant steering problem especially in hot weather. There are several complaints about this problem. Please issue a recall this is a dangerous problem.

The steering sticks often on the open highway forcing me to overcompensate to steer the car. Constantly fighting the steering wheel to adjust the direction the car if going. Noticed the problem during warm/hot temperatures outside. Unsafe condition and very uncomfortable driving the car. Condition causing the problem is unknown.

Since purchasing this car 2 yrs ago. The steering gets "sticky". It is hard to center and hard to move the steering wheel then it over adjusts. Many people have this issue and I can't even drive it when it is above 80, it is very dangerous and almost impossible to control. Huge safety issue.

I purchased the car used on April 2, 2016 and noticed the condition on the first warm day (75f or higher) on or around may2, 2016. The car exhibits sticky steering during warm weather. This condition makes the steering feel as though something is sticking while driving at all speeds but is more noticeable at highway speeds. It makes it hard to go straight down the road because the steering feels "notchy".

The steering sticks at warm outdoor temperatures and creates a dangerous driving condition. I have seen other complaints same as mine online. No accident yet.

This car has been exhibiting sticky steering when temperatures are above 70-75 degrees. It has been going on for a while, and I attributed it to tire pressures etc. Having now experienced it more severly I did some research and have discovered that this is a known issue with this type of car. This is a safety hazard since the ability to safely adjust the steering when this happens is limited, and the car can easily oversteer and cause unexpected lane changes. It is surprising that there is no recall for this issue. There are a number of references to this issue in online forums such as these: https://www. Bmwcca. Org/forum/index. Php?threads/sticking-steering-unsolved-mystery. . Read more...

Steering is shifty at all speeds and sticks requiring extra force to redirect it making the possibility of crossing into other lanes or oncoming traffic a risk. Makes groaning noise in slow speed turns.

Sudden loss of power steering assistance while in motion at highway speeds. This resulted in incorrect amounts of steering pressure being applied by two different drivers & near accidents on several occasions. Date is approximate for first occurrence.

Steering becomes very sticky when outside temperatures become hot. Vehicle seems unsafe when on highway and lane changes are difficult to make as steering does not return to center position !.

While driving on the interstate and in the city, my BMW Z4's steering wheel gets stuck, pulls to the left & right and needs hard force to release it. I've almost wrecked several times because of this! I'm afraid to drive the car because it's too dangerous. After much research on this issue, I've found out that thousands of BMW Z4 owners have the exact same problem.

National highway traffic safety administration fines BMW $40 million for failing to meet safety requirements NHTSA 53-15 Monday, December 21, 2015 contact: gordon trowbridge, 202-366-9550, public. Affairs@dot. Gov fine is auto company¿s second since 2012 washington ¿ the u. S. Department of transportation¿s national highway traffic safety administration has imposed a $40 million civil penalty and a series of performance requirements to automaker BMW north America for a series of violations of the motor vehicle safety act and NHTSA regulations. ******************************************************************************************************************************** NHTSA needs to do a recall on the issue of sticky steering. For BMW to say it is just a nuisance steering is totally not true. With your latest fine for BMW you know BMW response to this issue is just another smoke screen of the issue. If steering of a vehicle is not a safety issue then the NHTSA needs to elevated what is safety. Their will be serious accidents and deaths then law suits that should have never been and only a recall can solve this issue with the steering. Thank you.

Getting into the car after shopping it was suddenly unable to steer. When moving it was very hard to steer. When stopped at a red light it was again unable to steer. But again was very hard to steer when moving. I've been having problems for years with the steering sticking when driving but this is a very different issue. I can't drive the car like this.

Steering becomes very sticky and jerky in hot weather. Steering is so bad it is not safe to drive when weather is hot. This is been an on going issue and reported before but nothing gets done about a recall. I don't understand when steering isn't a factor for recall by nthsa. BMW lawyers apparently out smarted the nthsa. I invited any hthsa official to come drive my 2003 Z4 and put his life at risk. BMW north America will not do anything about the issue until nthsa issue a recall.

Power steering disengaged while driving with eps light illuminating.

On warm days the steering seems to be sticky. Its not a fluid as it is when car is in cooler weather. After some research there appears to be multiple issues with 2003-2005 model BMW Z4 with electric power steering. After multiple complaints I see this was never recalled.

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. The contact state that the steering on the vehicle starts to have problems once the vehicle gets warm. The contact stated that the steering would be very stiff and make it hard to turn the vehicle. The contact stated that regardless of making a right or left handed turn the steering wheel sticks and does not flow smoothly. The contact stated that there were no leaks coming from the vehicle or noises when the failure occurred. The contact stated that there were no warning lights that illuminated on the instrument panel as well. The vehicle had not been to the dealer. The current mileage was 45000. Rl.

While driving at highway speeds on a hot day, the steering wheel sticks in the straight ahead position. When you notice this and use the steering wheel to correct it feels a locked. This is very disconcerting at highway speeds due to the fact that in inordinate amount of pressure is required to get the steering wheel to respond. When it does respond, because of the amount of force being used, it causes a change of course that could take you into another lane. Researching this problem has led me to find that not only does BMW know of the problem they refuse any action and put the $3500 bill squarely on the owner. In my mind this is clearly a safety issue that needs to be addressed with the recall.

Steering wheel will stick in the center position when hot outside. This causes an over correction when trying to turn the vehicle which could lead to a loss of control of the vehicle.

Steering locks up. . If shut off and restarted several times it releases. . Went to get gas. . Shut off. . Started. . Same thing with addition of air bag light going on. . Shut off several more times to get going but air bag light stayed on.

After driving the car for about an hour, with outside temperature around 95, the steering response of the car became very sticky or notchy. If you were to turn the wheel a few degrees as required by exiting off a highway exit ramp the wheel would not return to center. With slight additional force it did. With general driving the wheel required more force to turn to overcome the "sticky or notchy" sensation felt through out the steering wheel. Very unsafe feeling.

When the car gets hot (summer hot) the steering gets notchy in that when you put the car in a slight turn, like changing lanes or going around a slight corner, the steering literally sticks in that position causing the driver to apply opposite pressure to "break" the wheel loose from the turn followed by another stick wherever the wheel is brought back to. Problem is that it causes massive oversteering issues at high speed. Extremely dangerous at highway speeds! BMW knows about it and released multiple pumas (one of which is 4515500-06 - equivalent of a TSB) but has not done a recall.

Car steering hard to center , steering sticks to the right or the left , when temperture out side is above 80 degrees or when you drive a long ways and the car begins to produce heat. Very hard to drive or take a long trip in. Very dangerous to drive.

I am filling this complaint do to my car started to fill unsafe will not stay center and continues to pull on both dirrections its a strugle to keep the car om the road knowing that at anymoment will trow you to either side please review my claim.

Steering got tight, hard to steer, but car was contolable. Turned wheel and I needed to turn it back to center, it would not return itself.

When driving at any speed and turning into curves the return steering sticks requiring force to overcome the stick. When the stick is overcome it causes an oversteer condition and requires rapid correction. This is intermittent although with a high rate of occurence.

During hot temperatures when making turns in the Z4 the steering wheel does not smoothly rotate, it is knotchy and sometimes suddenly pulls towards a certain direction while going into or out of a turn. This behavior is very dangerous and can result in an unwanted maneuver at high speed. Considering this is a sports car people tend to go on spirited drives that are not forgiving to such steering wheel pull in unwanted directions.

Steering wheel sticks and results in erratic driving to move it from the stuck position. Happens in city and the highway.

When steering sharply or turning the wheel frequently like to parallel park for example, the electrical suddenly completely shuts down in my car. The car's power completely dies and I lose ability to steer. Sometimes this is while making a quick turn with oncoming traffic approaching quickly. I must stop turning, wait for the power to turn back on, and resume driving as soon as possible. This is very dangerous and I am scared to drive my car.

I have had my 2003 BMW Z4 for seven years. The steering has a tight place at dead center. It takes extra force to turn left or right until you pass center. It is real tricky on a curved road. I only drive it on special days; but, I noticed it really started sticking bad this summer. I do not have $3200 to fix a dealer related problem . I am making this report on behalf of myself and the additional complaints that I have read about since this problem has become dangerous for me as well as for all Z4 owners. I trust and hope BMW stands up and does something to get this problem fixed. I love my Z4. It use to be fun to drive. It is has become a bit scary to drive and a great worry for me when my wife takes it out I hate filling this form out; but, I feel that it is necessary or nothing will get done. If your having this problem ; also, I pray that you join in and fill out your complaint before someone is killed or seriously hurt thanks, d. In texas.

When driving in a straight line the car handles as it should. However, when an adjustment needs to be made to move the car to the right or the left the steering wheel will lock up until enough force is used to jerk it free. When this is done the car oversteers to the right or left. As the problem is getting worse the car is jerking more violently to the right or left when the steering wheel finally lets the steering adjust to the right or left. Taking the car to the BMW delership, they diagnosed the problem as the entire steering mechanism including the electric motor assist will have to be replaced. Fields BMW in lakeland, florida is the dealership that I took my car to have the problem diagnosed for $85. 00. When I bought this car from furman Chevrolet in tampa, they cleaverly forgot to write it into the contract even though I complained about the small hangup of the steering wheel at that time and they assured me that they would fix it. Now I am going to take what I consider a very unsafe car back out onto the highway and have to drive a piece of junk for the next 10 years unless there is a recall for their poor engineering or, worse yet, lousy parts. I have found that the BMW emblem at $35. 00 is a hot seller and that the cup holders at $55,00 each are in great demand as it seems BMW can't engineer those to last either. I can hardly wait for the next failure. No wonder they had no Z4s on the lot for resale. I imagine they are staying as far away from these as possible as they must know they are cute cars, but really just junk!.

Same problem as all other 2003 BMW Z4 steering complaints. Vehicle started sticking when making even slight steering adjustments. Always starts this about 5 minutes into a drive. Has continued to this date in March 2014 but now in addition to sticking get a loud squeal when turning wheel while driving.

This vehicle has electric steering and it works intermittently and you have to fight the wheel to stay in your lane. Very dangerous !.

Steering wheel sometimes is "sticking" while driving making turning a little more labored than normal.