Nine problems related to electric power assist steering system have been reported for the 2004 BMW Z4. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The steering wheel gets stuck while driving and car doesn't stay in lane infact needs constant significant adjustments to keep it from accidentally getting into another lane. The issue has occurred multiple times and was an inconvenience so I didn't pay a lot of attention but it's more like a safety issue now with controlling the car becoming more and more difficult on freeways. Nhtsa has identified this issue pe10020 as not significant and I sincerely hope they investigate it further and take some serious action before it causes irreparable loss. BMW needs to own up to a manufacturing defect as its not wear and tear and fix this.
The steering locks up in hot weather forcing me to over compensate when driving. Once the car cools down steering feedback returns to normal.
The contact owns a 2004 BMW Z4. While driving approximately between 45-50 mph on normal road conditions. The steering wheel exhibited a notchy sensation. The driver was able to continue in operation. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on three separate occasions for the identical failures. The battery was replaced. The technician recommended replacement of the power steering column . The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. The failure mileage was 8,000. The current mileage was 18,000. Updated 01/12/10. Updated 01/13/10.
When the car sits in direct sunlight for an extended period of time the steering becomes difficult to control with no center balance. The only way to correct this issue is to park the car in the shade and wait for the steering to return to normal.
While driving with top down in cold weather with heat on high, steering became sticky/notchy. I couldn't make smooth steering corrections, only course ones. After car was allowed to cool overnight, problem went away.
My BMW Z4 yr. 2004 during hot weather seems to have a steering problem. Yhe steering sticks and feel notchy, on the highway it almost caused a accident due to try ing to steer and over compinsating. Thank you.
In hot weather or after vehicle has been left in sun for a few hours steering becomes sticky and jerky. Must apply excessive force and constantly overcorrect to keep car on course. Extremely difficult to enter and exit slight turns, change lanes, etc.
In very hot hot weather the steering becomes dangerously off-center.
Problem: eps steering gets very sticky after car has sat in direct sunlight for a few hours. Minor steering corrections are nearly impossible. Problem clears up after car has been garaged for a couple hours and allowed to cool. This problem makes the car feel very unsafe to drive. I am constantly worried it might fail entirely at some point -- hopefully not while I am driving it. Problem was first noticed at the end of summer last year (2004). Car was purchased in July. This year, it has begun already (since mid-April 2005).