23 problems related to steering column have been reported for the 2005 BMW Z4. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Steering is no longer smooth or safe, takes 2 hands and even on straight road has to be moved in jerks side to side, as if someone else is holding the wheel and fighting back when you try to turn wheel. Warm is worse and on highway at speed almost impossible to keep straight. On my drive Monday had I had to make an evasive move I would not have been able to and would have been in a head on collision. In hawaii it is always over 80 degrees on highway. When first turned on in garage it is not nearly as bad. But after couple minutes it is nearly impossible to maintain chosen direction. Evasive action now impossible and told by dealer that an entire new steering column is required and that this is a very common problem in Z4s from 2004-2006. Has only 18,000 miles on it. In flawless shape. In 2012 with 11,442 miles on the car the steering was doing the same thing. My father who bought the car new, the car took it to the dealer who replaced the entire steering column. Thus the car now has 7,000 more miles and again I am told it needs another steering column replacement for $6000. From investigating others who have had the same issue it is the unsealed bearing in the middle of the column that the lubricant dries and hardens onto. That bearing can be dug out, cleaned off and new lubricant applied. But this is only a temporary fix. The lubricant will dry and harden requiring another costly (quoted at $1700) opening and cleaning/lubricating. The 2007 models have had 0 complaints so somewhere along the way BMW fixed the unsealed bearing problem. I am asking for a new steering column with one of the sealed bearing assemblies to be installed by the BMW dealer at their cost.
I bought a 2005 BMW Z4 about a month ago. The first couple of weeks, everything was fine. However, as the temperature outside rose, I noticed that the steering started sticking, making it hard to drive. For example, yesterday, as I was changing lanes on a local highway, I had trouble changing lanes, and almost hit another car because of the sticking problem. Based on what I've heard, I believe this problem is being caused by a defective bearing in the steering column.
Sudden loss of power steering causing the car to be very difficult to control. When reading known issues regarding the BMW Z4, this appears to be a very common safety problem. There is a known recall on these vehicles for this problem, however, it does not include my vehicle make, model, year. My vehicle was in motion in heavy city traffic when the steering became sticky, causing the car to pull to the right and ultimately hitting a curb causing damage to the right lower wheel well and door panel. My vehicle is currently sitting in a repair shop waiting on finding a steering column that will not cost $3800 - $4000 to replace.
Steering column experience sudden jerks to the left, or to the right randomly making the car really difficult to drive safely. It's worse when driving on a highway. All tires psi are normal and tires just brand new. Car was aligned to discard everything. Even with many similar issues from other customers BMW is not accepting this failure as one to recall. But when I gets into the dealerships they diagnose that the hole steering column needs to be replaced at my expense. My car has only 86,000 miles and this is been happening since vehicle had 80,000 miles.
Steering column experience sudden jerks to the left, or to the right randomly making the car really difficult to drive safely. It's worse when driving on a highway. All tires psi are normal and tires just brand new. Car was aligned to discard everything. Even with many similar issues from other customers BMW is not accepting this failure as one to recall. But when I gets into the dealerships they diagnose that the hole steering column needs to be replaced at my expense. My car has only 42,000 miles.
Tl the contact owns a 2005 BMW Z4. While operating the vehicle, the steering wheel felt tight and was difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to apple BMW (2208, 1370 roosevelt Ave, york, PA 17404, (717) 845-6689) where it was diagnosed that the entire steering column needed to be replaced. The manufacturer stated that they could not assist since there was no recall and the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure occurred ever since the vehicle was purchased. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 63,000.
Sticky / notched steering at highway speed. Feels unsafe jerks after about 30 minutes of driving. Just bought this used z-4 in September 2016. Only has 98000 miles service mgr tells me that the only fix is to replace the steering column at a cost of $4300. Issue should be corrected by a BMW recall before a serious accidents happens. Car is unsafe to drive and parked in garage.
Sticky / notched steering. Feels unsafe jerks when temperature is hot or after about 30 minutes of driving. Just bought this used z-4 from BMW dealer 1 week ago. Only has 58000 miles which is low for 2005. Just came back from the dealer and the service agent tells me that the only fix is to replace the steering column at a cost of $4300. Waiting to hear back from dealers management since that is 1/3 of what I bought the car for. I can not afford to pay another $4300 for the dream car I finally got and only driven one week. From what I read and after seeing all the complaints, a recall should occur. Happens under normal driving conditions. Must be corrected by a BMW recall before serious accidents happen.
On a hot day while traveling over 40 mph, the steering becomes "sticky"; that is it get stuck in a position and you have to physically jerk the wheel to adjust the steering which is very dangerous at higher speeds. This only happens in warm weather-above 70 degrees fahrenheit. I recently experienced this on I-95 while traveling to philadelphia. I noticed this before and I reported this to BMW of alexandria (now arlington) and they replaced the steering box, lower joint assembly - total cost $1,721 - this was at 69,000 miles. The problem is back and as bad or worse. I have read of this problem on BMW forums where the entire steering column must be replaced at about $4,000. What I don't understand is why this isn't a recall item as it definitely is a safety issue. Gary dittmer.
This steering in this vehicle is downright dangerous! I purchased the car used 6 months ago in the winter and only drive it a few times. As I've been driving more in the nicer weather, the steering started to "stick" causing me to oversteer. I am terrified to even drive this car on the highway because it gets worse as you increase speed and because of the unpredictability of the steering mechanism. The steering problem intensifies in hot weather. It nearly impossible to stay within your lane on a road with slight curves. I brought the car to bwm service center and was told the sterring column needed to be replaced at a cost of $3500. I came online to do some research only to find hundreds of other people with the same exact problem. BMW must be aware of this potentially fatal flaw in their vehicle. I don't understand why there was not a recall issued. My fear it that one day the steering is going to lock completely. Until we try to get a better estimate on the price of the steering column replacement we will not be driving this vehicle. Please look into this, it is an accident waiting to happen.
While driving on the straight highway at a normal speed I noticed the car began to pull to the right. In order to correct, you would have to pull the steering wheel to the left causing the car to sometimes over correct with a jerking sensation and pulling to far to the left. Car was taken in for repair. After diagnostics I was told that it was a problem with the steering column electric motor and you could not just replace the motor, but would have to have the entire steering column replaced. I did have the steering column replaced with good results. The new column was ordered by my repairman from BMW. My worry is if the last column was defective, will this one be also.
My 2005 BMW Z4 has a steering issue that has affected thousands of similar vehicles. The steering column is faulty and results in loss of stability at speeds between 65-75 mph. The steering "drifts" and is difficult to control the vehicle. Steering also "sticks" and requires force to turn. There is much talk about a recall being forced onto BMW for their faulty steering column. Please move this forward for the thousands of drivers BMW has put at risk by not acknowledging and correcting this problem for their drivers.
First a description of the problem: my steering column turns similar to the fan control switch on the Z4 – from detent to detent and not smoothly like a volume control on a radio. If you reach forward to the fan control console and turn it you will note that it does not turn smoothly it goes from stop to stop to stop about every 5 degrees. Each stop is called a detent. So as you turn the knob it starts in a detent then as you turn it clicks into the next detent and stops then you have to twist a bit harder till it clicks into the next detent. That is how my steering column acts when it is hot outside. It clicks into one detent and that position may not keep you driving straight down the road. You try to correct it and it will not turn unless you push exra hard then it goes past the point that would keep you going straight downt he road into the next detent and you are progressively headed off the other side of the road. As you try to correct it by turning back, it will not smoothly turn back, it resists till you push extra hard then it goes past the point that would keep you going straight and stops in the next detent and now you are headed off the road in the other direction.
Steering became sticky when trying to do minor corrections. It is very difficult to keep car straight without exerting considerable force in both left and right directions. Problem is worse when outside temperature is above 80f and steering is "normal "when car is cold. Subsequently, steering wheel does not easily return to center, occasionally car will pull in either direction, not sure when it will go left and when right. Dealer wants to replace steering column for $3500. Replacement is oem part so no dealer guarantee that replacement will not perform the same way.
Steering jerks to the point of being unsafe. At highway speeds the car will drift. When you correct, it jerks either right or left. A few times almost veering into the next lane of traffic. Brought into BMW of ft. Myers. They said I needed a new steering column. $3,487. 60 plus $153. 44 to calibrate, plus tax. Very, very disapointed in BMW not having a recall on this. It is a serious safety issue aside from speding a lot of money to purchase a "quality????" car.
Original owner new 2005 Z4 BMW 18475 miles steering sticks while driving feels like it may not come back when you turn wheel kind of like flat spot on column hard to explain.
The steering column is defective as was determined by tom williams BMW of birmingham al. I have been on a BMW forum website and this is a very common problem. It resulted in a near accident 3 weeks ago, and a recall needs to be done on these very pricey cars. The price quoted me today was 3100. 00$ BMW should be forced to recall and fix this problem. My car only has 55,000 miles on it so it is obviously a defective part! somebody is going to get killed and it was almost me!.
Drove from alabama to PA. To buy my Z4. Test drive was fine but as car warmed up and I got to highway speed I immediately noticed a problem with the steering. I have since found out by going online that 03 to 05 Z4's commonly have a problem called sticky steering. You have to force the car to turn. I have written BMW corporate and they instructed me to go to tom williams BMW in birmingham where they confirmed that it needs a new steering column at a cost of $3180. This car has 55,000 miles and obviously is the result of a defect that needs to be recalled. I have all the correspondence with corporate that I would like to forward to you. This problem almost caused me to wreck my car three weeks ago and its just a matter of time until someone gets killed. I know that you have heard of this problem and it is time that something is done. For a $40,000 car to have such a serious problem is just ridiculous. Please help us force BMW to resolve this deadly problem! thanks.
My 2005 BMW Z4 3. 0 roadster has developed a possible issue with the electric steering system. At highway speeds the steeering exhibits a notchy feel where there seems to be insufficient power to assist the steering when input is applied to the steering wheel. As yet I have not been able to account for any other mecanical issue for the vehicle which has 43k miles and brand new michelin tires. The new tires didn't correct the issue and the front end components and allignment are in excellent condition. While researching this issue I found that the NHTSA has been investigating this issue for potential recall. My concern is that will lead to complete failure of the system and loss of control of the vehicle which could cause a crash. The smug dealer said that a new steering column would be $3400! will this be the same defective parts or has the system been upgraded after my 2005 was built? I see the problems are with 03 to 05 Z4's.
The contact owns a 2005 BMW Z4. The contact stated that in warmer temperatures, the steering wheel would lock abnormally, then release, followed by a jerking of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the electronic steering column was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact stated that the vehicle was no longer under warranty and was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 42,000 and the current mileage was 66,000.
I have major problems with the steering wheel of my 2005 BMW Z4 3i, purchased as a certified pre-owned car from a BMW dealer. It had about 11k miles on it. Since then I have been experiencing this problem described below. I have not had any accident with it, but this is a complaint that there may me a safety issue with the steering wheel of the car. 1)it keeps pulling to the left, or to the right especially at lowers speeds say below 60 mi/hr. It requires constant adjustments so that I could keep the car aligned, or centered while driving. 2) the car pulls me to the left, or to the right suddenly when the road surface is slightingly uneven, especially in lower speeds. I can never predict which way the car pulls me. It can be very struggling to keep the steering under control when stopping at any red lights because of these sudden jerks in the steering, or pulls in the steering wheel. 3) sometimes, the steering feels like it is stuck, or locked in a way that I feel like I could not control it. This usually happens when the weather is hot, or at higher humidity. 4) I took the car to the dealer two years ago when I still had the warranty, and then they replaced the steering column and alignment was made after the replacement. However, the symptoms did not go away at all. I took the car to another dealer; I was told that it just required an alignment which was already done after the replacement of the steering column. So, there should not be an alignment relate problem. If the only problem was the alignment problem, the car should have pulled either to the left, or to the right, not to the both directions. 5) I believe if any elderly person, or someone with slower reflex, tries to drive this car with such problems may end up having a catastrophic crash. Mainly because, the driver must pay lots of attention to keep the car centered, or the steering under control. Otherwise, at any second you may find yourself somewhere off the road.
The contact owns a 2005 BMW Z4. While driving 45 mph the power steering became stuck in position and as it was forced to move it made the vehicle lunged. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that they would replace the steering column at the contacts expense. There were no related recalls. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure and current mileages were 26,500.
Experienced what appears to be known problem with erratic steering at any speed. . Read more...