Steering Is Tight Problems of BMW Z4 - part 1

The steering is hard to control while driving. Almost locking up or very sticky sensation to it. Happens very regularly.

See all problems of the 2004 BMW Z4 🔎.

After starting car, eps light comes on and steering is very tight, near impossible to turn or maneuver in parking lots, etc.

When the car is warmed up the steering is sticky and prevents you from steering correctly and/or over-correct your steering. Multiple mechanics have looked at this and the factory lube used to grease the steering column components is inadequate. However, the only way to fix it is to replace the entire steering column ($4-5k for parts and labor). The steering column could fail at any time and cause the car to lose steering capabilities, very dangerous, especially at highway speeds. Apparently BMW is aware of the issue and has recalled 2006-2008 model years but not 2003-2005.

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.

See all problems of the 2003 BMW Z4 🔎.

As I am driving this car my steering is sticking and jerking as I turn from left to right and back again. It is hard to turn and not smooth as it used to be. This problem occurs at high speed, low speed and on all road surfaces. I changed the tires hoping that that would address the problem, however it did not help. It should not operate this way and it seems unsafe to drive. I see that many owners have complained about this ongoing safety problem, please advise.

Bought this car in may 2016 with 58000 miles. Almost 2 yrs later and less then 5000 more miles, steering is sticky! we bought an extra warranty, so we took it to an authorized BMW mechanic. He told us that the steering column is bad. And since it seems to be a common problem the warranty won't cover it. They want $4000. 00 to repair it. Hundreds of complaints on this problem and BMW won't issue a recall!.

Takata recall. . . . . Steering notches and locks. . . . Unsafe to drive. . . . When car is is in warm weather the steering is very sticky.

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.

Vehicle steering is sticky, in center position making minor correction have to force the correction causing over correction. Driver then has to make another corrections again to bring the car back from the original over correction. This is potentially hazardous. In looking this up on google found that this is a problem for my vehicle year and BMW is aware of the issue, but no recall has been made. It is prevalent in warm weather.

See all problems of the 2005 BMW Z4 🔎.

2005 BMW Z4 steering sticks while driving at low or high speed. When parked with steering unlocked you can rotate the steering wheel and feel there is a sticking issue that you have to forcibly push the wheel too far to get it to unstick. This is very scary when driving! consumers should not have to pay to fix this since many owners have this problem. Dealerships want $3500 to fix the issue. I drive a lot for work, going into a turn on the highway at high speeds and your steering it stuck is very dangerous. This happens to me everytime I drive the car. I searched the internet and there are thousands of threads from everyone experiencing the same problem. I only drive this car in the summer so I cannot say if the problem is worse in warm weather. All I can truly say is this happens everytime I drive the car. Whether short trip to store at low city speeds or very high speeds on the highway. Why is the NHTSA ignoring this? steering not working is a huge safety defect! this is not an intermittent problem, it is constant and random so no way to prepare before it happens at 80 mph or 35 mph through city streets with pedestrians and cars everywhere. This has been an issue for as long as I've owned the car and every year it gets worse.

The vehicle has 62,000 miles. The steering is very sticky. It seems to "notch" making it harder to move the wheel. This problem is worse in warmer temperatures.

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.

Just purchased a used BMW Z4 and realize that the steering is sticky. In researching this problem found that this had been a a safety issue that resulted in a recall. My car was manufactured in 2012 when there was a safety recall on a steering issue. While my car is a 2013 it was manufactured as noted during the time of the steering recall. It appears that my problem may not be just a coincident. The sticky steering occurs whenever the speed is above 30 mph and feels as if the steering is trying to stay in a direction contrary to the direction in which I'm trying to steer.

See all problems of the 2013 BMW Z4 🔎.

In warm weather the steering on my BMW Z4 is sticky and unresponsive at highway speeds. The steering becomes notchy and I am force to "unstick" the steering wheel by jerking the steering wheel to make minor lane corrections, this over steers the vehicle and I am then forced to unstick the wheel again and jerk the wheel in the opposite direction. This results in dangerously weaving through the lane close to oncoming and passing traffic. The vehicle is dangerous to drive in conditions warmer than 75 degrees fahrenheit.

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.

The steering is very sticky and binds up frequently, especially in warm weather. It can be difficult to control in low and high speeds and could put you in another lane and could cause an accident. This is a known manufacturing defect and the only resolution is to change the whole steering column in which BMW does not want to pay for. This is a highway safely issue and should be fixed by doing a recall. Most Z4s have this problem. I have contacted BMW about this issue. They want me to pay for the replacement when this should have been recalled.

The steering is very sticky, scary when temperatures are warm. It has scared me to the point where I will not let my wife drive the vehicle when its above 70 degrees outside. The steering wheel has a mind of its own. Any speed from 10 to 70 mph.

See all problems of the 2006 BMW Z4 🔎.

Steering is sticky and notchy at hidhway speeds. Unnoticeable at low speeds, but at highway speeds, it hard to keep the car in your lane. Sticks,then over turns bait , causing an over correction to return. Turning feel no hay as if it was clicking from one notch to another. I don't feel safe driving this car on the highway. The dealer has diagnosed this to be the steering column, which needs to be replace at the cost of $4600. 00. I feel this is a very dangerous situation which needs to be addressed.

The contact owns a 2005 BMW Z4. The contact stated that the steering wheel was extremely tight. In warmer temperatures, the steering wheel veered to the right or left independently. The contact had to apply force to correct the failure each time it occurred. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA action number: pe10020 (steering). The vehicle was not inspected and diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided no permanent remedy or recommendation to correct the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.

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 ?.

While driving steering is hard to turn lots of resistance then moves and is loose . This comes and goes however seams to get worse with higher temperature . Other times it's just loose other times fine. Many examples if you look it up, most call it sticky steering. Car has had front end alignment checked several times including checking for wear { have life time alignment} . No codes. As I said this is a BMW problem that they have chosen to ignore. Fun car to drive but I'm scared to drive it. I can see where this problem could easily cause you to end up in an accident. Defiantly not an ultimate driving machine now.

I being having problems with the steering is sticking while driving over 35 miles and specially in the evening in hot days. I always have to hold the wheel with two hands because the steering sticks and is harder to turn and it becomes very dangerous. I went to the mechanic and he recommend to replace the steering: electric power assist system. We tried to ordered via BMW and we were told that is back order and it may take a month or more to get it because many similar cars are having the same problem. It that is the case why there is not a recall?.

Steering response was sticking while driving. Difficult to drive in a straight line down the road.

The steering has become sticky or notchy and over time has gotten worse. It is extremely dangerous, and as a result I was forced to either sell the car on to an unsuspecting buyer, or fix it. I chose the later as I didn't want to put somebody else's family in danger. The car was not drivable in heat over 80 degree's as the steering was tight, and would stick in position causing excess force to move it, and cause severe oversteer situations. After having to complain to BMW for weeks, they directed me to have it diagnosed (for $180) and then decided they would pay half of the cost to repair their engineering issue. While I found their willingness to admit a mistake and cover half the repair a step in the right direction, I just don't think its enough. A new steering column was quoted at $3750, and I paid almost $1800 plus diagnostics fees. I wasn't going to bother with this complaint, as the NHTSA has shown it is not interested in holding BMW accountable for this wide spread issue (unlike Toyota’s sticky gas pedals), but an incident on the freeway this week changed my mind. I was traveling in the left lane crossing a major river, and the car in front of me suddenly swerved toward the guard barrier. I had milliseconds to react to the steel garbage can set in the center of the left lane, with a 18 wheeler to my right. I swerved as the car in front of me did, toward the guard barrier into the breakdown lane and safely negotiated the can. Thank god I had the steering fixed, as it stuck worse turning right, and I am certain my life would have ended on the bridge as I would have oversteered, lost control, and went under the 18 wheeler. Fix this issue before its too late for us citizens who are stuck riding in, and around these vehicles. I certainly hope if you do, people who have been forced to pay for BMW's mistakes have an opportunity to be reimbursed.

On a warm day steering is sticky, needs a lot of effort and car feels unsafe to drive.

Steering is sticky, meaning extra energy is needed to steer the car at speeds above 35 mph. The vehicle will not track down the high way in a normal manner. . .

The vehicle steering developed a sticky area that was very hard to get past. The steering was very hard to turn to avoid an accident. It continued and I slowed so another accident does not occur. The problem has continued at low speeds ,but not as bad. I just got the car and was driving home.

The steering has a hesitation. I have noticed it this summer around town, thinking the steering is just very tight since it is a sports car. BMW did some rebuilding of the front end last fall and there was no issue in the steering at that time. On 9/06/14 I realized at highway speed I was pushing hard occasionally in a curve to activate the steering. BMW gave the diagnosis on 9/24/14 that the steering column/electric motor r&r program eps (steering unit) -all, for an estimated fee of 3551. 63. So BMW tells me they are sorry this has happened to my car and they offer me no assistance through the BMW company. I am not ready to pay this expense at this point. If the problem gets worse or to the point I fear for my safety, then I will have a repair made, at least at this point, I know I need to be prepared for hard steering on occasion.

Just purchased the car 2 weeks ago and I live in texas. The car drives fine in the morning but after it sits in the sun all day long and you drive it the steering is sticky, meaning that it wants to turn right without cause and then jumps back to the neutral position.

Steering is very sticky and hard to steer in warm weather.

First time was on the interstate approximately 65mph. The steering wheel felt like it had tight spots requiring the need for both hands on the wheel. The car seemed to wander left and right and when corrected it was insensitive. It felt like a goose neck bearing that had been over tightened on a bicycle, it had a tight feel, yet it was only in the center position. When making lane changes it felt normal, back to center the feel returned as before. It happened again yesterday on a state highway. The car has the sport mode and in both occurrences it was in sport. I have 60 years of driving experience and many cars have been high performance and sport vehicles. This is a dangerous condition because it is intermittent and requires both hands on the wheel to counter.

Car is very dangerous to drive when car is warm and driven at highway speed. The car acts as if the steering is sticking or locking up> you have to pull on the steering wheel hard to left or right to get the wheels to turn. You must be very care and keep your mind on what you are doing at all times or you could be in crash.

Steering was sticking and feeling funny. Seemed to take more force to turn the wheel. It felt magnetic in the center or ribbed like. Then it would suddenly go when turning. Had to be very careful. After doing research I find that the BMW Z4's have had problems with steering columns in the 2003, 2004, 2005 and some 2006 year cars. Has to do with the metal worm gear clearance in the nylon cog gear being a poor design. On hot days the clearance goes to zero making the gears to tight. Also nylon absorbs moisture after a while which would cause the nylon gear to increase in size decreasing the clearance even more. I just purchased this car and now am somewhat afraid to drive it or let my family drive it. BMW has replaced many of these. I hope mine can be replaced as right now I'm not sure what my recourse may be.

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.