This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The steering binds making it very difficult to make minor corrections to keep the vehicle on course and requiring extra effort to initiate a turn. When the "bind" releases, over-correction occurs, causing the vehicle to swerve. This is my wife's car, and being a rather petite woman, the problem pose an increased safety hazard for her. I first noticed this problem in August, 2010, while on a long highway drive. The car has not been driven over the winter. When I took it out on April 27, 2011, it was a very warm day and the problem seemed worse than I remembered. At one point I swerved into an opposite lane; fortunately there was no oncoming traffic.
The contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. While the vehicle was being serviced by an authorized dealer for routine maintenance, the contact was advised that the air bag warning light would illuminate sporadically. The vehicle was not repaired for the failure nor was a diagnostic performed. The failure recurred sporadically for approximately one year. Later, while driving approximately 45 mph, the steering wheel became stuck and difficult to turn. The failure was intermittent and the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 19,881 and the approximate current mileage was 22,000.
2003 BMW Z4 steering issues, while on the highway I expereience issues with the steering locking up and intensity to change the wheel is greater, resulting in oversteering when it 'breaks free'. dangerous.
Driving in a 70 degreee temperature on the highway, the steering will tend to have a sticky feel to it and tend to push to the right. When you pull back you feel a clicking sensation from the steering wheel. And the cycle start again. The dealer is saying that it is the run flat tires, but I replaed it with a non- run flat tire - same steering issues. They reboot the computer to get rid of this issue, but it is still here. Very nervous to drive the car on the highway. The issue seems more apparent when it is warm.
- Elk Grove, CA, USA
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Partial loss of steering while driving the interstate. Vehicle started to cross lanes and steering would not lock into center when corrected. Thankful that I am an experienced driver. If my daughter would have been driving she would have over corrected and crashed.
Power steering column failed in 2003 BMW Z4 3.0I with less than 45,000 miles. Best way to describe the steering was that it became magnetic and twitchy. This would usually happen after driving the car for a period of time at highway speeds. I first experienced this driving back from orlando, fl to jacksonville, fl on I-95. BMW dealer coped the part ($3,000) but made me pay for labor ($600). I was not happy as I truly felt that this was a safety issue. I pushed, but was told that was their best offer so I took it. Car was out of factory BMW warranty.
While driving my 2003 Z4 at moderate (above 45mph) and higher speeds the car becomes difficult to steer in a straight line down the road. This does not appear to happen on perfectly smooth roads. This appears in two ways. On bumpy roads, the car will suddenly jerk to either the left or the right and require aggressive corrections to the steering wheel to keep the car from veering out of it's lane. This sudden jerking to the left or the right occurs without warning, so corrections to the steering wheel to keep the car in its lane can not be made until the car has actually jerked one way or the other. On numerous occasions the car has crossed the center line into the oncoming lane or onto the shoulder of the road before I could react. Driving the car at highway speeds (65-70mph) takes constant vigilance and requires slowing down to speeds far below the speed limit (45-50mph) on the roughest of pavement to make me feel I can keep the car under control and in my lane. The second way this car is difficult to steer is when there are rutes worn in the road from heavy traffic. (most highways) when attempting to change lanes, the car will not move to the left or right as input is given to the steering wheel. As more input is given, the car will suddenly jump in the direction of steering input, requiring input in the opposite direction to keep the car from moving over to far and crossing into a lane not intended. This difficulty in steering is detectable when changing lanes is started and the car does not react to the initial steering input. With practice, I have been able to develop the skill to time my corrective input to the steering as the car completes its lane change. Even with my getting used to this condition, lane changes are not smooth, but jerky maneuvers instead. This car takes an extra ordinarily high level of skill and alertness to drive safely at moderate to highway speeds and seems outright dangerous to anyone unaware of this condition.
The steering mechanism often becomes sticky and jerky, making the car less predictable to drive. It occurs most often with the temperature above 80 degrees F. this condition has occurred intermittently over the last 3 years. The following information regarding this issue was found on a BMW site: NHTSA called me today! they are investigating...BMW has advised them it is due to expansion of a gear in the steering column due to heat. They know about the problem and corrected it in late 2006 models. Not treating this as a serious issue however have repaired "under warranty" those still under warranty and not repairing others with the $2-3,000 repair. NHTSA says probably not going to be successful based on findings to date. There have not been that many complaints to them. This issue is not driver or wear related and should be covered by the manufacturer. To force the car owners to pay retail for parts and labor to fix a design flaw that is dangerous is wrong.
I own a 2003 BMW Z4 3.0. the steering mechanism often becomes sticky and jerky, making the car less predictable to drive. It occurs most often with the temperature above 80 degrees F. this condition has occurred intermittently over the last 3 years.
The contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle would pull to the left and the vehicle was difficult to turn. The failure was intermittent. The vehicle had not been inspected by the dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000. Updated 02/03/11 updated 03/17/11
I own a 2003 BMW Z4 with 27K miles. Recently the steering has become sticky and difficult to operate. The dealer states that the vehicle needs a new steering column costing $3300. This is a safety issue and should be the responsibility of the manufacture.
If car is parked outside in the sun and it gets hot (and until you drive it and have the A/C on long enough to cool off the car) the steering sticks. It makes steering jerkey and hard to handle. It does this every time it gets hot.
The steering on a 2003 BMW Z4 2.5I will "stick" and must be manually forced to allow steering to continue. The first time this happened I nearly drove into a wall because I thought I just needed more force to turn the wheel - however once the wheel is no longer in the "sticking spot" steering is normal, which causes oversteer and accident potential.
BMW Z4 after driving for approximately 10 minutes the electronic power steering icon illuminates on dashboard and you lose your power steering there after the problem is intermittent determined by speed. Have contacted two dealers in the boston area and they state never heard of this problem, went on bimmerpost and googled the problem and find it on your website. Car is virtually undriveable as you literally lose power steering control.
The contact owns a 2003 BMW Z4. The contact stated that while driving in hot weather, the steering wheel was difficult to center, making it difficult to drive. The failure is more noticeable while driving at 70mph and higher. While driving in cooler weather the failure did not occur. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were 54,527.
2003 Z-4 BMW electronic power steering (eps) failed during motor vehicle operation while performing a right turn traveling at approximately 15 to 20 miles per hour. The driver avoided collision with other motor vehicles making the turn at the same time, stationary obstacles (telephone pole, street signs, curbs), and pedestrians on the sidewalk by gaining control through manual effort. The entire steering column must be replaced by a BMW authorized repair center at a cost exceeding $3700 due to the proprietary security coding for theft prevention. Used units are not acceptable once they have been coded to a specific vehicle.
My 2003 BMW Z4 should have initially been recalled for defective steering. From the first day I had it, the steering would periodically act up and made the car dangerous to drive. When I brought it in to be fixed I was charged $3001.31 to align the wheels, change the steering rack, replace a tire, two wheels, and some suspension components, and then another $150 alignment. (perhaps some of these components actually needed replacement, but I have my doubts.) you know what that didn't fix the steering which I finally traced to acting up on hot days. And the car drove exactly the same as it did before the "repairs." After doing some on-line research I discovered that others had this problem and that BMW had a solution all along. But was my car recalled and fixed" no. I found the actual part number of the new steering column and I had to insist on a free repair even though it was out of warranty. That fixed it fine, but why did I have to go through all this and spend $3001.31 when BMW knew there was a problem in the 2003 model and redesigned the steering column for the subsequent model years" my initial complain was on 08/18/06 at 23023 miles and my subsequent complaint was on 04/28/08 at 28274 miles. Links to similar complaints: www.leftlanenews.com/NHTSA-probes-BMW-Z4-mazda3-over-steering-issues.htmlbimmer.roadfly.com/BMW/forums/E85/8909755-1.htmlbmwcca.org/forum/archive/index.php/T-152.html.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Stoughton, MA, USA