Problems with 2004 BMW Z4 STEERING

The car has a dangerous sticky steering problem. very notchy steering, difficult to keep on the road. many complaints have been filed.

Steering sticks and almost cause accident. car is like new and it a shame i cant enjoy car because steering issue with bmw z4 steering. i cant afford the dealer price to fix a car defect.

When the weather gets warm around at least 80's, the steering becomes very sticky. it can be difficult to control in low and high speeds and can definitely cause an accident. this is a known manufacturing defect and the only fix 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. a lot of z4 has these problem it just in different severity. i have contacted bmw several times about this issue. they want me to pay for the replacement when this should have been recalled.

When the weather gets warm say around 80 degrees driving down the road say 45 mph the steering sticks very bad to the point you can kill yourself.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel seized and became very difficult to turn. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 85,000.

Steering was noticed to be "notchy" while driving at highway speeds. seems like steering is caught on something then breaks free. initially thought is was low power steering fluid, but discovered this vehicle has electrical power steering. further testing showed it happens at all speeds. the steering can become difficult to move and over-corrections occur when it breaks free. fortunately no accidents occurred, although it is very possible that it could easily happen.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. while driving 60 mph, the steering wheel seized. the vehicle was unable to be driven when the incident occurred. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the issue. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was 94,000.

I have noticed on warm days the steering becomes sticky as if the power steering is coming on and off. this causes a over controlling of the car and makes it difficult to drive. i felt very unsafe. i took the car to bmw roadshow at memphis and was told the problem was the electric steering unit and will cost $4000 to repair. i researched the internet and was shocked at the number of complaints going back as far as 2009. i called bmw customer service and was told that it was not their problem. someone is going to get hurt if it has not already happened. bmw knows of this problem and has correct it in later models and they know how it fix the issue. it appears this is an age relate issue, not mileage, and these cars,2003-2005 are out of warranty. in my research i see that nhtsa is aware of this problem but has closed the issue. this is a safety issue and this investigation needs to be reopened.

With less than 75000 miles the power steering is completely gone and the dealer says over 5000 dollars to repair.

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 toyotas 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.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. the contact stated that the power steering warning light illuminated and the steering wheel seized. the vehicle was unable to be driven. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 140,352. updated 09/01/15*lj the consumer stated the entire steering column needed to be replaced. updated 10/27/2015*js

My wife took the car for a drive and right in front of our house luckily with no warn the steering electic motor failed. the bmw dealer says the eps is bad but the only way to fix the problem is to replace the whole steering column at a low discounted price of 3750. not sure why bmw can't just replace the defective part. my wife could have been in very bad accident if this event happened on the highway or even on the regular roads.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. while driving at 55 mph, the steering wheel turned in both directions independently. the contact had to constantly maneuver the steering wheel in order to keep the vehicle in position. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the steering servo column needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 27,500.

When driving the vehicle the steering constantly gets stuck on the left side and you have to straighten the car by pulling the wheel firmly to the right causing over correction. you have to constantly fight the steering wheel to keep the vehicle straight. very dangerous and irritating.

Steering sticks normally in a straight line driving situation. one has to apply force to unstick steering.

I purchased a 2004 bmw z4 convertible 2 months ago. for the first month, the car drove perfectly. the last month, the car has become undriveable due to a "sticky steering wheel" and the steering wheel locking (the steering wheel will not move). i have taken it to 2 separate dealerships and they have told me that the steering column needs to be replaced. the car is quite dangerous to drive at the moment and after reading about this issue online, it appears to be an issue in which a factory recall was set to be released.

Steering got sticky in a middle of a 90 degree turn nearly resulting in a crash as power steering motor failed temporarily. we understand this is a common problem for this particular bmw vehicle, especially on hot days. today it was around 85 degrees f. we have owned the car for 5 months and this is the first time this problem occurred, likely because this is the hottest day since the day we bought it in september of last year. we understand that bmw has received almost 50,000 complaints related to this issue and we also understand that nhtsa has seen it fit to close their investigation. we are baffled by this decision as steering problems can be fatal and obviously the defect lies in the manufacturing process and should be corrected by bmw before fatalities start to occur. *tr

Steering becomes tight and sticky ,hard to make it track straight. will not return to center after making a turn. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. the contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 mph, the steering wheel locked without warning. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the technician stated that the steering column should be replaced, however, the repairs should not be considered a permanent fix since the failure occurs during warm weather conditions. the failure recurred on various occasions. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 68,000. the vin was not available.

Vehicle steering wheel locks. driving on highway makes driving very stressful. called bmw and they have no recall on this vehicle. *tr

The steering system (eps) is making the steering very "notchy" "sticking" and makes the car very dangerous to drive. i've read forums that say the problem years are from 2003 - 2005 but bmw will not admit there is a problem therefore no recalls were made. now i can't even sell the car because of this problem

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

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... *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. the contact stated that the steering wheel was unstable while driving. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 125,000.

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. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to shift gears. the vehicle was taken to a dealer. the technician diagnosed that the steering column failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 43,000.

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. *tr

The steering column freezes in position and holding the steering it wheel feels like it's being held by a magnet much like a dc motor feels if you try to rotate it. for example after rounding the bend or taking the corner the steering wheel would stay in position and you have to physically turn the steering wheel back to center it's like it's stuck there by magnetic force. i called my bmw dealership and asked the service advisor about this problem. he had no idea what i was talking about then he asked the service forman and was told it's a well known problem and the only fix is to replace the steering column at $3600-4000. if this is a well known problem then why isn't there a recall. and why isn't bmw taking responsibility for a design flaw.

Car has been having sticky steering problems for awhile now. it has gotten worse this summer . when the weather is above 70 or the longer i drive the worse it gets. problem has gotten so bad that it is not safe to drive any longer. steering wheel seems to have a flat spot in the middle and causes you to over steer when this happens. very dangerous. was told it would be around 3000 dollars to fix?? it is a great car besides that!! to bad it cannot be driven at this time. just sitting in garage. would love to have another one but not at the expense of a new steering column.

Electrically assisted steering is very sluggish when the air temperature is above 80 degrees. 2011 and 2012 models have got the same problem and they have a recall for that issue

The vehicle has a serious steering problem. the steering sticks and requires constant adjustment from the driver to correct while driving. the problem is intermittent and may appear at any time. the time it appeared, i was driving on the highway. the condition did not exist at first but suddenly and without warning the steering was stuck as if the steering had a "detent". the vehicle began to drift out of lane and into the lane next to me. this required me to abruptly apply more force to the steering wheel. eventually the steering broke free and the vehicle over compensated and drifted to the other side lane. i immediately reduced speed to the minimum allowed on the highway and was able to safely get the vehicle back home. i was fortunate that no other vehicles were on either side of me when this occurred, else i would have surely collided with them both. *tr

While driving my car i lost control of the power steering and it felt like my steering locked. i was able to pull over to the side of the road. i turned off the car and waited a bit after checking under the hood to see that i had good power steering fluid and the belts were good. i turned on the car again and still had no power steering. since i was not far from home i carefully drove home fighting my steering all the way. i called my local bmw dealer the following day and they said they were aware of the issue and the repair was extremely costly. i did not realize how aware they were until i further researched the issue on the internet and was totally shocked to see hundreds of complaints concerning the same exact issue. complaints that have been going on for years. i saw reports of multiple accidents. i can not believe that a recall was never issued on this item. it is absolutely mind boggling that such a defect is left to the consumer to pay when it is clearly a manufacturer's defect. does a death have to incur for a recall? aren't preventative measures just as important from the nhtsa to help avoid future accidents and possible injuries? *tr

Steering becomes very "sticky" during warmer weather. this makes the car hard to drive and even harder to sell. this seems to be a very common problem by searching the internet. we don't drive the car because of this.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. while driving approximately 45 mph in warm weather, the steering wheel became sticky and difficult to turn intermittently. the failure recurred on several occasions. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 30,000. the vin was unavailable. updated 09/14/15*lj updated 10/26/2017*cn

Have had the car about 8 months. have driven it 268 miles. took the car to work 5/30/14. it was fine driving in the morning. after sitting in the sun all day, the steering stuck badly on the way home.it feels like you are riding on a rail.have to keep moving steering wheel to keep car going straight. feel resistance in steering. i looked online and found this is a common problem for 2003-2005 z4's. i wish i knew that before i bought the car. it is dangerous. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. while attempting to reverse the vehicle, the steering wheel seized without warning. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the electrical steering column failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown.

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

For about the last five thousand miles, my steering has developed the dangerous steering condition( described by literally hundreds of owners in blogs and various postings-just do a search for "z4 steering problem") that exists in 2003-2005 bmw z4 roadsters. at first, the problem occurred only on very hot days (as described my many others). now, it affects all aspects of driving, making the vehicle very difficult to control. steering requires constant correction from left to right and does not return to center. i have replaced tires twice and had several alignments with no effect. if ever there was a safety issue that would warrant a recall this is it. the dead steering described is most evident at highway speeds (50-70mph)

On warm days, vehicle steering is sticky, hard to turn. feels like lose of power steering. vehicle also pulls either right or left depending on last movement. hard to steer back to center. upon further research, problem has been found to be the steering wheel column, but no action or recall has been taken. it needs to be recalled. *tr

Driving on curvy mountain roads steering sticks requiring extra force to steer resulting in over correction and running off onto shoulder. without a shoulder in the mountains this is a potential serious accident. *tr

The steering becomes "sticky" when the weather is warm. when driving straight it resists turning and once turned tries to stay turned and the car tends to veer unintentionally. the steering will not return to center when the wheel is released and it is difficult to steer smoothly on the freeway and requires constant correction. when it is cold it steers fine and travels down the freeway perfectly with no hands on the steering wheel and corrections can be made with only tiny effort. when it is hot and sticky it takes both hands and a fair amount of effort to steer. this is a design flaw resulting in a safety issue that bmw should fix under warranty regardless of age. *tr

The steering on this vehicle seems to stick at times and you have to jerk it back to center to keep it in line on the road. once it starts, it happens all the time. i am real concerned about the safety of driving since it is hard sometimes to jerk it back in line or straight. this has been happening for many months now and i am very concerned and don't drive it as much now. *tr

As i began to pull out from parking lot onto roadway, the steering wheel suddenly locked up. i managed to back straight down the hill and read about the issue (it was very early in the morning). i turned the car off and restarted. it worked fine. i've since read about this issue on several blogs and have discovered that is a repeating issue. thankfully i wasn't in the middle of rush-hour traffic. *tr

Steering becomes dangerously sloppy and twitchy at speeds over 35mph. correcting the sticky steering causes an over-correction and weaving on the highway making it very difficult to control the vehicle. this is a known problem by thousands of bmw owners, yet nothing seems to be in the works to address. *tr

When turning steering, the steering stacks. not all the time but it got worse recently so that it become very dangerous. *tr

After driving my z4 on a hot afternoon i notice the steering feeling very notchy. you had to put in a lot of force to get the wheel back to where you wanted it. the next morning it was fine. but i have notice any time the cabin temp gets above 88 the problem comes back. it produces a real jerky feeling in the wheel and its very unnerving to drive. *tr

Eps(electric power steering), does not function properly. the steering binds intermittently,and attempts to correct can throw the vehicle into another lane or into a dangerous situation on a curve. *tr

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.

The steering wheel sticks and it's very hard to keep the car centered. i am told it will need a new steering column and this was an issue bmw had for a couple years on these models. *tr

My 2004 bmw z4 steering is choppy and sticks even when driving in a straight line. making normal driving maneuvers to maintain control of the car awkward. note, this car has less than 36000 miles. i took the car to the bmw dealership and without even taking it into the shop to look under the hood, the maintenance crew told me exactly what was wrong. the upper power steering mechanism is faulty, which bmw has a recalled for certain vins but not ours. its pretty clear that this is an across the board bmw problem and such a prestigious automobile manufacturer should not have to be coaxed into doing the right thing. so i go on the web to this site and i find 233 complaints for the same problem in just this year alone. what's it going to take for bmw to do a recall and fix the problem. *tr