Problems with 2004 BMW Z4 STEERING

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. the contact stated that the steering wheel seized without warning. the contact had to wiggle the steering wheel back and forth in order to correct the failure. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was advised that the steering power assist for the steering needed to be replaced. the failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 31,000. updated 12/11/12*lj updated 12/12/12

The steering wheel sometimes sticks while driving. i need to use more force than normal to turn the wheel, and when it does turn it often overshoots causing the car to swerve from my intended direction. many others are experiencing this same problem with the bmw z4's from 2003-2005. this sticky stearing could lead to a major accident. *tt

i have read reports that nhsta has received numerous reports of 2003-2004 bmw z4's with powersteering issues. my 2004 z4 has this issue as well. the steering seems to bind and the severity is increased as speed increases. while driving on the freeway on a recent trip i had to exert a good amount of force to stay out of the other lanes. i am 5'10 - 200 lbs. my concern is that slighter persons may not be able to handle the steering problems. i fear someone might be injured if the issue is not fixed immediately. hopefully a recall can be generated before casualties occour. *tr

Driving the car on a relatively warm day (70 degrees) with top down, the power steering became very stiff and steering the car became difficult. a noise was also heard when trying to steer the car. 20 minutes after this the check tire pressure warning light came on. i stopped at a service station to check tire pressure but it was fine. stopped, started the car several times without any help. next morning, the problem disappeared completely. i manually reset the tire pressure warning light and since then the problem hasn't come back.

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. the contact stated he would have difficulty steering the vehicle while driving at speeds of approximately 55 mph. the vehicle would respond slowly when the steering wheel was turned. the contact also stated the failure recurred more often when the air conditioning unit was being operated. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 39,500 and the current mileage was 39,878. updated 06/06/11 *bf updated 01/24/2012 *ln *tr

The steering mechanism in my car "sticks" when driving. it happens when the car gets warmed up. when i go to work, no problem. when i leave in the afternoon and i am driving home, i have a hard time keeping the car in the lane because the steering wheel seems to "stick." i mean, i am literally having to fight with the car to keep it from going into another lane. tires are new so that is not the problem. plus, i see that this has been a problem with a lot of these cars. i bought the car december, 2010 with 79,442 miles on it. i now have a little over 81,000 miles. i do not drive the car much... mostly weekends, but what a major problem it is to drive and have the car not steer properly. *tr

I own a 2004 bmw z4. while driving the car last evening i noticed the steering wheel felt like it was sticking as i tried to turn the wheel. i t was so bad at one point that i strugled to steer the car around a curve. when it stuck, it caused me to oversteer throwing my car into oncoming traffic. fortunately no cars were coming and a dissaster was avoided. this is not the first time this occured. it appears to be intermittent. the bmw dealer can not find any thing wrong. a source of this problem needs to be determined before people get killed. *tr

Sticky steering when temperature is elevated. when the car is parked in the sun and warms up, the steering wheel becomes sticky leading to an increased effort to move the wheel and makes it easy to overcorrect. *tr

I have a 2004 bmw z4 with 67,517 miles. ever since i have owned it, it has had a "twitchy" feel to the steering, which i have been told is due to electric steering in this vehicle. however, the problem has become more pronounced lately. any unevenness in the surface of the road will cause the tires to jerk to one side or the other, requiring constant steering adjustments to keep the car going where you want it to. the only way it will track in a straight line is on a perfectly smooth road. i have tried jacking up the car and flexing the tires back and forth manually to see if there is any looseness in the steering, but i haven't found any. i'm afraid that one day i will find myself on a really rough road and be unable to control the car. i have noted that lots of other z4 owners have reported steering problems, so bmw needs to issue a recall to address it. *tr

I just recently purchased a 2004 bmw z4. i noticed that while driving on the highway that the steering is malfunctioning. while traveling in a straight path, the steering gets "stuck" and you need to jerk the steering wheel to make a turn to the right or left, or even to change lanes. this is a very dangerous action and could cause a serious accident. i have notified bmw north america and indy wholesale direct, the dealer that i purchased this car from. neither one seems to want to help in this situation and both have ignored my complaints. this is the second complaint i have filed with the nhtsa. i did not get a response from my original complaint a couple of weeks ago. *tr

A year or so ago i noticed the steering on my bmw z4 would get "notchy" and feel "sticky" at the end of the day. eventually i was able to recognize the problem would occur when parked outside in direct sunlight. i found it odd this would be brought on by time in the sun, but after some research online discovered many people with similar complaints. unfortunately it appeared experiences with bmw service varied, and since my car was out of warranty a "fix" would be a replacement of the steering column at the tune of 3-4 thousand dollars. when i heard this issue was under investigation i decided to wait for a decision as it seemed likely such issues with steering would be addressed. i have followed the case closely and have been reading bmw's responses to nhtsa. several of their arguments against addressing this are especially disturbing. bmw appears to recognize the issue, but claims the effect is "minor". i am not an expert and cannot say whether it presents risk, but as a driver i can tell you any steering effects are disturbing and distracting. bmw claims the effect only occurs during specific/limited conditions - high ambient temperatures and direct sunlight. what really upsets me about this statement is that it's a convertible sports car marketed for these conditions, so while they may be "specific and limited", they are primary conditions for this car. finally, bmw claims this is not an issue of safety, but one of quality. from my perspective, there are some subsystems where quality should not be compromised, and steering should be considered one of these. i do believe this is a safety issue, and anxiously await nhtsa findings in hopes i can have this safety issue addressed by bmw. i sincerely hope this issue is not swept under the rug and the manufacturer takes responsibility for the quality and safety of their automobiles. *tr

When car sits out in the hot sun 100 degrees or better for an extended period of time, is difficult. steering wheel stays in a tuning position and does not return to center, it sticks in whatever turn you put it in. you must manually force the steering wheel back to center. just today 10/26/2010 all of the warning lights came on and power steering completely failed while driving and the car would not change gears. *tr

The steering wheel stuck in one position and needed unusual effort to continue to steer the car in the proper direction. this steering problem occurs when the weather is warm and sunny and the car is parked outside. this is an ongoing problem. i understand that this condition is peculiar to bmw z4's manufactured and sold between 2003 and 2005. obviously bmw rectified the problem on the 2006 models. the steering is electric steering. my problem is serious,i will not allow my wife to drive this car. summer is upon us and problem will again manifest itself because of summer temps. bmw knows of this malfunction but stone walls efforts to get this dangerous condition corrected. thank you *tr

2004 bmw z4 steering system fails to perform properly and is unsafe when the temperature is somewhere above 80 degrees (f). on all warm days, the steering becomes unsafe - heavy, and does not perform properly - it becomes hard for the driver to control and "notchy" to steer. *tr

2004 bmw z4 steering issue. while driving my z4 over the past month i have had incidents of my steering locking to the left or right. i never know when the time will come and it is very scary. my wife had happen to her yesterday and almost lost control. i brought it to the dealer today and they told me they could not recreate the issue but would replace the steering column for $3000,00. after some research i noticed many complaints and feel a recall should occur because this is safety issue. *tr

I have experienced the same problems described in your investigation pe10020. on numerous occasions the steering wheel of my 2004 z4, sticks and i am required to exert excessive pressure to correct it or to turn the wheel. speed does not seem to be a factor, it happens at both slow and faster speeds, but it is more pronouced at higher speeds because the car travels much further before i can correct the problem. this only happens in the summer when it is very hot in tallahassee, florida. this has been occurring for the past two summers. i saw the investigation on your website and decided to wait until there was a recall before taking it to the dealer. however, summer is approaching again, so i thought i would add my complaint to the others in hopes of expediting a re-call. this can be a dangerous condition and if it recurs when the weather gets hotter, i will have to get it repaired, recall or not. *tr

2004 bmw z4, vin:[xxx], 63000 miles the bmw is having a severe steering problem on hot summer days. traveling at 70mph on the highway the car can be unsafe to drive. this problem is related to an electric steering. the steering is supposed too tighten some depending on speed and driving conditions. in many cases that i have found in research it gets to tight and makes it difficult to make the minimum of steering corrections. in my case it can make the car move into another lane on the highway from a small correction. i have been told there are similar problems in the mini cooper, z4, and 3 series bmw's. i have taken the car to a bmw dealer (sunbelt motors, inc., meridian, ms) for diagnosis. their solution is to replace the steering column in the car at a cost of $2600.00 (parts only) plus labor. i contacted bmw and open a case study with them regarding this matter. the car is out of warranty and they do not feel any responsibility to repair or offer any assistance with the repair. all it takes is a quick google search for: bmw z4 steering problems to see how many people have been affected by this. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Power steering failure at highway speeds and high temperatures. *tr

Steering sticks when it's hot or sitting in traffic. need to apply effort to move the wheel which is a concern at highway speeds due to possible oversteer. *tr

On warmer days (80+ f), my 2004 bmw z4 steering will stick in one position while driving, requiring excessive force to unstick. this is especially noticeable at higher speeds (45+ mph) where smaller movements are required, and the tendency is to over correct when the sticks occur. *tr

I have a bmw z4 that has steering issues. the car is hardly ever driven and only has 24k miles. the dealer is telling me that i need a new power steering column at approx. $3500. how can that be that bad in what i thought was supposed to be a fine engineered car? *tr

On hot days the steering will catch and require unusually higher force to steer right or left. later at night when the car is cooler the steering will be normal. *tr

2004 bmw z4 with loss of power assisted steering. dealer made front end alignment and front tires were replaced. old parts to front end were not given back. *tr

I have 2004 z4 bmw the steering is sticky it feels like that is binding and have to use extra effort to control car. at times i have to jerk it back into line. at times it feels like im fighting with it . *tr

While driving on the highway at about 60 mph eps light came on and the car lost it's power steering. i got off the highway parked the car, turned the engine off and back on and eps light went off. after a couple of days the eps light started to turn on everyday, specially in the afternoon. took the car to a bmw dealer and they said it was just a loose cable. the day after i got my car from the dealer and nothing had changed. took it back and they said they had to replace the whole upper section of the steering column quoting me a total of repair costs of $3000.00 after discounts. could not afford the repair costs at that moment and car hasn't been repaired till this day. *tr

While driving on the freeway, it became difficult to make small adjustments to the steering wheel. once this abnormally high resistance was overcome, the intended adjustment would become excessive and require immediate correction. this correction would in turn be excessive, resulting in zigzagging while simply trying to maintain a straight line. also, the steering wheel would remain in its rotated position upon release when exiting a turn, rather than naturally returning to center, thus requiring deliberate effort to bring the car straight again. this behavior is unnerving under ordinary conditions and could be quite dangerous, particularly in situations involving skids or emergency manoeuvers. soon after the initiation of the 2010 nhtsa investigation into this issue, i brought the car to a local bmw dealer who claimed to know nothing about this prevalent issue and who was reportedly unable to replicate the issue. since then i figured out it can replicated simply by setting the heater to full blast and leaving the windows rolled up for 20-30 minutes to allow the heat to soak into the electric-assist steering column: this issue occurs if the steering column gets warm by any means: park in direct sun on a hot day, park in shade on a very hot day, run the heater on high for a while, etc. i took the car to a different bmw dealer on a moderate day in march 2013 and replicated it using the heater while their service foreman drove it; he was astonished by its perverse handling characteristics and immediately made the diagnosis: faulty steering column requiring complete replacement. bmw north america has declined to cover any of the cost to resolve this factory defec because the 4yr/50k mi warranty is expired. my z4 still has under 40,000 miles and it is abundantly clear that this issue is not caused by "wear and tear". *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. the contact stated that the steering wheel would become extremely stiff when driving in very hot temperatures. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer or a mechanic for a diagnosis of the failure. the manufacturer advised having a diagnostic test performed on the vehicle at the contact's expense. no further assistance was offered. the failure was approximately 44,200 and the current mileage was approximately 44,300.

Power steering on car is very stiff in the center causing great difficulty in turning, and then safely turning / keeping the car in the proper lane. this is a known issue by bmw on these cars, and i believe an investigation leading to a recall is under way. i am afraid to allow my 22 year old daughter to drive this car. it seems to be much worse in high temperature conditions. *tr

Steering becomes sticky in hot weather. the steering wheel feels notchy and does not respond immediately when turned - feels like it is stuck in center position. aggressive movement restores response but condition remains present. situation noticed at highway speeds in 90 deg. weather. *tr

2004 bmw z4-sticky steering-power steering sticks, seams to be worse in hotter weather, causes you to overcorrect when driving and this happens, i can see where this can be very dangerous if you are not really paying attention. or could cause total loss of control given the right circumstances. *tr

When temperature is hot outside the electric steering in my bmw z becomes extremely tight. any attempts tp correct the steering results in a jerky movement the car is very difficult to maneuver at any speed. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 bmw z4. while the contact was driving approximately 55 mph, the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn. the failure occurred when traveling the speed rate of 45 mph and higher. the contact would not drive on the highway due to the steering failure. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. the failure was contributed to the power steering and steering column. the parts estimated cost was $3,000. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the failure mileage was 39,000.

In hot weather, steering gets sticky and car becomes more difficult to control. had repaired once but problem continues. vehicle has less than 10,000 miles. *tr

2004 bmw z4 - steering problem: i just recently moved to south florida from denver and now have notchy/sticky steering when driving at highway speeds (60 mph) when it is warm (70 degrees). making small corrections requires a large input causing the car to go outside of it's lane. have had several very close calls. took the car to dealer, bmw south in south miami and they want to replace the steering column for $3,200. this problem is a matter of public safety and soon a driver or the public will be hurt or killed. bmw needs to stand behind their product and make the steering safe or the nhtsa needs to direct them to recall the cars to fix this problem. *tr

My complaint is that the steering wheel feels like it binds when turning and also feels notchy and will not return to center when turn is completed. mostly when outdoor temp is warmer than 80 degrees. *tr

Steering sticks on hot days or cool days after sitting in traffic. requires extra effort to move the wheel which then breaks "free" and tends to over react causing lane retention issues at highway speeds. *tr

1. the vehicle was parked all day outdoors on a hot sunny july day in temecula, ca. while driving it home on i15 at approximately 70 mph, the steering wheel became much more difficult to turn and would not stay on center, making it challenging to simply stay within my lane. this lasted for 10-15 minutes, then the steering returned to normal. fortunately, this section of freeway is relatively straight and the traffic happened to be moderate. 2. this failure has occurred only once in the 6 weeks i have owned the vehicle. 3. i have not yet taken steps to correct the failure. however, i have searched online for steering issues with this year, make and model and learned that many other owners have experienced exactly the same issue. those who have attempted to have the issue corrected by their local dealership say the repair reportedly involves replacing the entire steering column at a cost of nearly $4000. my vehicle has under 20,000 miles but is beyond the 48 month warranty period. having read recently in the newspaper that nhtsa is investigating power steering issues in 2003-2005 bmw z4's, i am trying to find out if there is a known solution to this problem that is less costly or that is covered by the manufacturer before committing to a $4000 repair on a low-mileage used vehicle that i only recently purchased. *tr

The steering wheel "sticks" at various and unpredictable times. it will stick and resist going into a curve, then hold the car in the curve and need to be unstuck to bring the car out of the curve. the sticking is not exaggerated or impossible to correct, but some small amount of pressure is required to unstick the wheel from its directional course. because it happens at unpredictable times it is unsettling and feels very unsafe on curves or when making lane changes. i've brought the problem to the attention of the bmw dealership on several occasions but they claimed they couldn't duplicate the problem on several visits. on the most recent visit the dealership conceded the faulty steering column, but argues that the age of the vehicle makes it ineligible for warranty coverage. i believe that faulty steering columns are a documented problem on z4 roadsters from 2003 - 2005. the car currently has 22,500 miles on it. classifying the problem as resulting from age or wear is irresponsible. the steering column was designed or manufactured with this fault, and bmw should correct the problem at its expense before needing to record accidents or injuries. *js

I have a 2004 z4 that i purchased last august used. i rarely drove the car and kept it mainly for leisure until this past july. this july, on the drive from warner robins, ga to hilton head, sc, i noticed the steering would stick and i had to use force to get it back aligned with the road. since that time each day when i leave work after the car has been parked all day in the heat it does the same thing. its almost as if the car is tracking. normally my speed does not exceed 40 mph. i have had the tires checked, they are new run flat tires, no problem, i have had it aligned and i am still having problems with steering when temperatures exceed 85 degrees. it does not do this in the morning when the temperature is below 80. it is sometimes so hard to steer that it creates a hazard as i have to fight to correct and than it pulls radically to the right to overcorrect. this has at times put me in a very hazardous and dangerous condition with traffic. *tr

Steering is sometimes "sticky" -- when the steering wheel is turned from its current static position, higher than normal resistance to turning is felt. once the initial resistance is overcome, the resistance lessens, resulting in a tendency to turn the wheel further than was intended. this makes it difficult to smoothly steer the car on its intended path and results in the car wandering from side to side. the problem is intermittent and seems to happen only in hot weather. no repairs have been implemented yet to the vehicle (i have only recently acquired it). *tr

I own a 2004 bmw z4. i have noticed in the past that the steering "sticks" sometimes on the highway....typical light-touch attempts at straightening out my path don't do anything, the wheel doesn't turn. if i put more pressure than usual into the turn, the car "snaps back" and turns, but turns too far due to all the pressure i'd put on it. it's a real road hazard. i just read in the newspaper about how this is a common problem with them and is being looked into, so i would like to register my official "me too". *tr

Steering on my 2004 bmw z4 3.0i sticks. *tr

2004 bmw z4 sticky steering when it's hot out. something with the power steering or some other steering component makes it so that the steering wheel takes extra force to initiate a change in the position of the wheel. the effect is most noticeable at speeds 35mph or higher, it's most pronounced at highway speeds where minor corrections are important and should not take much force. this could easily result in too much steering force being used in the wrong situation. *tr

My steering becomes difficult to control at highway speeds. seems to happen only on the freeway. *tr

Steering wheel "sticks/catches" both to left and right of top center. problem is only evident when temperatures are above 80f and at speeds above 40 mph. have experienced this problem since buying the car over two years ago but it is sporadic. have taken it to the dealer several times but they were not able to duplicate the issue until this week. dealer was finally able to experience the problem and will replace the entire steering column (scheduled for week of 7/12/2010). bmw will pick up cost of parts but i must pay for labor. *tr

I have a 2004 bmw z4 3.0. when driving on a hot day the steering seems to "stick" in turns making it difficult to control. the car has approx 20000 miles on it. *tr

If my car vehicle has been sitting in the sun for an extended period of time, increased force is required to turn the steering wheel. there doesn't appear to be any problems at lower temperatures or after the car has been parked in the garage overnight. the steering wheel sticks/binds or locks up, and requires a lot of effort to move which results in overcorrecting which produces severe over or under-steer. the problem is most noticeable at speeds over 50mph. *tr

In warm weather my bmw z4 steering sticks. you have to really pull the wheel to get it to "unlock." i've almost smashed into several people in adjacent lanes because of this. a recall needs to be issued. *tr

The steering on my wife's 2004 bmw z4 becomes "sticky" in hot weather making it somewhat hard to control. *tr

My 2004 bmw z4 has 33,000 miles on it. within the last 1,000 miles it has developed a problem with sticky or ratchet-like steering which has caused me to oversteer at times. it is worse when the weather is hot. i am becoming afraid to drive it. apparently this is a common flaw. bmw needs to act. thank you! *tr