Problems with 2005 BMW Z4 STEERING

Steering wheel gets stacked while driving. have to be extremely cautious, and even then at times steering can respond in a very unorthodox way. definitely dangerous, as se too many times car started to shift to either left or right ignoring my intend. if i crash, let this post be evidence that authorities were notified. i understand that this is an issue going way back and makes were never forced to correct this problem. thank you

Steering wheel feels jerky when turned left or right and reaches a point where added force is needed to turn the wheel resulting in sudden moves of the car to the left or right respectively. ambient temperature appears to affect when this happens, it was 94f today and car was parked in the sun for about five hours. condition is life threatening and will change how often i will drive this vehicle. this problem is well documented in online forums but i have ot found a recall notice for it yet. my vehicle shows no outstanding recalls but i cannot verify if a recall has been issued for this particular problem and if my vehicle was taken in to address it.

When driving, the car steering sticks causing me to cross into oncoming traffic. one day this will cause an accident.

My 2005 bmw z4 steering seems to drift from side to side of the road and is very difficult to keep in the lane. when you adjust for this ( which is constant) the steer wheel fights you and it seems to be stuck, then breaks lose. then you go to the other side of the lane. it's worse at higher speeds and i believe this is dangerous due to constant attention required to keep the car tracking down road. in turns, the steering wheel does not return to a center position and it is difficult to get it to return to center position. this is constant on city streets and highways. i have have the car align by bmw and the tire rotated with no change. i believe there is something seriously wrong with the steering system.

This bmw z4 has 26,000 miles and has faulty steering. the steering wheel will bind up. this leads to forcing the wheel to overcome the resistance. the result is an over correction causing erratic steering. this condition is temperature related and is made worse when hot. it is present at all times...while turning or driving or straight ahead. any loss of steering is a safety issue of importance. this is known issue with 2003 - 2005 bmw z4's.

Have had the car for several years and have noticed a steering issue that seems to be getting worse. i researched this on multiple forums and it appears that there are numerous examples of similar problems. most relate to issues in hot tempatures, mine is more related to speed. problem was very noticable last evening at 70 degrees. here are the symptoms... at low speeds (under 20mph) steering is very light and smooth, no issues at all. as speed increases, the steering gets heavier (as it should) but develops a "detent" at straight center. the faster the speed, the more effort needed to overcome the detent resistance, to the point that it becomes easy to oversteer the car. this can be real scary during avoidance maneuvers and quick lane changes. i have had my car worked on for other service and the mechanic also noticed the issue as it was driven to have the wheels aliened.

I bought my 2005 bmw z4 in '08. it barely has 35,000 miles on it. the steering started to stick two years ago. it seems to be at its worst on really hot days. i can pull it out of the garage and it's fine, but once i get to where i'm going and it sits in the sun for a few hours, then it's really difficult to drive. it used to just stick while on turns, but now it is starting to stick while driving straight. i have to turn the wheel back & forth to stay straight and in the lines. i'm afraid one of these days it's going to stick and take me right off the road. i do not understand why there is not a recall on these with so many complaints

Stiff steering when the temperature rises. there is resistance turning left or right off center. off ramps seem to be the most dangerous because once i turn right off center the vehicle wants to continue turning right. this has happened every time i've driven this vehicle when the temperature is above 85 degrees.

After the car is parked out in the sun on a hot day (80f or higher) the car is difficult to steer immediately while in forward motion. the difficulty can be described as trying to turn the steering wheel either left or right requires so much force that once it turns you over steer and need to turn the wheel the other direction to stay within the lanes on the road. any bend in the road is difficult to keep the car centered in the lane since turning the wheel requires so much force that over steering is continually happening. this condition doesn't appear when the car is cold or parked in a garage on a hot day then driven for 30 minutes. later though it may start to occur after 30 minutes of driving on a very hot day in the sun as the car get hot.

Steering problem in warm weather and when car gets warm.

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.

After parked in hot sun and driving on hot days,steering becomes erratic.sticks and releases when turning.slight turns at highway speed is horrible.slow driving is also bad. this problem has gone on for years.

Takata recall my steering sticks in a position as i drive down the road and excessive force is needed to break it from the direction it is headed. this occurs under most all driving conditions and is more noticeable on highway driving around 60 mph

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.

After the car is parked in the hot sun all day, the steering of the vehicle gets "stuck". it is hard to steer and stay smooth in the lane because you are struggling to get the steering unstuck at 70mph down the interstate. this is a very serious and dangerous problem that needs to be revisited. my car only has 31k miles on it.

Above 30 mph steering sticks and requires greater effort to turn. at any highway speed this requires overcorrection and is very dangerous. this requires immediate attention and removes of thought of "pleasure driving"

2005 bmw z4 with only 54,000 miles has uncontrollable sticky steering when ambient temperatures are elevated. steering feels like it is in a groove and it takes dramatic effort to make a steering correction to stay in a lane. once corrected the car swerves until you correct again. the car is very unsafe to drive in this condition. review of complaints and available information confirm that this is a bmw issue worthy of a recall. there will be injuries and deaths if this problem is not corrected. the cost of the repair prohibit most people from obtaining dealer assistance to correct the issue.

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.

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.

While driving the steering on the bmw 2005, z4 became difficult to guide or turn. to maneuver the car in a road driving lane, it was often necessary to forcibly turn the steering wheel. when that was done, the car would jerk to the side where the turn was being attempted. this often cause the car to veer into other lanes. it was repaired to avoid an accident and bmw has not recognized this problem as a safety issue. bmw needs to take responsibility for this problem and issue a safety recall and either pay for the repair or reimburse any z4 car owner who paid to fix the safety problem and avoid an accident.

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.

Steering binds in center position when driving at speed. small corrections are hard to make as steering resists & then over corrects. problem is most noticeable during hot weather and has progressively become worse overtime .

My 2005 bmw z4 with 47,000 miles the steering after driving approx 65 mph on the highway locks up while centered and you have to jerk it to steer straight which causes the power steering to over correct its very dangerous !!! so after doing some research on the internet it seems to be a very common problem so why is there no recall on this car before someone dies?

When engine is warm the steering sticks causing the car to drift off center and over steering to correct.

Jerking stering

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.

Steering sticky hard to turn, sometimes pulls to left as your driving highway speeds. front end is properly aligned. happens more in hot weather.

I experience sticking steering that progressively gets worse as i drive my vehicle. my steering tends to stick to the right and will not self align itself until i forceable center the wheel. the same problem occurs turning left but currently it is not as severe. the problem is present on city streets, highways and while turning.

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. *tr

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.

Sticky or notched steering. feels unsafe. less than 35000 miles. from what i read a recall should occur. happens under normal driving conditions. must be corrected by a bmw recall before serious accidents happen.

In hot weather, while driving at any rate of speed, my steering is "sticky" or "notchy". the steering has a sticky place both left and right of center position. i have to jerk it to unstick the steering wheel. this causes an over correction and results in a dangerous weaving motion. i purchased this car earlier in the year and was excited because the mileage is only 36,000. i now understand why it has low mileage. it is terribly hard to stay a straight line in your lane due to this steering condition. i've researched and found numerous complaints. i think bmw needs to step up and correct this dangerous safety issue before someone gets badly hurt.

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.

I have the well know sticky steering issue, worse when it is warm outside (above 80f), where the steering sticks in a position and you have to over correct to get it to respond. feels dangerous on the highway.

I would urge you to reopen the case that was closed back in 2010 on the steering on this vehicle. i have experienced very frightening loss of control when the steering wheel is hot and the "stickiness" is at it's worst. maybe the fact that i live in the south and it gets hotter here is a factor, but it gets so extreme that i can barely hold it in the lane. this year i have hardly driven it because i am afraid to. i don't feel right selling it and passing it off to someone else. i absolutely love the look of the car, but i feel like i was just taken for a large amount of money when we paid for it, because of this situation. at the least, i fear getting a ticket because it looks like a drunk is driving the car when it's weaving like that. at worst, i fear an accident. if the stickiness is accompanied by a bumpy road, the loss of control is substantial. and in answer to the questions below, this is an ongoing situation and it doesn't matter what speed i'm going when it occurs.

Steering doesn't respond properly in high temperatures when in motion. steering feels "notchy" deviating from dead-center, and difficult to properly control the vehicles direction when this occurs. could lead to over-correction and/or loss of control.

When driving at slow speed steering does not seem to be a problem. however, as speed increases(around 45-50 mph), the steering gets heavier (and develops a "stickiness" at straight center which causes an overcorrection when turning slightly. the faster the speed, the more effort needed to overcome the detent resistance, to the point that it becomes easy to oversteer the car. this can be dangerous during any driving at higher speeds. the condition seems to more pronounced as weather temperature increases.

I just bought a 2005 bmw z4 on 5/31/16 as a gift for my daughter for her accomplishments of setting multiple athletic records at her high school while maintaining a 6.0 gpa. i test drove the car in the city streets and it drove excellent. i liked the car very much and purchased in the city of st. petersburg florida. since i live in tampa, florida i had my wife follow me back while i drove the z4 back. the car function perfectly until i got onto the interstate. the second i got up to around 50 miles per hour. i found myself terrified as the steering began to stick at almost dead center, causing the car to shift dangerously as i overcompensate to keep the car in the lane. my daugher is a bit disappointed, because of my fear to let her drive the car. it seemed so strange that i felt duped by the dealership. i got suspiscious, pulled a carfax and it was clean. i then researched the issue on the internet and found that many people have been experiencing the exact situation. it's an obvious mechanical defect that can contribute to a fatal accident. so why has there not been a recall for this issue? it's puzzling.

Tl* 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.

I purchased a 2005 bmw z4 in october, 2015. i noticed when steering the car there was a sticking point that required extra effort to steer past. upon researching this problem on the internet i found this website and was surprised to find that between 2004 and 2007 there have been 470 complaints for this same problem. i am adding 471. this is an issue that should be corrected by bmw as it can have dangerous implications.

Found a used 2005 bmw z4 3.0i with right at 11,200 miles for sale online. car was located approximately 4 hours from home. went and looked at car, took it for short test drive, saw no apparent issues and purchased car. car had been garage kept and was very clean and consistent with such low mileage. proceeded on with journey home. drove a while and started to notice steering felt a bit strange, but wrote it off that i "just wasn't used to the car" and it would simply take a while to get used to it. later, still on my journey home, while driving on the interstate, i came to a gentle left hand bend in the road. i went to add a little correction to the steering wheel and discovered that it simply would not let me turn it. i was driving at normal interstate speeds close to 70 mph. it happens quickly and you don't really know what to do. while trying to slow the vehicle, the natural response is to grab the steering wheel with both hands and try and overcome the resistance. i did this with a substantial amount of force, and the steering wheel did "let go" and let the car turn left. since such force had to be applied to the wheel in order to overcome its resistance, it is very difficult to "catch the wheel" at the proper location and avoid an abrupt and extreme overshoot. extremly tense and dangerous situation! i slowed down, made sure there were no other cars close and operated the steering wheel back and forth some. things seemed to be ok. i continued my journey very cautiously at reduced speeds. once home, i looked online to see what might possibly be wrong and discovered that a multitude of people describe exactly what happened to me with 2003-2005 bmw z4's. it is my sincere hope that this issue can be recalled as i truly believe human lives are in the balance, especially if a garage kept car with less than 12,000 miles is at risk. thank you. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 bmw z4. while driving 40 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. the failure occurred constantly. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electric power steering unit failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 40,000.

Driving at highway speed, very hard to keep vehicle in lane due to stiff steering. required heavy torque to move steering wheel, which resulted in abrupt movements in lane and led to deviation into adjacent lanes. situation improved once i got off highway.

I have had a recurring serious problem with the steering input effort, especially when hot outside. the steering seems very heavy and sticks when close to the on-center position, and is very heavy and difficult to return back to the on-center position. it is a problem that has been a concern for my wife and i now for several months. the vehicle has been in and out of service very frequently since april of 2010. it is in service for the forth time now regarding the problem with the steering. the vehicle this time has been in now for almost a month and has not been repaired yet.

At speed 25 to 70 and tempertures over 70 the steering wheel gets sticky and locks up. very hard to turn. the only way to turn it is use both hand and turn it forcefully causing over-turns and running off the road or to oncoming traffic. updated 12/06/2017*cn

Steering has become very stiff and steering wheel does not center after making slight turns. seems to be worse in hot weather. have to really concentrate on steering and is becoming dangerous. appears to be a common problem with the z4 according to blogs. recall by bmw should be issued.

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.

Stiff steering to the left or right. hard to turn. jerks when i put on brakes.

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. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr