Problems with 2005 BMW Z4 STEERING

My 2005 bmw z4 3.0 roadster has developed a possible issue with the electric steering system. at highway speeds the steering exhibits a notchy feel where there seems to be insufficient power to assist the steering when input is applied to the steering wheel. as yet i have not been able to account for any other mechanical issue for the vehicle which has 43k miles and brand new michelin tires. the new tires didn't correct the issue and the front end components and alignment are in excellent condition. while researching this issue i found that the nhtsa has been investigating this issue for potential recall. my concern is that will lead to complete failure of the system and loss of control of the vehicle which could cause a crash. the smug dealer said that a new steering column would be $3400! will this be the same defective parts or has the system been upgraded after my 2005 was built? i see the problems are with 03 to 05 z4's. *tr

I have a problem with the steering on this car, the steering wheel sticks left and right and needs force to compensate to keep the car on the road !! i took the car to bmw service and they said the car was ok! i went home and checked the internet and there loads of complaints ! ! and nhtsa wants to recall these car 300,000 units please recall these cars it is a serious problem my car has 13,000 miles and i can't even sell with this condition and bmw won' do anything about it !!!!!!

2005 bmw z4 with sticking steering problems. very dangerous to drive. you have to make constant corrections to the steering wheel. have noticed many other owners with the same problem. i wish to see a recall from bmw before anyone gets killed or disabled. thank you *kb

Steering problem. hot weather the steering wheel seems to freeze in a position, takes extra effort to make steering corrections. once the steering begins changing, the friction force diminishes to a normal force, resulting in an over correction in direction. at highway speeds this results in very dangerous swaying and swerving of the vehicle. this car is very dangerous to drive at highway speeds because of this steering problem. i have lived with this as long as i've owned this vehicle. the recent heat wave has brought on the condition as strong as ever before. today i decided to use the internet to see if other car owners were reporting similar problems with this model car. i just read that nhtsa has dismissed several similar complaints. i invite you to come test drive my car, and tell me it is safe to drive. *tr

I bought the z in july, during the dealer test drive it handled great. the test was about 20 minutes long. after we picked up the car on my first trip home , about 35 miles ,on a hot summer afternoon , i noticed the steering seamed to freeze up and would need extra effort to make a steering correction. once you turned off center it would feel ok until you needed to make another steering adjustment. we took it back to the dealer and they sent it down the street to a very reputable bmw dealer who test drove the z and reported back "no problem ". there is a steering problem and it is a very serious one. while driving the speed limit one must always anticipate the problem , if you forget, you could have an accident by over steering while using extra pressure on the steering wheel to correct your direction. *tr

Steering "stickiness". steering intermittently becomes harder, then "releases". it feels like the power steering fails temporarily, causing the driver to apply more force to the turn. then without warning, the power steering re-engages ,and the car will turn more rapidly. *kb

Steering malfunctions when vehicle is hot (ambient temp 80-90 degrees). the steering wheel force required to turn increases dramatically. also steering wheel will not default to center when turned (even in a curve). when wheel is turned only way to have it return to 0 is to turn it back the other way. car does not track straight and controlling at highway speeds is nearly impossible. in cool temps there is no problem as steering functions normally. loss of control seems quite likely at high speeds. *tr

2005 bmw e85 with only 9,000 miles. driving in straight line, steering wheel has unusual amount of 'play' where no wheel direction change will occur. when exceeding the 'play' an amount of resistance is encountered followed by an abrupt wheel direction change. at 40 mph car will suddenly move 1-2 feet in lane. vehicle requires constant, jerking correction. this condition has existed since purchase of the vehicle 2 months ago but is much worse on hot days such as the current 85 degree weather. in a close clearance situations at higher speeds or very hot days, this could become very dangerous regardless of driver experience or diligence. given the large number of complaints, i wonder if it will require serious injury or death to address this issue. *tr

The steering started sticking on my z4 bmw last july and is getting worse. the car was bought last march with 62000 miles now has about 66,000 miles and the problem is getting worse. bmw needs to fix this. *tr

The steering seems to "stick" and release suddenly when turning the steering wheel. this has been occurring for a while. there has not been a complete loss of steering to date but the issue does seem worse on some days. *tr

I have a 2005 bmw z4 3.0i with electric power steering. the steering sticks when i drive it. i have read that this issue has turned into major problems with other owners. i just want to say that i have the initial steering issue too. *tr

I drove this 2005 bmw z4 without incident while in illinois for the first 53,000 miles. after 53,000 miles i let my son drive the car exclusively while in scottsdale arizona and he continuously experiences unexpected drastic steering pulls to both the left and right sides. correction of the steering requires both hands on the wheel and is very difficult to correct the sudden and extreme pulling. the steering pulling is not easy to replicate but occurs a few times a week during daily driving. when the steering pulls it is very dangerous and almost causes crashes. i have researched the problem on the internet and it appears this is a design problem very common with 2003-2005 bmw z4s which bmw is aware of but has failed to take any corrective measures. i presently have 63,000 on the car and is driven in the warmer climate of arizona. the steering continues to pull sporadically even though i have replaced all 4 tires with 4 new matching tires. *tr

Steering sticks and will not return to neutral without over correcting. appears to happen at any speed after the car is hot or has been sitting in sun for awhile. no accidents but have come close to going into other lane or off the road while correcting. *tt

Steering on my 05 bmw z4 sticks and jerks and causes me to run off the road. dealer says nothing wrong despite all these complaints im finding online. too scared to drive car. *tr

Steering sticks at moderate to high outdoor temperature. requires excessive pressure to turn off center and also then back to center. feels as if it turns in notches instead of smoothly. this causes the steering to jerk from one side to the other as you are simply making small steering corrections. this creates a dangerous driving condition.

Car's steering sticks on center position making normal steering corrections noticeably difficult. an extraordinary amount of force needs to be applied to the steering wheel in order to make the necessary steering correction which can cause an over-correction. once off center, it is then difficult to return the wheel to the neutral position this can be very dangerous at highway speeds. this always happens in warmer weather or if the car has been outside in the sun for a couple of hours. *tr

The steering appears to stick when temps reach 70 & above and is most noticeable when driving at 60+ speeds. the steering wants to lock up (stick or catch)and become jerky when driving and is difficult to maneuver slight turns to keep vehicle in a straight line.

Steering on my 05 bmw z4 gets erratic or sticks is hard to steer when running at highway speeds. trying to make a small correction results in the steering wheel jerking then more force is required to overcome this problem. this results in over correction which makes the car jerk from side to side. *tr

My 2005 bmw z4 have steering wheels issues. gps navigation system don't work. *tr

2005 bmw z4. after driving the vehicle for around 300+ miles the steering start to stick, making holding the car in your lane very difficult. we purchased the vehicle in oct. or nov. of 2010 and it had approx. 56000 miles on the odometer. i first noticed the problem in dec. when we went to fla. and last week when we traveled to s.c. *tr

2005 bmw z4 32000 miles steering sticks while driving.very difficult to keep vehicle going in a straight line.very dangerous. *tt

Intermittent failure of power steering at high speeds (above 75 deg f). steering becomes sluggish and loss of control of vehicle may occur. severe over/under steer of vehicle under these conditions have occurred on separate occasions. *tr

The steering sticks in place and you need to jerk the steering wheel to get the car to slightly turn. after jerking the steering wheel, you have now over corrected and must jerk it the opposite direction. the problem is worse when the temperature is higher. in tight confinements or traffic, there is many times not adequate room for the vehicle to dart in various directions because of the sticking steering. *tr

I just bought a used 2005 bmw z4. the vehicle seemed to "pull" to one side before i bought it so i had the dealer do an alignment as a condition of sale. the car drove fine the first couple of times i drove it, but now off and on it sticks either pulling to the left or to the right. in other words, the wheel won't return to center. *tr

2005 bmw z4 steering sticks in hot weather. very dangerous. returned from summer trip and felt the problem repeatedly. now afraid to drive the car in hot weather. *tr

Repeating problem. the steering on my 2005 bmw z4 3.0 will occasionally stick when driving at highway speeds. the linear feedback disappears and i can move the steering wheel but the car doesn't react initially. then it will suddenly "give" and catch up to where i had the steering wheel. this is alarming as often it will cause an over correction which could eventually lead to an accident. *tr

The steering wheel on my 2005 bmw z4 3.9 liter 6mt tends to stick when the outdoor temperature is high. this reduces the smooth motion that is typically displayed by a steering wheel. the stickiness makes it very hard to maintain the car in a straight line and causes a delay in response to steering wheel input. i read online that many other people are having the same problems. *tr

I'm experiencing very stiff or stuck steering. it seems to only occur during the summer months, but mainly when my car is left out in the sun at work, the drive home is quite an adventure. keeping the car driving straight is no easy task, trying to make a small correction results in the steering wheel moving a great distance as one has to apply more force to the steering wheel to overcome the "stuckness". this results in a over correction of steering and pushes the car to opposing lanes at the extreme, or otherwise just makes the car jerk from side to side. i've had niello bmw of sacramento look at this, and they found nothing nor admitted this was a problem. as the summer months come around, my steering is going back to it's usual jerkiness. *tr

Sticking steering has occurred when temperatures rise, typically above 85f. steering becomes difficult to detect the way in which the car will react and the level of resistance that will occur and need to be dealt with. *tr

When my bmw z4 2005 has been standing in warm weather it develops a concerning habit. when i start driving i feel resistance in the steering wheel - it needs more force to be turned and to be turned back to straight ahead. it is concerning to feel that the steering feel changes characteristics - with one thought in back of my head: what happens if it chooses to stick all together? depending on the temperature the symptoms will be more or less bad. *tr

I experience a loss of power-assisted steering. the steering wheel sticks, binds or locks up, requiring increased steering effort to maintain control and increasing the potential to over-steer the vehicle. *tr

The steering on my 05 bmw z4 gets choppy or sticks or very hard to steer when running at highway speeds and city speeds. this problem occurs every time i drive the car. this is a safety hazard . if steering locks bad news nothing has been done to correct the problem because of the cost the dealer wants to repair it. i don't drive the vehicle much because of fear of steering locking up and causing an accident, vehicle only has 25,833 miles on it. *tr

I have a 2005 bmw z4 3.0i and have 'sticky' steering at speeds above ~40mph (mainly highway). on warmer days when the car has been sitting in the sun, going past ~40mph the steering will begin to 'bind' or 'stick' causing me to use excessive force to move the steering wheel. once the vehicles steering stops 'sticking', the adjustment is too much and can sometimes lead to lane wandering and other unwanted characteristics. *tr

2005 bmw z-4 power steering failure 7-5-2010 car has 7,000 miles on it, backed out of driveway ,lost steering. *tr

2005 bmw z4 power steering failure. steering wheel tends to stick in place and not want to turn. started acting this way on july 3, 2010. temperature was about 93 and the problem was noted at many different speeds. was at a restaurant in panama city, fl. came out, started the car and heard strange knocking sounds from the front of the car like someone knocking on wood. pulled out of the restaurant and noticed that the steering didn't want to turn unless additional abnormal pressure were applied to the steering wheel. this was an in-town situation but has continued since. drove the vehicle approximately 70 miles to get back home and could feel the abnormality the rest of the trip which included freeway speeds up to 70mph. have driven the car 3 times since then and the problem still exists as of july 7th, 2010. *tr

Started engine on hot day and had no power steering. turned off engine and restarted and power steering was back as normal. if this had happened while driving the possibility of an accident are great. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 bmw z4. the contact stated that the steering wheel became unresponsive while driving. the contact mentioned that he had to use extra force in order for the vehicle to respond. the vehicle was not taken to dealer for inspection or repairs. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 8,000 and current mileage was 10,500. steering wheel is sticky when turning trying to make mirror corrections to steer. this sometimes leads to slight over correction to steering direction. updated 09/14/2011 *ln updated 12/05/11 *tr

The steering feels notchy and hard to turn most of the time. at times it's hard to maintain the car in the lane that i'm driving in especially when there are slight curves on the road and it gets worst when taking big curves. i have to slow down to avoid driving in between lanes when cars are on my left and right therefore i am not able to control the car due to the erratic steering and which might cause an accident. the steering at times locks or stays in one spot and it's hard to straighten it without forcing it back to the center. one dealer told me that it was normal, i've driven many cars in my life and never felt so unsafe driving a car like i do with this one. *tr

2005 bmw z4 problem with sticky steering. occasionally the steering will stick when the temperature is warm outside. car becomes difficult to move off line. *tr

On june 28, 2010 i learnt that the nhtsa odi opened investigation pe10020 into safety issues with 2003 to 2005 bmw z4 power steering systems. the description of the problem exactly describes the characteristics of the recurring problem i have been experiencing with my 2005 z4, in that the steering wheel sticks, binds or locks up, and requires increased steering effort resulting in difficulty controlling the vehicle such as the potential to over-steer when making hard and abrupt steering wheel movements. the failures typically occur at higher vehicle speeds (45 mph or greater) and in warm/hot weather (75 f or higher). in my case, this has not resulted in an accident yet, but i) averts driver attention from focusing on the road and surroundings to consciously think about and physically overcome the steering mechanism resistance, and ii) having to over-correct sharply on turns to avoid other vehicles. i have correlated this mostly with driving in higher temperature, where on days over 85f the steering is very stiff, however i would say that as a five time bmw owner, it is stiff/notchy even at 68f. *tr

Steering sticks on 2005 bmw z4. *tr

I purchased my 2005 bmw z4 3.0i last year in the middle of winter. interesting time to sell a car with a major steering defect that is temperature dependent. as the ambient temperature increases the ability to steer and control my 2005 bmw z4 becomes more dangerous. at highway speeds on a day above 75 degrees the wheel appears to be stuck. when it finally does move the result is rapid lane shifting, not safe to drive while doing this. in fact i am uncomfortable driving the vehicle on hot days and leave it home, the steering is not predictable. spoke with my bmw dealer who states they have not heard of this problem. this seems unusual given the number of complaints i can find on line. this event occurs each and every day where the ambient temperature gets above 75 and will not correct itself until the car cools down. clearly a temperature related issue. *tr

While driving, the steering wheel will "set" in a spot - does not matter if you are in a turn, or in a straight line, the effort to move the wheel from the spot is very difficult. like trying to pull two magnets apart - that kind of effort - strong magnets. this a safety hazard as the steering does not function in a linear predictable manner. *tr

I have a 2005 bmw 3.0 w/auto transmission. my car has had two recurring issues from time to time starting with the electric power steering light engaging with the power steering going dead at idle or at corners. the other problem is that my car has stalled with the car shutting down thrice on i-95 and on local roads. needless to say, it was a life and death situation twice with my girlfriend swearing never to drive the car again. how it happens? at speeds of 40mph or less, eps, abs, brake, dtc comes on and off with the navigation screen opening and closing. then abuptly at slow speeds, the car just shuts off. remedy: pull over, off the car and on it back again and go.

On warm days (> 75 degrees) and when sitting in hot sun for period of time, steering will stick or feel notchy when driving. while gently turning it feels as if the steering goes through gates and gets hung up when turning. steering input feels mushy in comparison to cooler days. i have taken to dealer on two occasions and they cannot duplicate. i do not like driving my car on warmer days even though that is when the car is meant to be driven. *tr

Recently purchased 2005 bmw z4, 40800 miles, exhibits erratic steering control when outside temp exceeds 85 degrees. the steering wheel responds as if its last position has a grove or notch requiring excessive force to correct or set a new direction. the result is the car lurches down the road from side to side. the worst is in gradual turns, the steering wheel does not feed back to straight as the car continues any arc once set ... the car tries to drive itself off the road. discovery or this "feature" is very disappointing and can be quite scary. the dealers refusal to address the problem is proving very disappointing also. there should be a mandatory recall and correction of this obvious safety defect common to '03-'05 z4's. *tr

When you drive the car for a distance in hot weather the steering gets hard and sticks. i am afraid to drive it on the highway because of that in hot weather. the dealer said there was nothing wrong with it. *tr

The steering on my bmw z4 2005 model sticks to the point of being unsafe on warm days. it is very sluggish to respond followed by erratic overcompensation. if the temperature is cool (<80-85 degrees) there is no detected problem. we can leave in the morning after the car being garage and it handles like a dream- 2 hours later after being driven in or sitting in the hot sun the steering is like its in mud. whether taking an exit or simply changing lanes on the interstate. it is unsafe and should require immediate investigation. *tr

My bmw z4 2005 2.5 automatic has developed a sticky steering when is hot. it is very dangerous, over-correcting and under-correcting .the steering act like if don't have a dead center.you feel like something is tearing the car. when you make a very wide curve the steering stay put in that particular direction. it feel very unsafe and is very exhausting in long trips. *tr

Steering on my vehicle becomes "stuck" and unresponsive in heat above approx 85 degrees. it overcompensates in corners regardless of how sharp, a simple on/off ramp becomes a "tightwalk". it is very scary and unnerving to the point of not wanting to drive on what would otherwise be a perfect "top down" day. even changing lanes on the interstate is fearful as it acts as if the tires are in mud and then quickly overcorrection. it is very dangerous. *tr