Z4 - Sticky Steering Problem - Any Suggestions?

[Skirmisheer]

A few weeks ago we bought a Z4 from a private seller. The car is an 04 and with only 25,000 miles on the clock. A full BMW service history too. Both me and my wife had test drives and everything seemed fine. We got married late last year and unfortunately couldn't have a honeymoon at the time. This car was our present to each other and we intended to go on our late honeymoon to Cornwall a few weeks ago. The below text will explain why we ended up going in the 307 SW instead.

Unfortunately on the longish journey home I noticed that the steering started to feel 'sticky' and 'notchy'. By the end of the journey this was quite severe and at times the car felt dangerous and uncomfortable to drive. Later that evening I went out again and found the problem appeared again after about 20 minutes of driving.

I therefore got online and soon discovered that this was a well known problem with early Z4's. I also found that models of 2006 onwards have a different design of steering wheel column fitted and there is no problem with these cars.

The forums offer various 'fixes' with apparently the most effective being to drill into the steering wheel column housing and injecting grease to lubricate the sticking components. While I am sure I could manage this task I am obviously very wary of other potential problems and implications from doing such a process.
The correct solution is to replace the steering wheel column assembly with a newer design however the cost of that is too high for us to contemplate.

At this moment in time the best option seems to be to quickly sell the car and remove this potential problem from our lives. This really would be sad to do though as the car, apart from this one issue, is superb and exactly what we wanted. It is a serious performance car too and before the steering starts sticking, fantastic to drive.

I would be grateful if anyone can offer advice on our dilemma. Specifically whether it would be worth writing to BMW UK requesting that they rectify the problem that was a consequence of their poor design and engineering.

Thanks in advance.
David

[Skirmisheer]

Did you have to pay for the replacement steering column? Also how many miles had it done and how old?

Well I've drafted a pretty good letter and I am planning to send it tomorrow. As you say, it is a long shot, but you never know.

There is a DIY fix apparently however it does involve drilling into steering wheel column aluminium housing. By all accounts it does stop the problem however its something I would be very wary about doing. Not entirely ruling it out though.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.ph...

[Skirmisheer]

Yes, it is a ridiculous problem and makes a mockery of BMW's claim to produce Ultimate Driving Experiences. I think if you buy a car late 2006 onwards you will be okay but I should do your research. Definitely stay away from cars up to that date unless you can find out whether they have been sorted. Definitely test drive for at least 30 minutes with the heater blowing in the footwells to see if anything develops.

As you say, the drilling procedure doesn't seem too bad a job to do but I'm sure it is not without some added risk.

Shame really, as the car is quite stunning in every other respect but steering is a huge part of the dynamics of a car and the last thing you want is it to be resisting your input when in potentially quite dangerous situations. It does surprise me, and maybe BMW have been very lucky in this respect, that some serious incident has not yet occurred.

I have to say that the circumstances in which we bought our car would make a great story on a TV consumer programme. I'm tempted to hint that to BMW in the letter I'm going to send them.

[Skirmisheer]

Like the nice professional couple who sold US the car who obviously knew the car had an issue with it. We should have done more research and maybe we would have found out the 'known' problem before buying the car. Buying a car from a private seller. Caveat Emptor.

[Skirmisheer]

Sticks. said:

I've not come across it before, despite having had one since 04 - if it makes you feel any better.

It's interesting to hear that you've not encountered the problem. Until you've experienced it it's difficult to appreciate just how bad it is. I've had all sorts of cars in my time including Fiats, Lancias, Peugeots, Volvos, Fords, Vauxhalls. Even my old 1979 2CV never had steering as bad as it can be on this Z4.
Anyway, the letter has just been posted so I'm hoping I will at least get a response from BMW and with a bit of luck it may be the one I'm looking for.

[Skirmisheer]

Sticks. said:

2CV??

I should have put that in my letter.
The Ultimate Driving Experience eclipsed by a 2CV.

[Skirmisheer]

I think my concern would be forcing a lubricant into an area where there shouldn't be one. There could also be a problem with possibly ending up with some drilling debris into the sealed bearing/worm gear area.

I think drilling through the actual steering column is very low in my list of worries!

[Skirmisheer]

You have a rather more 'gung ho' attitude to things than I do by the sound of things. I worry about 'consequences' and I find that this approach has served me well in the past.

I'm not ruling it out but I also don't intend to rush into it either.

[Skirmisheer]

Thanks for the replies.
The BMW letter phase is ongoing so I'm going to give that chance to work its way through their system and hopefully will at least get some reply. I'm not banking on the type of reply I'd like but its worth a go for just the cost of a stamp.

I'm not sure if you've seem them but there are two different methods of lubricating the internal bearing and worm gear.
The first involves drilling and tapping the aluminium housing and then inserting a greasing nipple. This allows you to pump some grease into the housing, supposedly to lubricate the components.
The second method is similar but uses a thin spray oil (Rem Oil) to work its way into the housing. This does seem to have had success too.
I wondered whether the best way to use that method would be to drill a hole slightly undersize that of the oil spray can tube. This would then create a tight seal so that when used the oil could only have one direction to go, into the housing. I suppose that would reply on a suitable pressure in the spray can to work.

One concern I have about using a grease nipple is that they only have short threads and the housing where drilled is angled outwards meaning not a lot of the thread on the nipple will be gripping in the aluminium. Someone on a forum has made a small extension component to screw into the housing however I'm not sure I have the facilities to create such a piece. Seventh post down this page.

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&am...

Anyway, I'd be rather daft to start drilling until I hear something from BMW. It wouldn't look too good if they offered to replace the column and then noticed that someone had made their own modifications!

[Skirmisheer]

We sold ours so never tried to rectify the problem. If I remember correctly we were quoted around £2500 to get it sorted. Used columns are as rare as hens teeth due to their demand. Have a look at the Z4 forum where there's a wealth of information.

[Skirmisheer]

So is yours a reconditioned steering column? Is that a different design to the old faulty type?

[Skirmisheer]

Good to hear you've got it sorted. It's such a shame that the early Z4's are cursed with this problem as otherwise they would be superb. There comes a point where it just doesn't make economic sense to throw £2500 into a car that may be worth only double that. Having said that Z4's can be picked up cheap and if the only problem is the steering then there is an argument for spending the 2.5k knowing you have a cracking car to own and drive.