640d GC annoying vibration at 70mph

[Alexhpilot]

Hi guys and girls,

I have a 2014 640d Gran Coupe that has only done 17,000 miles. I have noticed that when the car is driven around 70mph there is slight vibration felt through the steering wheel and sometimes the passenger seat wobbles very slightly. It's nothing that concerns me but it is becoming an annoyance and I am not sure if it is getting worse. Car is under extended warranty.

Would appreciate any thoughts or ideas as to what might be causing this and any suggestions to correct. Apologies if this topic has come up before.

[Pica-Pica]

Dented wheel rim? Out of balance wheels? Get the car on a hoist to check wheel run-out on both front wheels. If OK get wheels checked for balance.

[Alexhpilot]

Why would that only be affected at 70mph though? If wheel rim damaged or out of balance, wouldn't that affect the driving at all speeds?

[thebraketester]

Alexhpilot said:

Why would that only be affected at 70mph though? If wheel rim damaged or out of balance, wouldn't that affect the driving at all speeds?

No. Wheel balancing issues can show at specific speeds just the same way tyres with stepped worn blocks can.

[RUSSELLM]

Wheels balanced, would be the first thing to get done.

Worry about the rest later.

[bmwmike]

Front and rear wheel buckled.

You feel rear wheel wobbles in the seats.
Front wheel wobbles are felt thru steering wheel.

Bmw alloys are made from chocolate

[Maxus]

I had similar on a 5 series. I think it was the run flat tyres. It seemed to be worse if the car had sat for a while on a warm day. From memory it was a car with Continental tyres. Current one with Pirellis is fine.

[river_rat]

OP you might want to have a read of this thread:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Chamon_Lee]

bmwmike said:

Front and rear wheel buckled.

You feel rear wheel wobbles in the seats.
Front wheel wobbles are felt thru steering wheel.

Bmw alloys are made from chocolate

Hoy! thats my line! haha

Honestly BMW alloys are shocking for how easily they kink/buckle and it has little to do with RFTs these days.
I've went off BMWs because of this issue. All 9 car had issues with wheels. Have had other brands too, same roads etc and minimal issues

[Pica-Pica]

Can anyone recommend some decent after-market alloys for F30?

[Pioneer]

Pica-Pica said:

Can anyone recommend some decent after-market alloys for F30?

Vossen, HRE, Ferrada, Savini - depends what you want to spend. Plenty to choose from and most are far better than the BMW ones

[Alexhpilot]

So I took the car to get the wheels balanced. Seems they weren't in the best of condition. The appalling state of the UK roads to blame.
Car did feel much better to drive and the fuel consumption was noticeably improved. The vibration was still there though.

Took the car across Europe recently and opened her up on the German motorways (a pure delight).
Upon my return the car has gone to BMW for a scheduled service. The technicians there noticed that the front left alloy has buckled and that that was the most likely reason for the vibration. Any one else had a similar response for the same problem?

[CMJ]

Buckled wheels willl always be buckled. Even if the wheel balancer helps improve things the buckle will show itself at one speed or another. If you are sensitive to vibrations like I am. Just accept this as a maintenance cost and replace any wheel which is suspected buckled. The joy when you replace and realise you have fixed the problem is worth the cost. Oh. You also need to take care and avoid the pot holes. Correct tyre pressures also help. Too hard can attribute to buckling a wheel as much as too soft can.