Large steering wobble at 40-60mph on E46 330

[CIS121]

This has only started recently and is worst on back roads with a lot of camber.

Basically, at these speeds, the whole steering wheel wobbles very seriously. It feels as if one of the wheels is loose!

I've put the car in neutral and turned off teh engine whilst coasting to see if it was the PAS playing up, but it remains, so it looks like either a bearing or joint that's nearly completely dead.

I'm not going to be able to get it looked at for several days at my dealer. Does anyone know what this is likely to be or had the same problem? The car has 70k on it and I believe the front suspension bushes are liable to go at about this mileage.

[pgilc1]

CIS121 said:

This has only started recently and is worst on back roads with a lot of camber.

Basically, at these speeds, the whole steering wheel wobbles very seriously. It feels as if one of the wheels is loose!

I've put the car in neutral and turned off teh engine whilst coasting to see if it was the PAS playing up, but it remains, so it looks like either a bearing or joint that's nearly completely dead.

I'm not going to be able to get it looked at for several days at my dealer. Does anyone know what this is likely to be or had the same problem? The car has 70k on it and I believe the front suspension bushes are liable to go at about this mileage.

Sounds a lot like wheel balancing? Or a buckled rim? Have you (or your spouse) hit any bad potholes lately? Bulging tyre?

If it was a serious suspension problem, you'd most likely have a lot of clunking over bumps etc.

[CIS121]

pgilc1 said:

CIS121 said:

This has only started recently and is worst on back roads with a lot of camber.

Basically, at these speeds, the whole steering wheel wobbles very seriously. It feels as if one of the wheels is loose!

I've put the car in neutral and turned off teh engine whilst coasting to see if it was the PAS playing up, but it remains, so it looks like either a bearing or joint that's nearly completely dead.

I'm not going to be able to get it looked at for several days at my dealer. Does anyone know what this is likely to be or had the same problem? The car has 70k on it and I believe the front suspension bushes are liable to go at about this mileage.

Sounds a lot like wheel balancing? Or a buckled rim? Have you (or your spouse) hit any bad potholes lately? Bulging tyre?

If it was a serious suspension problem, you'd most likely have a lot of clunking over bumps etc.

Thanks for your post. It's not a wheel balance problem. It's fine on most roads, but very noticable on roads with a lot of camber.

[crackedfinger]

CIS121 said:

the whole steering wheel wobbles very seriously. It feels as if one of the wheels is loose!

It could be anything even including loose wheel nuts to loose brake caliper (had both before) - would just take it straight to a garage if I could not tell immediately, something is giving you a hint to stop driving.

[phelix]

I'd have a good look at the wheels and tyres for any damage. Worn suspension components tend to cause problems very progressively and a vibration at speed strongly indicates that something that rotates is out of balance.

[Barreti]

Aren't the wheels/tyres the same size all round on an E46 - you could try to rotate the front tyres with the rears and see if the wobble goes away - although you should still be able to 'feel' it through your backside if its moved to the back.
It's also worth rolling the tyres while you have them off and watch the tread. I had a tyre once which had a manufacturing fault and was practically S shaped as you looked down the tread. You couldn't see if on the car but it was very noticeable when the wheel was off and rolling.

[CIS121]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the ideas. I spoke to the local BMW garage earlier today and they can't do anything with it until possibly Friday, but i'll get it sorted then. Still curious as to what it is. Would a worn wheel bearing exhibit these symptoms? It is only a problem when I've done a good 10 miles, so I'm guessing that is because heat needs to be built up?

[pgilc1]

Dont forget to let us know the outcome (hope its cheap!)

[theboss]

Had very similar symptoms with my E39 a few months ago and it turned out to be the N/S/F caliper sticking.

Next time it happens pull over and inspect all wheels - in my case I had the smell of burning pads + immense heat radiating from the affected wheel.

[CIS121]

theboss said:

Had very similar symptoms with my E39 a few months ago and it turned out to be the N/S/F caliper sticking.

Next time it happens pull over and inspect all wheels - in my case I had the smell of burning pads + immense heat radiating from the affected wheel.

You're dead right. It was the n/s/f caliper sticking. The BMW technician went straight for the wheel. It's a lot more common n/s as that's the side that hits more puddles etc.

Where Iget teh car cleaned, they use high pressure washer jets on the wheels and I suspect this may have pushed the water/grit past the rubber seal. Was your car cleaned this way?

[pgilc1]

Glad you got it sorted m8. Could have been a lot worse.

Thanks for letting us know too.

[CIS121]

pgilc1 said:

Glad you got it sorted m8. Could have been a lot worse.

Thanks for letting us know too.

No worries. Its' good to share this info as the same things typically go wrong with cars and it's always great to know what the problem is before taking it into the garage with a blank cheque

BTW, BMW have replaced teh caliper under the extended warranty I took out. I can't fault their warranty scheme. I've used it a few times and always found it top notch.