BMW E63 - Steering "locked" while driving
Discussion
Hi all
My wife just phoned me a bit stressed out. She was driving her 2007 630 on a dual carriageway when "all the dash lights came on and the steering locked". I suspect she lost power steering as she was able to get the car off the dual carriageway and park it safely. Now the car won't start and she says she wouldn't drive it even if it could and I don't blame her. Her sister picked her up and I'll get the car towed tomorrow so I'm asking if anyone can suggest what might have happened so I can prepare myself for the bill.
Thanks in advance.
My wife just phoned me a bit stressed out. She was driving her 2007 630 on a dual carriageway when "all the dash lights came on and the steering locked". I suspect she lost power steering as she was able to get the car off the dual carriageway and park it safely. Now the car won't start and she says she wouldn't drive it even if it could and I don't blame her. Her sister picked her up and I'll get the car towed tomorrow so I'm asking if anyone can suggest what might have happened so I can prepare myself for the bill.
Thanks in advance.
minimalist said:
Hi all
My wife just phoned me a bit stressed out. She was driving her 2007 630 on a dual carriageway when "all the dash lights came on and the steering locked". I suspect she lost power steering as she was able to get the car off the dual carriageway and park it safely. Now the car won't start and she says she wouldn't drive it even if it could and I don't blame her. Her sister picked her up and I'll get the car towed tomorrow so I'm asking if anyone can suggest what might have happened so I can prepare myself for the bill.
Thanks in advance.
Low battery dropped below minimum viable voltage and current to power the engine as all the electrics (heaters, lights, charger & radio) were on?My wife just phoned me a bit stressed out. She was driving her 2007 630 on a dual carriageway when "all the dash lights came on and the steering locked". I suspect she lost power steering as she was able to get the car off the dual carriageway and park it safely. Now the car won't start and she says she wouldn't drive it even if it could and I don't blame her. Her sister picked her up and I'll get the car towed tomorrow so I'm asking if anyone can suggest what might have happened so I can prepare myself for the bill.
Thanks in advance.
Sounds more like alternator failure. The battery would have been powering all electrical accessories, including the steering if it's a car with ePAS. As the other person said, once the battery was unable to supply enough power the steering would have become very heavy. It happened to me in my 330, but I never lost power steering as mine is hydraulic. But the battery was unable to even power my indicators to get out of lane 3 of a busy M4 motorway.
If you can fit it yourself, budget £100-200 for a reconditioned alternator.
If you can fit it yourself, budget £100-200 for a reconditioned alternator.
She's just home.
She said the dash lit up and she lost all power including the lights. This seemed the scariest part as the road was busy. Thankfully she's home safe and we'll sort the car out but she's decided she wants to replace it. We've had it a long time, it's never let us down and we don't change frequently but I' think her mind is made up.
Thanks for the advice gents.
PS, I'm still open to any other possible explanations.
She said the dash lit up and she lost all power including the lights. This seemed the scariest part as the road was busy. Thankfully she's home safe and we'll sort the car out but she's decided she wants to replace it. We've had it a long time, it's never let us down and we don't change frequently but I' think her mind is made up.
Thanks for the advice gents.
PS, I'm still open to any other possible explanations.
Edited by minimalist on Saturday 7th November 09:13
It's got hydraulic assistance, doesn't it? Not sure if the servotronic aspect of it would cause a complete loss of assistance but perhaps when she lost power the engine was disengaged from the wheels and stopped rotating, causing a complete loss of hydraulic pressure? I don't know how an autotrans behaves when power is completely lost.
Edited by drdino on Saturday 7th November 18:00
drdino said:
It's got hydraulic assistance, doesn't it? Not sure if the servotronic aspect of it would cause a complete loss of assistance but perhaps when she lost power the engine was disengaged from the wheels and stopped rotating, causing a complete loss of hydraulic pressure? I don't know how an auto autotrans behaves when power is completely lost.
IIRC hydraulic steering on the E63. If you have the Active Steering option, it has an additional electric motor (to allow for variable assistance). Even if the electric aspect fails, you still have the mechanical/hydraulic link (supposed to be like that as a safety feature).
I don't think the car has variable assistance steering and the OH didn't mention anything about noises. We had the alternator replaced this week and it seems fine now. I'm still surprised there isn't a fail safe way for the car to have enough power to keep the power-steering working and the lights on when the engine is running.
We live and learn, especially grateful for the living bit.
We live and learn, especially grateful for the living bit.
I may be wrong here, but I would have expected the sequence of events to be...
1) Generator died
2) Battery warning light (if fitted) on binnacle
3) Battery eventually dies and a loss of power to steering etc
May be worth keeping an eye on your battery. They don’t tend to like total discharges, especially as they get older.
1) Generator died
2) Battery warning light (if fitted) on binnacle
3) Battery eventually dies and a loss of power to steering etc
May be worth keeping an eye on your battery. They don’t tend to like total discharges, especially as they get older.
Edited by RUSSELLM on Friday 13th November 19:00
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