BMW F10 Steering "Wander"
Discussion
With fond memories of BMWs owned in the mid 90s I recently replaced my Jaguar S type R with a 2015 BMW 535d Msport with 15K on the clock.
In all but one respect the car is a dream. It looks good, is supremely comfortable and delivers effortless power via a silky smooth gearbox. Plus 37.5 mpg over my first 5000 miles of ownership and all for around half the price of the car when new.
However the steering is a HUGE disappointment in that in the straight ahead position especially on motorways it requires constant correction which completely spoils the drive. Talking to other owners the experience is mixed; many have had the same experience, others have never experienced the problem. ALL have runflat tyres and whilst undoubtedly these have an effect they don't account for the variation in owner's experience.
When I took the car to my BMW dealership a senior technician drove the car and agreed that it didn't feel right and on inspection thought that the half worn tyres were the probable cause; remembering from my Jaguar days that wide tyre performance does progressively drop off long before the legal wear limit with some weird consequences I heeded his advice and after £860 winged it's way electronically to Black Circles I had a new set of Dunlop tyres.
With fingers crossed I collected the car and it seemed a little better but once on the motorway straight line instability was still evident, some roads were better than others but without doubt the problem persists.
As I write the car is due for an end of warranty check and I will log the issue again but any views from owners would be appreciated. However unless you have actually swopped runflats for standard tyres on your own F10 and have first hand experience please exclude subjective views on this aspect.
Here's hoping.
In all but one respect the car is a dream. It looks good, is supremely comfortable and delivers effortless power via a silky smooth gearbox. Plus 37.5 mpg over my first 5000 miles of ownership and all for around half the price of the car when new.
However the steering is a HUGE disappointment in that in the straight ahead position especially on motorways it requires constant correction which completely spoils the drive. Talking to other owners the experience is mixed; many have had the same experience, others have never experienced the problem. ALL have runflat tyres and whilst undoubtedly these have an effect they don't account for the variation in owner's experience.
When I took the car to my BMW dealership a senior technician drove the car and agreed that it didn't feel right and on inspection thought that the half worn tyres were the probable cause; remembering from my Jaguar days that wide tyre performance does progressively drop off long before the legal wear limit with some weird consequences I heeded his advice and after £860 winged it's way electronically to Black Circles I had a new set of Dunlop tyres.
With fingers crossed I collected the car and it seemed a little better but once on the motorway straight line instability was still evident, some roads were better than others but without doubt the problem persists.
As I write the car is due for an end of warranty check and I will log the issue again but any views from owners would be appreciated. However unless you have actually swopped runflats for standard tyres on your own F10 and have first hand experience please exclude subjective views on this aspect.
Here's hoping.
Thanks to you all for your responses. BMW whilst acknowledging the wander have declined to carry out a 4 wheel alignment under warranty and want £250 to check it all out. Consequently I have booked the car into Blackboots a specialist in Chesham this coming week and will report on the outcome.
Blackboots have checked the alignment (£36) and found the camber angle on the OSF to be beyond the specified limits and believe this is the likely cause of the "wandering". In itself good news as it gives me hope that problem can be resolved.
However BMW advise that the approved way to correct this is to replace the control arm with the appropriate "correction" arm (available as -30 or +30) that cost £395 + nuts & bolts + fitting + re-alignment, crazy money.
Having now understood the issue I have researched further and found that the German company Meyle sell control arms for £125 with an adjustable ball joint giving a range from -30 to + 30 and I have decided to have these fitted on both sides of the car. This will allow the correct set up to be achieved now and any future adjustments to be made easily. I can't say I am thrilled about using non BMW parts but Mehle is by all accounts a reputable company and I have to be realistic about cost. I will report further when they have been fitted.
However BMW advise that the approved way to correct this is to replace the control arm with the appropriate "correction" arm (available as -30 or +30) that cost £395 + nuts & bolts + fitting + re-alignment, crazy money.
Having now understood the issue I have researched further and found that the German company Meyle sell control arms for £125 with an adjustable ball joint giving a range from -30 to + 30 and I have decided to have these fitted on both sides of the car. This will allow the correct set up to be achieved now and any future adjustments to be made easily. I can't say I am thrilled about using non BMW parts but Mehle is by all accounts a reputable company and I have to be realistic about cost. I will report further when they have been fitted.
I have now had a pair of Meyle adjustable control arms fitted by Blackboots and the camber angle correctly set which I am delighted to report has cured the steering wander and delivers a much more reassuring driving experience. The "Comfort" setting is still not totally to my liking but "Sport" & "Sport Plus" now provide a driving feel much more akin to BMWs of old before the fashion for "adjustability" became the order of the day.
Thank you to everyone who contacted me, those with identical cars who had experienced the same problem were of particular help.
For anyone who is in doubt about their cars handling I would highly recommend Blackboots at Chesham, they use top notch equipment and more to the point have many years of experience in setting up steering and suspension. VERY trustworthy guys.
Thank you to everyone who contacted me, those with identical cars who had experienced the same problem were of particular help.
For anyone who is in doubt about their cars handling I would highly recommend Blackboots at Chesham, they use top notch equipment and more to the point have many years of experience in setting up steering and suspension. VERY trustworthy guys.
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