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Interesting you say that. It's been near 0C here for the last few days and the steering feels heavier.

Where was the sound coming from? AC compressor is in front of the rear left wheel.

No updates yet I'm afraid, not had time to do anything. But I will.

Thanks for that - I don't think my problem is the column but I'll find out soon when I disconnect the UJ from the rack. Would be nice if that's all it is though!

Some interesting replies on here recently. I know the i3 is a unique car in many ways but basic functions like steering should not be different from every car made in the past, and there's nothing drastically different about the steering rack design compared to other similar cars. The 'it's an...

For anyone who's not certain what issue I'm referring to, take a look at the video below. Right before he pulls away at the start, he turns the steering wheel left. As he pulls away he releases the wheel and it straightens up,. Mine doesn't do this. If I did the same as him, my car would...

Hi Gonville, yep it's me from FB (y) I've been driving cars with purely electric power steering for getting on for 20 years and not ever experienced this kind of behaviour with them - Mk5 Golf, Mk6 Golf, Mk7 Golf, Mk5 Polo, BMW 3 and 4 series, both RWD and 4WD and they all drive like 'normal'...

In my case the reconditioners think it's the bushes at each end of the rack, inside the body of the rack housing. I guess it's worth a try to remove the tie rod boots, turn the steering to each end and get some grease in there and see if it makes a difference. I may try that before replacing the...

This is an ongoing issue. Due to cost of a recon, I'm not sure at the moment if I'm going to go with a recon or just a new/low mileage used part. As this seem to be a common fault on i3s, often dismissed as 'that's just the way they are', I do wonder if this is partly caused by the steering...

Steering rack reconditioner has confirmed that the rack shouldn't feel like it does. He believes there's corrosion on the rack rod itself and it's binding on the bushes. Sounds like it's a very common problem, affecting a large percentage of i3's.

That's great to hear, as it means I'm not on a wild goose chase or going mad - but it's also concerning to hear how many i3 owners seem to have the self centering/stiff steering problem. I will get to the bottom of it! Just to confirm - if you are driving straight and you turn slightly left or...

I dismantled my spare rack yesterday as far as I dared (as it's a working rack). Managed to remove the motor but not the pinion drive. That seemed to make little to no difference to the feel of the input shaft. It looks like it'll take quite a lot of dismantling to remove the pinion drive so...

Booked in on Thursday with a rack reconditioner for them to take a look. He has heard of the problem and has a few ideas.

Yep, all checked - and it's stiff even with the tie rods disconnected!

I'm pretty sure the lack of self centering is a result of stiffness in the rack, not an inherent design feature of the i3. But I would like to hear from someone (anyone!) who says their i3 does self centre as you'd expect. I've read/seen plenty of reviews which mention excellent feedback from...

You would think that would create drag, but surely as long as it's downstream of the torque sensor then the motor should be assisting the movement not opposing it? I'm almost at the stage now of ordering a brand new rack from BMW just to see if it's any 'looser'. As I can plug it in and test it...

Further update - Got hold of a second hand rack (2019, mileage unknown). It's actually possible to connect it up to the vehicle's wiring just by removing the frunk . I updated the software on it to the latest version and it too does not feel free like it should. Very frustrating that the link...

I updated the software to the latest version last week with no change. I think the update was more for an intermittent loss of power assistance, not a permanent stiffness - but thanks anyway!

Some interesting comments there, thanks everyone! So... my other BMWs and Golfs and my partner's Polo all have electric power steering racks of very similar design to the i3, even made by the same manufacturer as the i3's - ZF. The more I drive the other cars the more I'm convinced the i3 did...

I've never driven another i3 so unfortunately not got anything to directly compare it to. I've watched a lot of i3 driving videos though and on those the steering does appear to centre itself certainly a lot better than mine does. Today I drove my partner's 2018 VW Polo for 100 miles then...