Steering not self centering

[Labas Rytas]

Hi,

I know this has been discussed a few times but there doesn't seem to be a solid answer on it as some say their car is the same and other say it centres properly. I have a 2018 Rex with 104k miles on the clock. Only had it a few months and it's my first i3. The steering doesn't self centre all the way, it just feels 'stiff'. It will get to within 10 or 20 degrees of centre then stay there. If I'm driving down a straight road I can turn left or right a bit and the car will just keep turning. Same in both directions. Power steering seems to be working ok as turning the wheel when stationary is certainly assisted, but it gets tiring driving long distances as making small movements to keep in lane seem to take more effort than I've noticed in any other cars. It's like it sticks wherever you leave it.

I can't believe this is by design - with any other car you can pretty much steer with your fingertips but not my i3.

Any ideas/experiences?

Thanks!
Ted

my one does the same (22 reg)

 

[TedStriker]

my one does the same (22 reg)

So it's still under manufacturer warranty?

 

[martin86]

@TedStriker have you had any luck solving this problem? I am currently looking to buy a 2019 i3 120Ah and during the test drive, this particular car appeared to have the same issue of hard/sticky steering and no self centering. The dealer told me this is how it's supposed to be. Other than this the car was in fantastic condition so I reserved it with a small down payment.
I then went to a local BMW service center to ask whether this is normal and even there I was assured that this is a feature, not a defect.
However, I started googling and found this forum. I am not sure whether to buy this car it or not. Please advice.

 

[TedStriker]

Apologies, I've not had time to progress this at all for a while. But what I have been doing is driving my 435d xDrive for a few weeks. It has very sticky way wider tyres than the i3 and the steering is light as a feather, always returning to centre. Can be steered with light fingertip pressure. At the moment I'm not sure how widespread this problem is. There seem to be quite a few people on here with the problem but how many are out there without any problem or not realising it is a problem. I'll be honest it took me a few weeks of driving to realise that it's not just a characteristic of the car and that there is a fault. This was confirmed by a local steering rack reconditioner.

The steering system is no different on an i3 to the vast majority of cars out there that are under 15 or so years old. It's electrically assisted rack and pinion with a torque sensor. At the moment I'm not at all sure whether it's a physical sticking problem or whether the torque sensor/electrical system is fighting against the natural tendency to self centre.

I'm getting to the stage where I might just take the rack to the reconditioner who assures me it will be 'fixed' and see how it comes out. It'll cost me around £300 + VAT though and I'll be none the wiser what was actually wrong unless they tell me.

Worst case scenario they recondition the rack and it comes back just the same, then they tell me it's normal!

There have been people who have taken their car to BMW under warranty and been told the rack is corroded and a rack replacement is the only cure.

If I was to make another observation, I feel it may have got worse since the weather got colder (down to around 0C). Not by a huge degree but it's a feeling I get.

 

[martin86]

Apologies, I've not had time to progress this at all for a while. But what I have been doing is driving my 435d xDrive for a few weeks. It has very sticky way wider tyres than the i3 and the steering is light as a feather, always returning to centre. Can be steered with light fingertip pressure. At the moment I'm not sure how widespread this problem is. There seem to be quite a few people on here with the problem but how many are out there without any problem or not realising it is a problem. I'll be honest it took me a few weeks of driving to realise that it's not just a characteristic of the car and that there is a fault. This was confirmed by a local steering rack reconditioner.

The steering system is no different on an i3 to the vast majority of cars out there that are under 15 or so years old. It's electrically assisted rack and pinion with a torque sensor. At the moment I'm not at all sure whether it's a physical sticking problem or whether the torque sensor/electrical system is fighting against the natural tendency to self centre.

I'm getting to the stage where I might just take the rack to the reconditioner who assures me it will be 'fixed' and see how it comes out. It'll cost me around £300 + VAT though and I'll be none the wiser what was actually wrong unless they tell me.

Worst case scenario they recondition the rack and it comes back just the same, then they tell me it's normal!

There have been people who have taken their car to BMW under warranty and been told the rack is corroded and a rack replacement is the only cure.

If I was to make another observation, I feel it may have got worse since the weather got colder (down to around 0C). Not by a huge degree but it's a feeling I get.

Many thanks for your prompt response. I'll try to test drive one or two other i3s to see if they also suffer the same "feature".

 

[g0rsq]

I have been following this thread since I bought my 2019 i3 last week. First thing i noticed was the symptoms as described here.

Mine does self center to within about 5deg on the wheel, but feels tight at this point and will not fully self center. It feels stiff in the center position.

My car is a 2019 120 i3, but the previous owner has put lowering springs and wheel spacers on it.

So my first thought is has this got anything to do with it.

Will get it laser aligned soon, but ask for it to use the i3s settings if different


One other thought. If the issue is a sticking rack, could it not be drilled and grease nipples fitting? There are some great High pressure 000 grade greases about (runny grease, almost like oil) .

Would need an old rack to see where they could be inserted, possibly knowing where the stiction is taking place.

As soon as weather gets better, I will look at injecting some of this thin grease into the rack via the inner track rods,

Looking for easy options for an in-situ repair before contemplating removal.

 

[Labas Rytas]

So it's still under manufacturer warranty?

maybe yes, but i bought it after front crash and repaired it- dont think it will go under warranty

 

[Whatiff]

Think about what could happen if you were driving at highway speed, a curve turned left, and your hand slipped off the steering wheel for a second and the steering wheel wouldn't center itself. A truck came at you. That could be a big problem.

 

[g0rsq]

Think about what could happen if you were driving at highway speed, a curve turned left, and your hand slipped off the steering wheel for a second and the steering wheel wouldn't center itself. A truck came at you. That could be a big problem.

In my case things are not as bad as that.
It will self center to about 15 to 20 Deg from dead center.
It mainly manifests it's self when driving straight ahead at any speed.
You need to constantly make noticeable steering corrections. You have to concentrate on keeping dead straight in your lane, like no other car I have driven.

I lifted front wheels in the air and noted it is very difficult to steer by pushing front wheels with power steering operating or off. There is no way this can self center with the amount of force needed at the road wheels.

At the steering wheel steering is still very stiff with power steering off, and a slight improvement with it on.

My conclusion is something in the steering is very tight.

Will make more investigation by disconnecting steering column next, and also track rod ends.

More important issues to solve now with high voltage insulation messages!

My venture into EV ownership looks like was a bad decision at the moment

 

[Badger]

In my case things are not as bad as that.
It will self center to about 15 to 20 Deg from dead center.
It mainly manifests it's self when driving straight ahead at any speed.
You need to constantly make noticeable steering corrections. You have to concentrate on keeping dead straight in your lane, like no other car I have driven.

I lifted front wheels in the air and noted it is very difficult to steer by pushing front wheels with power steering operating or off. There is no way this can self center with the amount of force needed at the road wheels.

At the steering wheel steering is still very stiff with power steering off, and a slight improvement with it on.

My conclusion is something in the steering is very tight.

Will make more investigation by disconnecting steering column next, and also track rod ends.

More important issues to solve now with high voltage insulation messages!

My venture into EV ownership looks like was a bad decision at the moment

Hi gOrsq....I'm totally with you... don't think I've ever driven a car with such difficult unresponsive steering. Very tiring on long journeys for sure. I have seen a few other posts mentioning it but otherwise most people seem happy with it. I wondered whether it was worth looking at the wheel alignments?

 

[g0rsq]

Hi gOrsq....I'm totally with you... don't think I've ever driven a car with such difficult unresponsive steering. Very tiring on long journeys for sure. I have seen a few other posts mentioning it but otherwise most people seem happy with it. I wondered whether it was worth looking at the wheel alignments?

That was one of my options. First I have to replace the shock gaiters, bump-stops and the turret tops, as my gaiters are in pieces, the rest as a precaution.
Then I will get the alignment checked.

However after my last test, with wheels off the ground, I doubt the car could fully self center with the force needed to turn the steering using the wheels. There is far too much resistance.

If it is not the steering column, then I have just got some clips for the steering rack gaiters, so will be removing them and getting as much 000 grease into the rack as possible, as well as fill the top of the steering box with the same grease.

But first need to resolve the High voltage insulation issue!