Steering not self centering

[TedStriker]

Is it definitely 10, or could it be 12? If the latter it probably requires a spline bit (a.k.a. triple-square bit) - common on VAG group cars.

It is 10 point, just been out to look at a spare rack I have in the garage. Size wise, see what you can work out from the photos. I'd be interested to hear what happens if it's loosened.

 

[TedStriker]

repost

 

[g0rsq]

My aim is to get some grease into the rack. I can get some in at the ends, and hoping to get some in at this point. I can not see it being any different inside than any other BMW steering rack.
If I could get the plastic plug out without damaging it, then I could get some in there.

I reckon a piece of rectangular bar, 17mm x 22mm would fit the spline very well. It shouldn't be very tight. Will see what i can get hold off at work.

 

[TedStriker]

I was thinking a decent size bolt head would likely engage it well enough, then just turn the bolt shaft with mole grips!

 

[g0rsq]

I have just modeled the spline with different shapes, and a 22mm or 24mm hex just wont fit it!
I am going to make a tool to fit it. five 5mm pins on a 23.3pcd should be a good fit.

drill and tap 5 holes for 5mm bolts on pcd 23.3mm into a 5mm thick flat bar

 

[Badger]

Thank you @Madelvic99 for pursuing this (at great expense!) and thanks for all the other contributions. This issue is for me the major negative of the i3 experience. The lack of steering feedback and the stiction detracts massively from the pleasure one expects from placing and adjusting the position of a BMW on the road....and the level of attention necessary to keep it tracking straight on a motorway is fatiguing!!
I do hope there is someway of improving things!! Mine's a 2021 non S with 25kmiles btw.

 

[kaszika]

In case you don't have lane assist, do you have 5DU Park Assistance Package?

 

[pmak]

It shouldn't be very tight. Will see what i can get hold off at work.

AFAIK it is on thread locker, so it can be quite hard to break it loose.

I was thinking about loosening as well, but I didn't find any tool that I could possibly make over to fit well.

Anyway keep your fingers crossed, as tomorrow I have a scheduled MOT where they actually check self centering. I hope that it is gonna make it through as guys should be familiar with this issue. My friend's actually passed a few days ago.

If it won't I have ordered a new old stock rack. I hope it is not gonna be a waste of my money to be honest, as I drove a few i3 lately (with similar milage as mine 50k km, but much younger) and all of them behaved the same in regards to centering...

 

[Madelvic99]

Car back after a week in the dealer and cost (under warranty) of £3k.

New track rod ends, new universal joint at the bottom of the steering column, new steering rack

The $64B question is is it fixed. Honestly not really. First reaction after a 30 minute drive home:

Steering feels much different with quarter of a turn of the wheel, much more obvious self centering and steering feels almost heavy. When I left the dealer it didn't feel like my car. However with minor movements of the wheel at anything over 30mph it feels much the same as before. That is with a tiny amount of lock on it still doesn't feel like it's self centering. Maybe a little better and time will tell but it differs from my other 4 cars (albeit each has a sporty bias) and I've not experienced anything like this I can recall

So what do I deduce from this? The steering can seize up somewhat (my car is 4 and a bit years old with 30k miles) and lube can help, HOWEVER I feel the dead dead-ahead feeling is a symptom of the way the car is engineered. I've learnt that adjusting the caster on the front is the way to improve self centering, but the i3 doesn't have adjustable caster. I do wonder if a highly specialised suspension company like Center Gravity could alter the steering affect, maybe taking suspension setup outside the manufacturers spec, but whilst I've used them in the past they are too far away to take the i3 to them easily

Some have said wheel spacers can help the way the car drives, but equally they can throw out the suspension set up. I will probably try some. Might make the car feel more stable at speed but not necessarily fix the way it steers

Bit of a disappointment if I'm honest, was expecting a radical change rather than a hard-to-tell small change. The dealer Eastern BMW exceeded my expectations by some margin however