steering Wheel became Hard to turn

[JasonInRVA]

I’ve had this issue twice in two years of ownership. 2014 REX with about 50K miles currently. Here’s a video I made of the issue:

https://youtu.be/p9HjsA2yxOk


I second the notion that US residents start reporting this to the NHTSA.

 

[Xsbank]

It did it to me again, there is a tow truck enroute now and I told the dealer that I bought a brand new car, not an old jalopy (that’s a word I haven’t used for decades!) and they can keep it until it’s fixed. I’m done with worrying about it and don’t care if I ever get it back. I may need a lawyer...

 

[jefro]

Similar or same thing.

My issue happened twice. It didn't seem that the power steering failed completely but it didn't seem to work correctly. On straight travel it either seemed off or it seemed to want to try to work. On hard turn it did seem to function as needed. Both times the solution was to turn off for about 5 minutes.

I've tried to replicate the issue but can't. Thought it was a case of opening the driver door reach mailbox but doesn't seem to be.


This really is a big safety issue. Guess owners will have to escalate this.

 

[KoolBMW]

Same issue. I am at the dealer now dropping off my car. I will report back if they find anything.

 

[RonRPH]

Happened to me also. I can say it was a cold night of about 20 degrees, if that has anything to do with the cause of this. Car pulled to the left- nothing horrible, but annoying enough. My first thought was either I had a flat or one low tire- but the vehicle status screen said all tires were at normal pressure. Continued my drive to the grocery store, shopped, and car drove home normally.

 

[gps1539]

I mentioned this issue when I took my i3 in for a check up. They ran a diagnostic and found nothing, but the tech mentioned it may be a "vector angle sensor" and may replace it if it happens again.

 

[Atv]

What year are you cars?

 

[Xsbank]

My car is at the dealership now, so far for a month total for two tow-ins. They first said the steering issue was a fault in something in the steering rack and they would replace the entire thing. Now they say they have discovered that it is a steering module software problem and BMW has promised a software fix by March! The dealer has said to drive the car if I wish (I will not, its defective - seriously BMW, you don't know how to build a steering system?) or they will give me a courtesy car to drive for three months.

I have told them I want out, I bought a new car from them with certain assertions, ie it would act like a car. I am in the process of trying to dump it. It has 5000 km. None of the other cars they make interest me but even if they gave me a new i3 it would still have the "faulty steering module."

This is my first BMW and I am amazed at how good and how bad the i3 is. I really like a lot of things about it but until there are stage 3 chargers everywhere, this thing is a pita to use like an actual car, not just a commuter pod.

 

[PBNB]

Apart from the steering issues, what else have you experienced with the car?

I had a chance to try our self parking feature the other day and after doing that I see how the software could get mixed up and cause the steering to misbehave. Could also be sensor malfunctions telling the car that there is something near the car so it is turning on the automated driver's assist, perhaps??

I hope you can find a resolution to your situation.

Which dealership are you dealing with?

 

[alohart]

Now they say they have discovered that it is a steering module software problem and BMW has promised a software fix by March!

The temporary hard steering reports have all been fairly recent, so this has always seemed like a software bug introduced in some fairly recent software update, possibly when the driver airbag software update was installed starting in January. This is the first that I have read that BMW recognizes the bug which is an important first step. However, it is disappointing that BMW seems to be so slow fixing a rather serious bug, although reproducing the problem might have been very difficult.

 

[TheMK]

The temporary hard steering reports have all been fairly recent, so this has always seemed like a software bug introduced in some fairly recent software update, possibly when the driver airbag software update was installed starting in January. This is the first that I have read that BMW recognizes the bug which is an important first step. However, it is disappointing that BMW seems to be so slow fixing a rather serious bug, although reproducing the problem might have been very difficult.

I have I001-18-03-511, and have not encountered an electronic power steering problem. The latest version of the software is I001-18-11-520, however earlier in the year, version I001-18-07-530 was also released. This means that BMW has updated the i3 software (at least) three times in 2018.

It would be interesting to know what software level (I-level) all of the cars in question are at.

Now they say they have discovered that it is a steering module software problem and BMW has promised a software fix by March!

Likely, the new version will be I001-19-03-XXX, as it seems like looking at historical versions, March, July, and November are the times when the software is released. I know someone who's car got programmed at the end of October, and has the "November 2018" version of the software. So this fix may be available soon-ish. I really wish BMW had a changelog for i3 software, though they don't really do that.

 

[ultramike]

It just happened to me today on my month old i3. I really do hope this is just a software thing and they will have a patch soon. It's quite disconcerting.

 

[RonRPH]

I've had this occur for a second time last night. Hard to explain the exact problem except that steering did not work "right". Odd that it occurred on the same day of the week- Thursday night and approximately the same time ( ~10PM). This time it happened again as I left the gym to go food shopping- unlike the last time it did not clear when shopping ( not enough time?), but did clear after parking overnight.

 

[alohart]

I hope that all U.S. i3 drivers experiencing steering problems are reporting them to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Otherwise, BMW might not know how widespread this problem seems to be and might not be working on a solution with the urgency that's needed.

 

[metaflash]

maybe there's is leakage on any of the pipes involved in the above system, particularly on the one transporting

 

[PBNB]

I wonder if this is happening in cars that have the "auto park" feature only. It seems that the car is trying to take over the electric steering.

Then turn off the car and restart it and the module reboots and behaves again. The relationship between cars with auto park and this steering issue should be considered.

Is there anyone that doesn't have this feature/option and has experienced the weird steering issues?

 

[alohart]

maybe there's is leakage on any of the pipes involved in the above system, particularly on the one transporting

The i3's steering is powered by an electric motor with none of the hydraulic lines of the typical power steering system.

 

[RonRPH]

I posted a complaint to https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/ today (02/18/2019) as suggested by alohart. It is something we all should probably do.

 

[jfran2]

This happened to me briefly this week, too. To answer PBNB's question, my car does NOT have the park assist feature. It was an odd feeling - for me it started with a slight pull to the right which, like others, made me think I had a flat. But then it was just stiff, and wouldn't return to center in a turn. I didn't feel like it was uncontrollable - just uncomfortable to drive. Like most others, turning it off and back on seemed to fix it. That was two days ago and it hasn't happened again since. I also filled out the form at https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/
Thanks, Art, for suggesting that!

John

2014 i3 REX
50,000 miles

 

[wlsmith12]

Same thing happened to me today. Does any one have a update on this? Wow it was scary.,...