steering Wheel became Hard to turn

[jiggergee]

I have a 2017 Rex 15000 miles been a fantastic car til this morning when steering decided to become unassisted and no self centre position . This seems like a common issue but for some reason no one has found a remedy for it? which is kind of weird. Went back on after power off and and on

BMW want me to take car to dealer to tell me that Computer says no!!


Would prefer if someone has a remedied this issue, so I can at least tell dealer where to look.

Any thoughts most welcome.

Regards


Jiggergee

 

[JohnKelly]

This happened to me as well. My dealership said they are working on a software fix and I will be notified.

 

[eze2bme]

Same issue with my 2019 i3 - turning to the right with no issues but turning to the left became sluggish and hard to turn. Got home, turned off the car. Started back up about an hour later and all was working OK. It's at the dealer now for a check-up.

 

[jfk68]

Same issue this morning with my 2019 i3s. No message on board... All was ok after a restart... :roll:

 

[eze2bme]

Picked up car today. Dealer installed 2 Service Bulletin software updates and all is working OK for now. Service tech drove car to his home and back (33 miles) with no issues. According to service tech BMW does not advise customers of Service Bulletin items - they just wait for the vehicle to come in for maintenance. I told the service manager that BMW needs to notify customers since the electric cars DO NOT have regular service intervals - and he agreed - he is going to bring up the issue with BMWNA.

 

[jadnashuanh]

There are some software updates that BMW calls every vehicle in to then apply. But, the normal sequence is, don't do anything unless the customer complains. Note, with all of the combinations of options and running changes, what affects one vehicle may not affect another that might have had the same options, but different rev numbers on them, so the decision doesn't end up being universal.

When an update is applied, it's not a generic change, the specific VIN is input, and the servers in Germany generate a unique software update to account for the specific modules installed in that vehicle. This may be one reason why they don't do over the air updates...each car may require a unique software build. Nav database updates, might be the exception.

 

[ronin]

I posted elsewhere but seems more relevant here:

I had the same problem where the car suddenly pulled to the right at about 45 mph. At first I thought it was a flat tire but when I pulled over turning it off and on again when I inspected the tire seemed to correct the problem. I took the car to the dealer the next day and they couldn't replicate. My dealer service notes state: "...brought down the high voltage system. Performed a complete vehicle software update". This was about a year ago and I haven't had any problems since.

If you're getting noises when turning the steering wheel check https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/ ... 6-9999.pdf. This seems to happen every year when it starts to get cold. The dealer notes state "SI B32 03 15 related. Lubricated the plastic bearing in the spindle gator per SI B".

 

[ronin]

You have to pay to access BMW Technical Information System, but you can read the complaints and manufacturer communications on the NHTSA website.

Visit https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls
Select 'Vehicle' and enter year make model
Select complaints or manufacturer communication

Here is the communication titled "SPORADIC REDUCTION OF STEERING ASSISTANCE" from 10/30/2019:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10167995-9999.pdf

 

[jarnolahtinen]

Hi everyone! This is my first post on this forum. I had this problem today on my way work. Steering wheel was hard to turn and it never returned to center. I will see if it's fixed when I'm heading back to home.

 

[FrozenRex]

Steering effort abnormalities a known software issue for a long time, finally corrected by BMW TSB #B321119 late last year. The TSB was not publicized, you have to complain to a dealer to get them to load the latest operating system software under warranty. We have an 2018 I3S that had steering problems for a year, the TSB procedure fixed the glitches and improved the steering feel overall.

 

[JohnWasser]

Steering effort abnormalities a known software issue for a long time, finally corrected by BMW TSB #B321119 late last year. The TSB was not publicized, you have to complain to a dealer to get them to load the latest operating system software under warranty. We have an 2018 I3S that had steering problems for a year, the TSB procedure fixed the glitches and improved the steering feel overall.

The TSB: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10167995-9999.pdf
"Update vehicle integration level to ISTA 4.20.1x, or higher"
"Target Integration Level: I001-19-11-510 or higher"

 

[trumpetdoug]

WOW folks!

Thanks to this forum and all the great info here.

Briefly I purchased my 2017 i3 about 6 weeks ago. 20,000 mile on it and I love it.


I have always thought the steering was a little difficult compared to other vehicles I've owned, but I have gotten used to it.
Question:
How would i know if this issue has already been addressed in this car? I still have a bit of warranty left and also the CPO warranty. What would you guys do to make sure I don't have a problem in the future?

Thanks,
Doug - out

 

[eNate]

Doug, you could ask. The dealership I bought from provided a print of the full service history, including a visit to a different dealership. There should be a record.

Because this update was only available October of last year, should be easy to pin down.

Sales won't necessarily take the car over to service if there's no pressing need, so don't assume it's been updated based on date of sale.

Failsafe option if they're uncooperative or the status is undetermined is to make a service appointment and tell them your power steering felt funny one day and you'd like it diagnosed.

 

[JohnWasser]

Question:
How would i know if this issue has already been addressed in this car? I still have a bit of warranty left and also the CPO warranty. What would you guys do to make sure I don't have a problem in the future?

Export your profile to a USB stick (iDrive Settings > Profiles > Export) and then open the file in a text editor to see the 'i-step':

<header>
<date>2016-01-21T17:23:54</date>
<version>1</version>
<username>YOURNAME</username>
<vin>XX12345</vin>
<i-step>I001-15-11-504</i-step>
</header>

I have heard that the dealership won't do a firmware (Integration Level) update just on request. You have to have a 'complaint', like "Sometimes when I'm driving the power steering will just cut out, making it hard to steer at low speed. Turning the car off and on again usually fixes it."

 

[trumpetdoug]

Thanks everyone! Lots of good information and advice.

Not exactly sure how to export my profile to a thumb drive, but I will look into it.

Doug - out

 

[pradeeprox]

I had a similar issue in my 2019 i3 Rex with only 5k miles...I just reported it to NHTSA
Will be calling the service center for the software update for the service bulletin SIB 32 11 19 SPORADIC REDUCTION OF STEERING ASSISTANCE

 

[alohart]

I had a similar issue in my 2019 i3 Rex with only 5k miles...I just reported it to NHTSA
Will be calling the service center for the software update for the service bulletin SIB 32 11 19 SPORADIC REDUCTION OF STEERING ASSISTANCE

Sad to learn that this problem hasn't been fixed several years after it was first reported. I haven't experienced this problem on our 2014 BEV at integration level I001-18-11-520 (November, 2018, system software version). However, if it happens, would BMW fix the problem at its expense even though the warranty has expired?

 

[Neil]

I had a similar issue in my 2019 i3 Rex with only 5k miles...I just reported it to NHTSA
Will be calling the service center for the software update for the service bulletin SIB 32 11 19 SPORADIC REDUCTION OF STEERING ASSISTANCE

Sad to learn that this problem hasn't been fixed several years after it was first reported. I haven't experienced this problem on our 2014 BEV at integration level I001-18-11-520 (November, 2018, system software version). However, if it happens, would BMW fix the problem at its expense even though the warranty has expired?

I have a 2014 Rex with 73000 miles. It has parking assist which I haven't used in years. Fortunately I've never experienced this issue through multiple software updates. Perhaps I've never encountered the conditions which cause it. The car is now at I001-19-07-539 if that is useful to help determine when this bug may have been introduced although it could be more complicated than that.

 

[alohart]

The car is now at I001-19-07-539 if that is useful to help determine when this bug may have been introduced although it could be more complicated than that.

Why did you have I001-19-07-539 installed? Did you have to pay?

 

[Neil]

The car is now at I001-19-07-539 if that is useful to help determine when this bug may have been introduced although it could be more complicated than that.

Why did you have I001-19-07-539 installed? Did you have to pay?

I did not have to pay for this and I didn't request it. I did bring my car in last year 9/16/19 to take care of a recall for the pressure temperature sensor (rex gas tank issue) and also there was a program vehicle recall - "updated software per sib 65 23 17" which was performed.

I've saved some profiles over the years (some of them missed) and here's the progression:

I001-15-07-501
I001-16-03-505
I001-17-07-500
I001-19-07-539