Power steering failure at highway speeds and high temperatures.

- Orange, CT, USA

Steering sticks when it's hot or sitting in traffic. Need to apply effort to move the wheel which is a concern at highway speeds due to possible oversteer.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

I have a BMW Z4 that has steering issues. The car is hardly ever driven and only has 24K miles. The dealer is telling me that I need a new power steering column at approx. $3500. How can that be that bad in what I thought was supposed to be a fine engineered car?

- Davenport, IA, USA

Only in hot weather the steering becomes very hard and sticky and requires increased force to turn the steering wheel. The BMW dealer claims they cannot find an "internal bulletin" #4515500-02, released on 05/05/06. It's almost impossible to stay in your lane, and two hands are needed to control the vehicle when this defect acts up after sitting in the sun or hot weather. This is not noticeable until you have reached speeds of 30 mph or over at which time you are pretty much committed to fight the steering. This becomes very scary and dangerous. BMW is aware of this problem and claims it's not a "safety issue". I brought my car to the dealer because of this problem and they say I need a steering rack for over $4000. The "bulletin" says they need to replace the eps column with a modified one which was available since weeks 17 and 18 of 2006. Unfortunately, I bought my car used and was never informed of the steering dangers. It took some time to research this problem and yet, BMW is not willing to fix this defect.

- Wrightstown, NJ, USA

My steering becomes difficult to control at highway speeds. Seems to happen only on the freeway.

- Woods Cross, UT, USA

The contact owns a 2004 BMW Z4. The contact stated that the steering wheel would become extremely stiff when driving in very hot temperatures. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or a mechanic for a diagnosis of the failure. The manufacturer advised having a diagnostic test performed on the vehicle at the contact's expense. No further assistance was offered. The failure was approximately 44,200 and the current mileage was approximately 44,300.

- Harvest, AL, USA

Steering becomes sticky in hot weather. The steering wheel feels notchy and does not respond immediately when turned - feels like it is stuck in center position. Aggressive movement restores response but condition remains present. Situation noticed at highway speeds in 90 deg. Weather.

- Escondido, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 BMW Z4. While the contact was driving approximately 55 mph, the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn. The failure occurred when traveling the speed rate of 45 mph and higher. The contact would not drive on the highway due to the steering failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The failure was contributed to the power steering and steering column. The parts estimated cost was $3,000. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was 39,000.

- Venus, FL, USA

When the steering wheel is centered while driving, it takes some effort to make a steering adjustment such as keeping the car centered in the driving lane. The steering wheel seems to be stuck and to over come this one must over-steer the car and then bring it back to center. Some times this results in an abrupt over turn and causes the car to almost lurch out of the driving lane.

- Nenice, FL, USA

2004 BMW Z4 3.0. the steering is sticky when ambient temp over 90 degrees outside. Dealer states no problem. Read the news and saw the NHTSA is investigating. You guys are welcome to drive mine to see the problem in action. When it is hot outside (as it often is in jacksonville, fl) the car is difficult to drive in a straight line because of the "sticky steering."

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

My 2004 BMW Z4 has 33,000 miles on it. Within the last 1,000 miles it has developed a problem with sticky or ratchet-like steering which has caused me to oversteer at times. It is worse when the weather is hot. I am becoming afraid to drive it. Apparently this is a common flaw. BMW needs to act. Thank you!

- Carlisle, PA, USA

2004 BMW Z4-sticky steering-power steering sticks, seams to be worse in hotter weather, causes you to overcorrect when driving and this happens, I can see where this can be very dangerous if you are not really paying attention. Or could cause total loss of control given the right circumstances.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

If my car vehicle has been sitting in the sun for an extended period of time, increased force is required to turn the steering wheel. There doesn't appear to be any problems at lower temperatures or after the car has been parked in the garage overnight. The steering wheel sticks/binds or locks up, and requires a lot of effort to move which results in overcorrecting which produces severe over or under-steer. The problem is most noticeable at speeds over 50mph.

- Langley, 00, USA

Steering sticks on hot days or cool days after sitting in traffic. Requires extra effort to move the wheel which then breaks "free" and tends to over react causing lane retention issues at highway speeds.

- Seabrook, TX, USA

When temperature is hot outside the electric steering in my BMW Z becomes extremely tight. Any attempts tp correct the steering results in a jerky movement the car is very difficult to maneuver at any speed.

- Norridge, IL, USA

In warm weather, at highway speeds the power steering sticks and the wheel does not return to the neutral position on it's own. At times the wheel seems to turn on it's own and you must constantly have a firm grip on the steering wheel ready to correct any unwanted movement.

- Saint John, 00, USA

1. the vehicle was parked all day outdoors on a hot sunny July day in temecula, ca. While driving it home on I15 at approximately 70 mph, the steering wheel became much more difficult to turn and would not stay on center, making it challenging to simply stay within my lane. This lasted for 10-15 minutes, then the steering returned to normal. Fortunately, this section of freeway is relatively straight and the traffic happened to be moderate. 2. this failure has occurred only once in the 6 weeks I have owned the vehicle. 3. I have not yet taken steps to correct the failure. However, I have searched online for steering issues with this year, make and model and learned that many other owners have experienced exactly the same issue. Those who have attempted to have the issue corrected by their local dealership say the repair reportedly involves replacing the entire steering column at a cost of nearly $4000. My vehicle has under 20,000 miles but is beyond the 48 month warranty period. Having read recently in the newspaper that NHTSA is investigating power steering issues in 2003-2005 BMW Z4's, I am trying to find out if there is a known solution to this problem that is less costly or that is covered by the manufacturer before committing to a $4000 repair on a low-mileage used vehicle that I only recently purchased.

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

In hot weather, steering gets sticky and car becomes more difficult to control. Had repaired once but problem continues. Vehicle has less than 10,000 miles.

- Boonton, NJ, USA

My complaint is that the steering wheel feels like it binds when turning and also feels notchy and will not return to center when turn is completed. Mostly when outdoor temp is warmer than 80 degrees.

- Sarasota, FL, USA

When my Z4 has been sitting in direct sun for a while the steering becomes sticky. Making it very difficult to drive. Causing the car to swerve into other lanes. BMW have quoted 3500 to replace the steering column, I'm currently negotiating with them to reduce this cost.

- Austin, TX, USA