This problem first occurred in early October 2019. I started off as normal - unplugged the car from my Level 2 EVSE, backed out of the garage, put it in Drive, and within 2 blocks, the steering was pulling severely to the left. Suspecting a flat tire, I pulled up the TPMS info, and all 4 tires were at the correct pressure. Driving further, it became evident that something else was amiss. Initial input to the steering was met strong resistance, as if the car had its own idea where it wanted to go. Small corrections to the steering were extremely difficult, and once the steering wheel was at a given angle, it was very difficult to change it. I found a safe spot, got off the road, and shut the car down.

Upon re-starting, the steering was better, but still not normal. While it was no longer extremely difficult to turn, there was still a feeling of "resistance" - as if something was binding in the steering, and self-centering was not nearly as strong as normal. A couple of weeks later, I took it in to my local BMW dealer. They were "unable to reproduce the issue." I then called BMW Customer Service, which was another huge disappointment as their phones were DOWN ALL DAY THAT DAY!!! They opened a case for the car.

After not hearing from them or the dealer since, I called back in January to find that despite not having a solution for the issue, they had closed the case. I told them I wanted it immediately re-opened, and they asked that I again wait for them to come up with a solution to the problem. A couple weeks later, my Service Adviser called and informed me BMW had just released a software update to address my car's issue. I took it back in, they performed the service, and I retrieved my car January 31, 2019. It initially drove somewhat better, but the issue resurfaced. Per the instructions on this site, I will enter the recurrence as another complaint.