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2012 328i Steering Wheel Vibration

44K views 226 replies 55 participants last post by  328iM 
#1 ·
I've been experiencing a slight steering wheel vibration from 40-60mph in my new 328i. You can feel the small vibration with your hands on the wheel, but it becomes even more obvious when you take you hands off the wheel and see it moving on its own.

A few other people have posted about this issue, but I haven't seen any updates recently. I took mine in to the dealer last week and they balanced the tires. It was maybe a little better for a couple of days, but seems to be back full force now.

My car was an early May 2012 build. Did they resolve this issue in later builds? Has anyone gotten resolution on this issue?
 
#193 ·
So turns out that I drive mostly either city roads at 45 and under, or highway at 60 and over. But today there was a stretch of traffic on the highway doing 50-something iirc, and I noticed a strange feel from the steering wheel. Yep, the vibration! I was surprised at how strong it was. :-/
 
#201 ·
No problems here

Just drove two brand new 2013 F30's at my local dealer. Both vehicles were new arrivals into their stock within the last few weeks. The first car was a 328i Sportline X-drive vehicle with Pirelli tires, without the VSS or adaptive handling package. The second was a 328i M-sport X-drive vehicle with Continental tires, also without the VSS/adaptive handling package.

Both vehicles were rock solid.
No steering wheel vibrations or wobbles in the 40-60 mph zone on highway or local roads. No vibrations, in fact, in any speed range. No problems in the twisties and no shudders.
NO PROBLEMS at all. Both were screwed together very well with no rattles.

I was highly impressed.

Have we established that there are less reported problems on the X-drive vehicles (versus the RWD cars)?

Overall, I was really impressed with the vehicles. This will likely be my first BMW.

Now comes a tough decision between the M-sport versus Sportline!
I love the more detailed rear bumper (M-sport bumper looks plain to me), the foglights and the red contrast accent stitching on the Sportline cars... but LOVE the fat M-sport steering wheel and the beautiful M-badged wheels and accent pieces. The M-sport seems more "pure" to me for some strange reason even though I know they are essentially the same vehicles performance-wise..

Have a great weekend.....
 
#206 ·
FYI - from what I understand, it has nothing to do with the actual tires the 3 series has on it. When the GM at my dealer told me that BMW has found a fix, he said they'd be shipping "racks" for the fix. I don't think anyone has mentioned on this post that its happened on their X-drive vehicle or adaptive steering package. Not sure if there will be a straight answer from BMW. The only thing I can say, test drive the vehicle and if it has the "issue," you'll know pretty quickly. Good luck everyone - if you have the issue, call BMWNA and your dealer. My concerns have gone unanswered, so they are taking the vehicle back.
 
#207 ·
I've been lurking in the forum for a while as my F30 has the steering vibration issue. After a road force balance and adding weight to the front rims, I'm still having the problem. I went back to the dealer today and drove the car with the shop foreman who had been unable to replicate the exact problem I was reporting. After I drove him around, and we both observed the steering wheel vibration, we returned to the shop where he reduced the air pressure in the front tires to 30 psi. No joy. Vibration remained the same. The dealer still has the car and has now opened up a puma case.

So not much new to add to the discussion, but I'll add updates when I learn anything interesting.
 
#208 ·
@Pat328

There's hope. I just dropped off my car at my dealer. An engineer is scheduled to oversee/install "1 of 50" steering racks sent to resolve the steering vibration in my May '12 build F30. This service visit will be my 4th for the vibration issue. After the 3rd, I requested a "trade assist" but it looks like this new steering rack will be the answer to all my problems.

My advice would be to call your dealer and BMW NA and ask for 1 of the 50 F30 steering racks (unless they are all already spoken for). Good luck.

I'll let you know how my 328 drives with its new steering rack when I get it late this week. At this point, I don't know what to expect.

P.S. If you do call BMW NA, be sure to answer when they call you back. Otherwise, don't expect your "resolution specialist" to answer the phone when you return their voicemail.
 
#209 ·
Thanks for the comments. I got an email from the dealer's workshop technical manager who said he's in contact with BMWNA and now has tests he has to perform. I can't say I have any idea what that really means, but I'll give him a day or two to play with the car. They gave me 2011 335 to tool around in, so I guess I'm happy for now. Depending on what I hear from the dealer next, I may place the call to BMWNA to make sure I'm on record with the issue.

Good luck with the rack replacement. Let us know how it works out.
 
#210 ·
Pat328 - you're have a lot more patience that I did. Hopefully the new rack does the trick. I really love the 328 and was extremely disappointed that they didn't "test" these vehicles for this potential problem when it was evident that some of them a vibration. When I was dealing with this issue, they didn't have a fix yet so I was ready to return the car and walk away. Pat328 - take Jimmy3526's advice, at least call BMWNA and let them know a puma ticket has been opened on your vehicle and let them know you're not happy. GOOD LUCK!!! As much as we pay for these BMW's, they should be a bit more proactive.
 
#211 ·
Well I think a call to BMW NA is probably a bit closer. After a week at the dealer I'm no closer to a fix. They replaced the bearings on Friday which did not solve anything. The word today is that BMW NA has told the dealer to replace all four tires. Apparently the tires are hard to come by (Pirellis), so no telling how long this might take. I'm not optimistic that new tires are going to solve much of anything but I'm at least pleased that the dealers still working on it and sending me frequent email updates.
 
#215 ·
Interestingly, when I first drove around with my service tech to show him the problem, the first thing he did when we got back to the shop was LOWER the tire pressure to 30psi in the front to see if that would fix the wheel vibration. It did nothing to fix my problem...
 
#218 ·
From what I've been told - it has nothing to do with the tires nor the psi. It is the actual "racks" that need to be replaced as mentioned by jimmy3526 and what the GM at my dealership personally told me. SO - whatever your dealership service department is doing other than replacing the front "rack," it will only attempt to mask the problem. They tried several things with my car - it improved slightly but the vibration was still there. If they can mask it for you now, it might come back, especially if they are messing with the psi. Take my advice, tell them you've heard that BMW is shipping front "racks" to fix this problem and you insist they find out about IT. You don't spend this kind of money to have them screw around with your car without fixing it once and for all.
 
#220 ·
Points taken, will keep a keen eye on this. My issue could be related to the 6 sets of rails along my old route(ZDH would have been nice!). The new route seems to work OK so far.

My car's(328i 17") door jam label lists one set of 32/32(probably per govt mandate). But there is a second, and small, yellow label that warns 32/32 is only up to 100mph, above 100mph is 35/42.
 
#221 ·
I spoke with my neighbor today who got a 2013 328i with MT that he ordered (built in 12/12). He has had it for 2+ weeks and put about 350 miles on the odometer. I asked him why he was driving a Dodge Charger and he said his car was at the dealer for a strange vibration he feels in the steering wheel or column (like has been discussed in this thread).

The dealer said that they feel it has to do with the electronic steering, but BMW has not been able to pinpoint the exact problem or fix. They are going to try and balance wheels, check the tires and do an aligment.

I told him about others having the same problem with their cars, although I was surprised the problem still exists for his car that was manufactured in the end of December. I also told him to check on the FL lemon laws to be on the safe side.

Has anyone found any resolution to this problem yet?
 
#222 ·
I spoke with my neighbor today who got a 2013 328i with MT that he ordered (built in 12/12). He has had it for 2+ weeks and put about 350 miles on the odometer. I asked him why he was driving a Dodge Charger and he said his car was at the dealer for a strange vibration he feels in the steering wheel or column (like has been discussed in this thread).

The dealer said that they feel it has to do with the electronic steering, but BMW has not been able to pinpoint the exact problem or fix. They are going to try and balance wheels, check the tires and do an aligment.

I told him about others having the same problem with their cars, although I was surprised the problem still exists for his car that was manufactured in the end of December. I also told him to check on the FL lemon laws to be on the safe side.

Has anyone found any resolution to this problem yet?
+1

I just bought a 328i Sedan Sport Line last week from dealer's inventory, production date is Aug 2012. My car has this problem as well. The vibration is subtile right now, but the steering wheel also shimmy occasionally in 40-70MPH range which makes me feel the car is really unstable. If anybody has this solved already, can you update?
 
#224 ·
I am a prospective first BMW owner. I've tested three 328's. On the most recent one (2013 model year, standard, no line), I felt a strange, mechanical-feeling steering wheel vibration between 70-80mph. Definitely didn't feel like balancing, alignment or road surface feedback. I did a search and found this thread, and others like it.

The next day I drove my 370z down the same stretch of road, same speed, felt absolutely no vibration, and in that thing you can drive over a mushy pea and fee it.

I don't have any experience with run-flats, is it common to feel vibration at high speeds? For I'm reading that most people feel this vibration at 40-50mph, not 70-80.

I really wanted to love this car and join the BMW community. I am seriously thinking twice based on this issue alone.
 
#227 ·
I've been experiencing a slight steering wheel vibration from 40-60mph in my new 328i. You can feel the small vibration with your hands on the wheel, but it becomes even more obvious when you take you hands off the wheel and see it moving on its own.

A few other people have posted about this issue, but I haven't seen any updates recently. I took mine in to the dealer last week and they balanced the tires. It was maybe a little better for a couple of days, but seems to be back full force now.

My car was an early May 2012 build. Did they resolve this issue in later builds? Has anyone gotten resolution on this issue?
I have the same issue as well. I have my tires balanced and seem to help. I do notice the problem more or less on certain types of payments. I am in Tampa and some road surfaces such as concrete, no problem. Driving on asphalt, I notice it more.
Someone has written that it could be the rating of the tires.
 
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