Steering noise with grinding sensation.

I think that it not only has to do with the outside temperature but the temp of the car itself. Mine will do it early in the day when it's cool, but after driving the car for awhile the noise will lessen considerably to the point where you can hardly hear it. That's why I've had a hard time replicating the noise for the BMW techs. By the time I drive my car to the dealership it's already warmed up.

Originally Posted by beamerGE

I think that it not only has to do with the outside temperature but the temp of the car itself. Mine will do it early in the day when it's cool, but after driving the car for awhile the noise will lessen considerably to the point where you can hardly hear it. That's why I've had a hard time replicating the noise for the BMW techs. By the time I drive my car to the dealership it's already warmed up.

I had the same behavior. My guess is that it's the temp. of the ars hydraulic oil. Oil viscosity normally changes with temp. and can possibly impact characteristics as the speed with which it flows in the system.

Thanks to reading that all of you are experiencing the same issue and some have had the issue resolved.. I'm going to be bidding on a Black 550 M-spt tomorrow at auction. 2K miles and was a buyback for this exact issue. Now I'm confident that the car isn't just a bad build.. more of a common problem. Wish me luck.

Originally Posted by thesasquatch

Thanks to reading that all of you are experiencing the same issue and some have had the issue resolved.. I'm going to be bidding on a Black 550 M-spt tomorrow at auction. 2K miles and was a buyback for this exact issue. Now I'm confident that the car isn't just a bad build.. more of a common problem. Wish me luck.

If the issue was severe enough that it resulted in a buyback - are you comfortable buying it knowing that the precise cause was never identified - or was it identified? And yes - Good Luck!

Originally Posted by ssj

If the issue was severe enough that it resulted in a buyback - are you comfortable buying it knowing that the precise cause was never identified - or was it identified? And yes - Good Luck!

A friend of mine is selling a 2011 550iX M sport black w about 10K miles for about $58K if you are interested.

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Are you going to reach a point where you add something to the forum besides ranting on the steering?

Not that you don't have a right to voice your opinion, but ever single one of your posts is in some form calling out the steering on the F10. Just saying.

What a pointless remark ...can't you see this is an ultra-serious issue?
I bet if you had it in your bimmer you would be all over it...

my sports 550i also does that with DHP as well

Can anyone get the text for SIB 37 01 11 ?

Sounds like that is the bulletin for this issue...

Is there a common option in which the issue is present? i.e., DHP ARS Active Steering, etc.

I can't say I have the issue as I passed on most of BMW's electronic wizardry.

You need to have ARS to be eligible for the issue under discussion...

Originally Posted by ssj

After reviewing the posts it is clear that there are three different sets of issues going on.
a) Loud grinding/vibration that some have said can be heard outside the car too. This appears to be largely reproducible as for Solsctice.
b) A subtle, brief (1-2 seconds) scraping sound that occurs with slow turns not associated with vibration. If I had the radio on, I would not hear it.
c) Occasional sound (I can best describe this as squelching from springs) that comes when the car "bounces" on an uneven road - reminiscent of old time spring shock absorbers.

I have heard c) once and b) a handful of times. The sounds have been difficult to reproduce in my car. The car performs flawlessly otherwise. Maybe the list needs to be drawn up again with folks stating precisely what the problem is. As I have mentioned previously, I do not have DHP.

After a long lack of the noise all summer (or it was so minimal that it did not bother me), the noise b) is now back. Is it possible that this is occurring as the temperatures have dropped or is it a coincidence? If it is the temperature, what is a possible explanation? No ARS in my car.

I had issues all winter with the "grinding" noise and it mysteriously went away around springtime and now the noise is back so this confirms it is temperature related.

Has anybody heard of the definitive cause of the problem as well as how it is being resolved by BMW?

Here is your solution from BMW itself;
http://www.bmwtis.com/tsb/attachment...111_Slides.pdf

Go to page 10. Apparently it is the same issue for both 5 series and 7 series, X-Drive or not, and has to do with ARS...