Steering noise with grinding sensation.

Well, sad to say gents, the grinding sound and vibration are back! A full day and a half of nothing and now its back as strong as ever. Beyond frustrated at this point and am feeling similar to my friend above.

Solstice, please keep us informed as to your progress. You too BiggerKahuna.

I'm sorry but not surprised to hear that Nelquan. You will most likely have to wait about 2w on an update of my car. I'm taking the family to the beach and will leave all car troubles behind. My wife told me today that she didn't want to hurt my feelings but she thinks the E60 loaner and our old car is much more fun to drive than our F10...and I swear I haven't told her how I feel about it.

Originally Posted by Nelquan

Well, sad to say gents, the grinding sound and vibration are back! A full day and a half of nothing and now its back as strong as ever. Beyond frustrated at this point and am feeling similar to my friend above.

Solstice, please keep us informed as to your progress. You too BiggerKahuna.

Damn, I was going to make an appointment to drop my car off tomorrow. Was going to bring them your post ...
Complaint: Customer states there is a grinding sound coming from the steering when turning

Cause: Insufficient insulation on rear ARS line

Correction: As per RTE, rear ARS supply line road tested after insulation was installed and was unable to reproduce noise.

I don't want to leave my car there for weeks for them to return to me unfixed. I will let NA know of the problem so they will hopefully get on the ball!

I have Post Sept build 535i Msport. Could have sworn I heard the grinding noise the other day but I had the music on and windows closed. Tried to reproduce unsuccesfully after I read this thread. Hit 200 miles this morning at grinds pretty much every turn BADLY. Sounds horrible.

Well, I just took my car in for them to look at. I drove around with the tech and of course, I couldn't reproduce the issue

He said they have had one other car in with the complaint, but haven't been able to identify or fix it. He did indicate that BMW knows about the complaints.

If anyone who has this problem has yet to take their car in, PLEASE DO SO. It will only help get more attention to this, so that we all can hopefully get resolution.

To be continued...

Just took mine in this morning and dropped it at the dealer (again)... I have a loaner and basically will hold onto it until the issuse is ABSOLUTELY FIXED.

Beyond frustrated...and beginning to feel uncomfortable about carrying a note for a car that I simply refuse to drive because it feels like damaged goods. Not cool.

Originally Posted by Nelquan

Just took mine in this morning and dropped it at the dealer (again)... I have a loaner and basically will hold onto it until the issuse is ABSOLUTELY FIXED.

Beyond frustrated...and beginning to feel uncomfortable about carrying a note for a car that I simply refuse to drive because it feels like damaged goods. Not cool.

I would totally peed off as well, keep there car till it's properly fixed for good.
My car has yet to go into build, so I am hoping for all this to be resolved "Before" I collect it.

Originally Posted by Nelquan

Just took mine in this morning and dropped it at the dealer (again)... I have a loaner and basically will hold onto it until the issuse is ABSOLUTELY FIXED.

Beyond frustrated...and beginning to feel uncomfortable about carrying a note for a car that I simply refuse to drive because it feels like damaged goods. Not cool.

I had the problems with my 2008 535 - the turbo issue - several times, and BMW actually paid me 1 month's lease payment. See if you can get some comp from them for this.

"Fortunately" for me the grinding is extremely loud and happens pretty much everytime I turn right or left so reproducing should not be a problem.

I will be making a service appointment and will bring a copy of this thread.

Ill post updates as I receive.

Good Advice X5.

Latest update is that the valve block to my car is scheduled to be delivered on Nov. 29. If it's on time my car should be ready when I return from vacation Dec. 5. If it will be fixed is of course still an unknown, I forgot to ask if they now know how to identify a grinding and a non grinding ars valve block by non destructive inspection.

Any time the car goes to service, it is reflected in the Carfax vehicle report. That for sure won't help with the resale value....

Mine seems to be getting a little worse. I love the looks and comfort of this car, but if BMW does not find a cure for this, I will go back to Mercedes and Audi. New A6 coming out in 2012!

Hey Guys...its been a couple of weeks....here's the update...

Got a call from dealer, and by the way, I love this dealer...they are awesome!!

They mentioned that they have been following the problem and had a fix. The fix was to insulate the cable heading toward the rear and put something on the fuel tank (the same as the prior fixes described above). I drove around with the tech and did not hear a thing after the "fix." Something that does not seem to be a coincidence is that it was 71 degrees here in Cincy when I drove around with the tech after the "fix." Now, one day later, at 40+ degrees, I hear the sound again as I always did.

This has to be something triggered or at least enhanced by the weather. Every time I hear the sound, it is cold outside. I do not hear the sound when it is 70+ outside. Unfortunately, the past three times I have taken it in, they test drive it when it was warm outside and did not hear the sound.

They know it is happening because of complaints and this blog, so it's not an issue of belief, it's an issue of being able to replicate and fix it.

So, short story, insulation does not work! It has to be something else.

Keep us informed if/when you have a fix!!!

Just took delivery of my 2011 550xi M sport. It is a sweet looking car (carbon black). I too am suffering from this grinding when turning at low speeds. Took it in yesterday to put my new snow tires on and brought it to the attention of the dealer. He came out with me for a drive and said he noticed something but wasn't sure. The car only has 200 km so he thought it just may need to be driven more to break it in a bit and the problem might be resolved. After he put the snow tires on he said they took it out again and that they did not notice any problem anymore and said it may have been the tires. No sooner did I get back home when the grinding returned. I love this car but am disappointed to have this experience from BMW. I hope they resolve the issue soon!

Originally Posted by dimok

Any time the car goes to service, it is reflected in the Carfax vehicle report. That for sure won't help with the resale value....

I got a Carfax report on my '08 335i before I sold it. It was interesting, but the service entries are pretty generic, like "engine checked", etc. My several visits for HPFP and related items were not spelled out directly. I think the only pause it would give potential buyers is if they see continual repeated visits withint a short period. However, even that could be explained away by stating faulty diagnosis by the dealer (hopefully).

So I just got my 550i about a week ago and heard the same noises about two days later. I'm also on the 5 Series forum and asked the question and got the following response. I hope it works:

It's the FZM Module located in the steering wheel used to control airbag, & turn signals, already reported on this, had mine replaced and all has been good since, here is the thread I started. They will need to remove steering wheel to change, make sure they have the part first or you will be without your car for a couple of days

http://forums.5serie...steering-wheel/

Hi Guys, I got the link to this thread over at E60.net , have not had the time to read the complete thread but I did have a similar problem with my car when I got it, it turned out to be the FZM module located behind the steering wheel, this module controls the, steering wheel, air bag and turn signal. Everytime I turned my steering wheel at low speeds I would hear this noise that sounded like marbles or a broken cable. Anyways my dealer diagnosed it right away, ordered a new module, took the steering wheel off and replaced the module and the car has been perfect since. Here is the link to the thread on E60 that I posted about it. For what it's worth speak to your dealer and see if this is not the problem. I just joined your forum right now to let you guys know about my experience, hope this may be the problem , good luck.

http://forums.5series.net/topic/102289-steering-wheel/

GABMAN

P.S. As I am in Canada, it is very possible this problem has not yet made it's way to US dealers, so they are not aware of it, strange how my dealer got the fix the minute I brought it in and they heard the sound., anyways, Good Luck

P.P.S I have had my 535 since the day it came out back in June, noticed the problem pretty quickly but didn't have time to deal with it, dates are in my thread.

Thanks for the info guys!

Well, today is probably the worst I have ever had this problem. It has occurred so many times today and also the length of time that it continues is the longest I have ever encountered.

The different today is that in Atlanta the overnight low was about 30 degrees with a high of 44 or so. Also, I had to other guys, somewhat over the heavier side in my car. Which makes me think back to suspension or something.

brandonw, have you taken your vehicle in yet? I just hope BMW is beginning to get a clue on what's going on here. The symptoms all seem to be the same but the potential cause of the illness is all over the grid.

BTW...my car has been in since last Monday...will give them a bit of a break due to the Holiday, but I'm going to want some answers soon.

It is unbelievable to think that BMW has messed up the steering this badly on such a historically wonderful sports sedan. I hope they fix it for you!

Originally Posted by Nelquan

brandonw, have you taken your vehicle in yet? I just hope BMW is beginning to get a clue on what's going on here. The symptoms all seem to be the same but the potential cause of the illness is all over the grid.

BTW...my car has been in since last Monday...will give them a bit of a break due to the Holiday, but I'm going to want some answers soon.

Yes, I have taken it in. I drove with a tech, but couldn't get it reproduced (go figure). I did call BMWNA before I took it in and it was assigned to a rep, who said they would follow-up with the dealer and provide support and resources (iin which they did follow-up). They seem to all acknowledge there is a problem and state that BMW is working on it.

UPDATE:

As some of you know, I had taken my car in on Nov 22nd to look at this issue. In recap, they could reproduce the sound, with me or when they had the car. Though, they indicated they had a car in with a similar complaint. I had called BMWNA before my car went in to discuss and make them aware... I was assigned someone etc.... I picked up my car with no work, other than an inspection being done. My paperwork indicated BMW is investigating the issue. That was that.

Out of the blue today, I get a call from my dealer. They stated that BMW has approved a valve block replacement. Which I have read has been replaced by others. They say this is the fix. So they have me on order a new valve block. My car goes in next Wednesday. I will keep everyone updated. It does seem to make sense as it affects the ARS, sway bars and suspension some, as he explained it (or at least as I understood it). But from how I get the sound to occur, as these components logically would be in the mix.

Fingers crossed.

My car is about two weeks old (550i) and has less than 60 miles on it. I sometimes hear this noise when turning at slow speeds, but it is very rare (like once or twice a day). Does not seem to correlate well with the ambient temperature either. And it does not bother me at this point in time. So I have two questions;
1. Does it get worse over time based on your experiences?
2. What if this problem is ignored at this point in time? What is the bad thing that would happen? I am asking this because for something that does not bother me that much (at this point in time at the very least), I am kind of hesitant in letting them crack open a brand new car, which in my experience usually means something else starts breaking or rattles etc.

Any thoughts?

My car is now in the shop where they are trying to figure things out (post the insulation fix)...They have not been able to replicate the sound since I returned it but the Foreman heard it several times with me prior to the first fix- thank goodness. I've forwarded the valve block thread along to my service guys, so thanks a lot for that Brandonw.

Salamigs, any sound that a car isnt supposed to be making, especially a brand new one, just isn't acceptable to me especially when one has shelled out a nice chunk of money for it. My sounds are no different than yours -- once or twice a day, not that loud, but noticeable...and while I tried to say "hey, it will probably go away or hey, eventually I won't notice it" (new car rose colored glasses) -- it hasn't gone away and I do notice it.

What you do is ultimately your choice, I understand your feelings on the matter. But in my opinion, the more this gets raised with BMW, the better off we'll all be.