Steering noise with grinding sensation.

Moonsault270,

Any news on your end?

Nelquan, it is not that I disagree with you at all. And yes, I also would like everything to be perfect. And to be fair, it is just me who notices the nosie in my case (and I have noticed it only after reading these posts and started paying attention to it). Highly likely that I would not have noticed it had I not read these posts. May be that says something about the difference in severity of the issue that others and I are seeing. And clearly everyone will make the choice for themselves.

My question was more mechanical though; do you see anything getting damaged if this issue is not addressed in a timely manner? Let's say, if I or someone else chooses not to address this issue through the service folks for a year, am I jeopardizing the safety of the car, or signing up for big repair bills down the road etc.? That is the only thing I wanted to get others' take on. And I know this is a vague question as there is no consensus on what exactly is causing this problem at this point in time.

And all the power to the folks raising this to the attention of BMW as well.

Originally Posted by salamigs

Nelquan, it is not that I disagree with you at all. And yes, I also would like everything to be perfect. And to be fair, it is just me who notices the nosie in my case (and I have noticed it only after reading these posts and started paying attention to it). Highly likely that I would not have noticed it had I not read these posts. May be that says something about the difference in severity of the issue that others and I are seeing. And clearly everyone will make the choice for themselves.

My question was more mechanical though; do you see anything getting damaged if this issue is not addressed in a timely manner? Let's say, if I or someone else chooses not to address this issue through the service folks for a year, am I jeopardizing the safety of the car, or signing up for big repair bills down the road etc.? That is the only thing I wanted to get others' take on. And I know this is a vague question as there is no consensus on what exactly is causing this problem at this point in time.

And all the power to the folks raising this to the attention of BMW as well.

I think that ANYTHING that doesn't sound as it should, it just trouble in the making, especially anything mechanical. Mine is not constant and I can't for sure say that it has gotten any worse or any better, due to the fact that it comes and goes. Sometimes its more frequent and other times it not. It is a noticeable sound from outside. Just drive with your window down in a parking garage, I bet if you get it to occur, you will hear it loud in a garage.

Additionally, maybe not a problem now, but will it cause damage ongoing? Who knows. But being with the ARS/valve block in dealing with suspension etc... I don't want to be driving and suddenly encounter a failure - not while I'm driving nor do I want someone to be on the road when they are getting a heads up before there is any major incident.

In short it's your call. But I just spent $72 grand on a car that is not as it's suppose to be. Anything that I bought new, I would expect replacement or repair. Being this is BMW, I am even more disappointed at such a lack of apparent quality control. Too many folks are reporting this, in many cases noticing it driving away dorm the dealer or even the Welt. A correct fix will satisfy me at this point

I agree with BrandonW. $ 70,000 car should be perfect! I'm sure our trade in values will take a hit if this issue is never resolved.

Ars is extremely powerful. It can hoist this 4000 pound beast side to side in a blink of an eye, it's also very expensive. Why on earth would you risk that such a system breaks down within or outside warranty? Who knows if parts can punch through the body, smash into oncoming traffic and whatabout the costs? Get it fixed. Greetings from a sunny Hawaii.

Point well made and well taken.

To your question, I don't think any of us know what this thing could do to the vehicle if left to chance over time. Some earlier posts upon first diagnosis described a "rubbing" of the rear ARS line against the gas tank if I'm not mistaken.

Regardless, I'm not going to roll the dice not matter what may be rubbing and where. Agreed with Brandonw and the others on all points.

Solstice, did ya have to rub it in?? . Its 50 and raining buckets in NY.

Originally Posted by Nelquan

Moonsault270,

Any news on your end?

Ive been out of town for a few days but I have been in contact with the manager at my dealership. I sent him a link to this thread and he in turn sent the information over to the foreman at my service center.

No that I am back, I will be making an appointment tomorrow for service. He mentioned to me that they think it may be a power steering hose touching part of the body. I dont know if this is just their hunch or they have successfully serviced a car with the problem.

Since the information was sent to the foreman, GABMAN posted the info regarding the FZM Module so I will mention that too.

I will post any updates as they come in.

Any updates on this issue folks?

Well they have had my car for over a month now and they are waiting on parts.....BMW really messed up on this one.....

What parts are they waiting on Joe? Do they even have a clue as to where the noise is coming from?

they are replacing the ars pump and valve block i think....and the parts are en route from Germany....just totally bummed. In my opinion they have no clue...just my two sense...we will see i may be wrong and I hope that I am.

How many miles did you have on it before you turned it in Joe? Also how old was the vehicle?

I have a similar problem as you can see from my prior posts, and may be I am still in the honeymoon stage, and not making a big deal out of it, but would like to take your (and others') take on whether this is an experience that gets worse over time, or relatively remains the same etc. There are some folks in other forums who seem to claim that it is getting better as the car is broken in, which did not make sense to me...

Why did they not give you the car back for you to drive while they are waiting for the parts, just out of curiosity?

Joe, have you passed any of the new information posted by GABMAN to the service guys?

Salamigs, I heard it the day after I brought it home, can't tell if its getting worse. I would hear it every once in a while but after I came across this thread I drive around with the radio off an hear it almost every turn. Either way its pretty bad, not only the noise but the vibration I feel through the steering wheel.

I am bringing the car in on Tues 12/7 and made sure the foreman will be present when I arrive.

Hopefully I will have some encouraging news shortly.

Mine is still in the shop (will be two weeks Monday)...two foreman have verified the sound/vibration...the engineer was in yesterday and of course could not replicate and he's in again today, so hopefully he'll hear it - but I'm beginning to wonder if that even matters. CLEARLY, THERE IS AN ISSUE!!!! The thing I can't wrap my hands around is why it seems the folks at BMW aren't talking to one another. If the valve block and ARS pump are the answers (and I've been sharing elements of this thread with them) then why isn't BMW sharing this information -- at least with the dealerships where the issue has been noted??

This entire fiasco is unacceptable. My patience is REALLY paper thin now and it will not be long before I start to consider my options.

Unfortunately I have the grinding sensation in the left front tire. Fortunately I realized it right away and did not accept delivey on the car. Since then the dealer has found that 4/4 cars have this problem. The engineer from BMW came and was able to turn off the ARS system via computer..... the problem disappeared. The dealer did not know how to turn off the ARS. The problem is not easy to fix. The replacement parts from Germany are the original part number. BMW has not engineered a fix to this problem as of yet. I fear that those of you who are waiting for parts are going to be disappointed.
I am going to give it 6 months to see if they can work this out. If not Mercedes E 550.

Originally Posted by Pasta Louegee

Unfortunately I have the grinding sensation in the left front tire. Fortunately I realized it right away and did not accept delivey on the car. Since then the dealer has found that 4/4 cars have this problem. The engineer from BMW came and was able to turn off the ARS system via computer..... the problem disappeared. The dealer did not know how to turn off the ARS. The problem is not easy to fix. The replacement parts from Germany are the original part number. BMW has not engineered a fix to this problem as of yet. I fear that those of you who are waiting for parts are going to be disappointed.
I am going to give it 6 months to see if they can work this out. If not Mercedes E 550.

When was your car built? I'm taking delivery of mine next week and of course I'm worried and do not want to take delivery of a defective car. What is the best way to test for the noise and vibration in your opinion?

What are those parts?

Well I suppose being able to disable the ARS to eliminate the noise will satisfy for a short time. As others have said , I will not have a lot of patience and if this whole mess, if this cannot be fixed by very early 2011 I will have to start thinking of a new ride.

Pasta- would love to know what parts they are.

1HOT- 90 degree turns at low speed. Stop at a stop sign, turn right or left. Try to induce body roll.

They are ordering the entire sway bar assembly. I think it includes sway bar and ARS units but I am not sure. Problem is these are the same as the orginal parts. In my car the problem got progressively worse.

Mine was built 12 weeks ago. I would not take delivery until you drive the car. I noticed mine on 15 degree turns at low speeds. The grinding was intermittent. If you can get the car in a 15 degree turn and pull into a driveway ie. small bump it will accentuate the feeling. The reason most people are not feeling it is that in subtle cases it is hard to differentiate from the feeling you get when you make a tight turn in all wheel drive car.
They were told by BMW to replace the entire assembly unit. I think that consists of the sway bar and ARS units, but I am not sure.
My car also had the mark on the gas tank where the hydraulic line was rubbing. This was not the cause of the noise but is certainly something that needs to be addressed.
Good luck.

Originally Posted by Nelquan

Mine is still in the shop (will be two weeks Monday)...two foreman have verified the sound/vibration...the engineer was in yesterday and of course could not replicate and he's in again today, so hopefully he'll hear it - but I'm beginning to wonder if that even matters. CLEARLY, THERE IS AN ISSUE!!!! The thing I can't wrap my hands around is why it seems the folks at BMW aren't talking to one another. If the valve block and ARS pump are the answers (and I've been sharing elements of this thread with them) then why isn't BMW sharing this information -- at least with the dealerships where the issue has been noted??

This entire fiasco is unacceptable. My patience is REALLY paper thin now and it will not be long before I start to consider my options.

Have you asked them to give you a new car? I know Mercedes does that. My gf recently got a c300 and after 2 weeks had a transmission problem - they took it back and got her a new one. I was quite surprised.

Originally Posted by x5 '08

Have you asked them to give you a new car? I know Mercedes does that. My gf recently got a c300 and after 2 weeks had a transmission problem - they took it back and got her a new one. I was quite surprised.

BMW may not do this. Also, most BMW enthusiasts here at the forum normally order their car and it would take 2 months to get it. Yes, it is better to wait 2 months for a new car than to have a bad car but what is the chance that the new car would not have this same issue?

Valve Block on order now. Tick, tock, tick, tock....

Nelquan, excuse my ignorance please. What is a valve block (i.e. what is its functionality), how many exist on the car, how big is it, and how intrusive is it to get it swapped? Do you know any one of these?
Thanks in advance.

Honestly, no idea my friend. It is however, the next step in the "we're trying to fix the problem" process. And btw, they're not even sure if that will fix the problem. Another thing to note, the part isn't easily available and they're not sure at this point how long it may take to get there.

I do know that the valve block is part of the ARS system, but I'm sure someone else in this thread probably knows a lot more. And btw, not an ignorant question...this stuff is complicated.