telescoping steering wheel

1. What happens if you press any of the memory seat buttons? Does the steering wheel go into any setting that you've entered?
2. Does the telescopic feature fail in both directions (inward & outward)...or does it only fail going in one direction?
3. What condition is the seat cover in, that's around your driver's seat? Is it broken or falling away from the seat?

If the plastic seat cover around the base of the driver's seat is falling away from the seat...it tends to allow the large switch behind the rectangular seat button to get damaged as you get in & out of the car...many times the electrical connection on that switch gets slightly pulled out or breaks away from the switch...and the pins either get disengaged or bent. This can cause the steering wheel, side mirrors, and seat to not function properly. That switch is an integral component in the operation of the seat/steering wheel/side mirrors.

What happens if you press any of the memory seat buttons? Does the steering wheel go into any setting that you've entered? noooo....

Does the telescopic feature fail in both directions (inward & outward)...or does it only fail going in one direction? both directions dont work...

What condition is the seat cover in, that's around your driver's seat? Is it broken or falling away from the seat? it is seperated as you mention, is that th cause? What should I do about it?

If the plastic seat cover around the base of the driver's seat is falling away from the seat...it tends to allow the large switch behind the rectangular seat button to get damaged as you get in & out of the car...many times the electrical connection on that switch gets slightly pulled out or breaks away from the switch...and the pins either get disengaged or bent. This can cause the steering wheel, side mirrors, and seat to not function properly. That switch is an integral component in the operation of the seat/steering wheel/side mirrors.

Thanks for your reply...now what to do?

mmoghbelli said:

What condition is the seat cover in, that's around your driver's seat? Is it broken or falling away from the seat?
it is seperated as you mention, is that th cause? What should I do about it?

Thanks for your reply...now what to do?

Click to expand...

What usually happens when the seat surround breaks away from the seat is...the electrical connection on the seat switch get broken and/or the pins get bent or the whole wiring harness starts to disconnect from the switch which causes the problem.

The solution is to remove the broken cover (seat surround) so that you can take a look at the switch...sometimes you can slide the connector back in if its not broken ...and you will need to look at getting a new seat cover.

There are write-ups on how to remove the cover...it's held on by two torx screws and 3 snap in tabs. There's a screw on the front side and one on the top rear hidden underneath some of the seat leather where the seatbelt runs thru it. The snap tabs are located up front, in the middle and on the rear.

The 1st pic below is a pic of the back side of the switch..the electrical connector is circled in red..and the 2nd pic below you can see how the switch gets broken...

Cross references ...

Tips for replacing driver seat adjustment controls:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=282360

Power seat switch failure:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=352072

Which connection in the steering column:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=322524

Telescoping steering wheel:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=313528

DIY on the notorious seat switch:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1147866

Fuse Problems:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...72&postcount=2