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      01-24-2013, 05:37 AM   #23
noka
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Sounds to me like different symptoms are described (e.g. after front wheel drops and rebounds, when turning steering wheel). It's not clear if they all have the same root cause.
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      01-24-2013, 11:56 AM   #24
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Noka,

My comment on getting a clunk when the left front wheel drops and then quickly rebounds was in reply to a question on whether it only occurred with the wheels turned. I can also get the clunk with the wheels turned when going up an incline (doesn't have to be steep) which which would also produce a combination of compression and twisting stress on some component(s) in the suspension system or on steering column. I don't get the clunk when turning on a level surface.

As you said whether all the clunks have the same root cause is uncertain, but I think it more likely than not.

Marty
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      04-13-2013, 07:42 AM   #25
Aaqui
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I am being told that that BMW has redesigned the steering rack of the X3 and that once replaced the front end noise should not re-occur.

Has anyone heard anything about this?

Tried searching for a recall on the steering rack but could not find any.

Thanks for any feedback.
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      04-13-2013, 02:03 PM   #26
Jiyar
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I have an X3 28i 2013 ,I have exactly the same problem as you guys describing ,the dealer keeps saying its normal because BMW says its in the design !
After several visits and reading and searching forums , it seems to be a faulty design of steering rack , and the dealer in my region (Kurdistan of Iraq ) is now convinced that the problem is in steering rack ,but he told me that I have to let the car with them for 2 days maximum in order they record this fault by video and send it to BMW !
So they will get convinced also to send a new steering rack , in which I hope it will fix my car !
Thanks
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      04-14-2013, 03:18 PM   #27
perto
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Changed out my stearing rack for about a year ago, it was same symtoms as described above ie. "klunk" from left front wheel when driving over a hump. Be avare that they have to reprograming car and take a four wheel control of the wheel aligenment, and that take some time.
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      04-16-2013, 01:04 PM   #28
Jiyar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiyar
I have an X3 28i 2013 ,I have exactly the same problem as you guys describing ,the dealer keeps saying its normal because BMW says its in the design !
After several visits and reading and searching forums , it seems to be a faulty design of steering rack , and the dealer in my region (Kurdistan of Iraq ) is now convinced that the problem is in steering rack ,but he told me that I have to let the car with them for 2 days maximum in order they record this fault by video and send it to BMW !
So they will get convinced also to send a new steering rack , in which I hope it will fix my car !
Thanks
Finally the dealer agreed to change the steering rack after sending the video to BMW in Germany ,it will be ordered to arrive in 20 days
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      04-16-2013, 01:55 PM   #29
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So there is really no fix to this? I have the exact same "clunk" coming from what seems to be the left front. I can live with it as long as it's not a danger. Every car I've ever owned always had some idiosyncrasy. Rather than get mad about it, I just consider it a character trait. It is what it is.
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      04-19-2013, 11:44 AM   #30
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I've had the steering rack replaced once but the same clunk returned just after a couple of weeks. Now I am being told that the steering rack has been redesigned and that the cluck should not happen again once the steering is replaced with the newly designed one.

Presumably a fix has been found but only time will tell. I wonder if anyone else heard about the redesigned rack though. I could not locate any information on a recall for the steering rack either.
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      04-19-2013, 08:07 PM   #31
cohwang
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I had the same noise and got the steering rack replaced. So far for 2 to 3 months, no more noise is heard.
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      05-01-2013, 04:58 PM   #32
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Am taking my '11 28i into the dealer tonight. Left clunk. Wash board roads. Since day 1 (bought car new). Dealer is convinced it's the left strut. They plan to replace the strut. Wonder if I am wasting time, if others have found it to be the steering rack.

Will chat with the dealer about it today.

thoughts?
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      05-02-2013, 02:36 AM   #33
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The initial diagnoses on my car was that something was loose in the front end or that there was something wrong with the strut, but eventually they confirmed it was the steering rack.

Good luck.
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      05-08-2013, 05:42 PM   #34
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Steering clunk at low speed turns

Do other X3 owners feel the clunking/shuddering at low rpm turning is just an "idiosyncrasy"?
When I asked BMW service to look into this problem on my 2011 X3 xDrive281 a month ago, the technician wrote:

"This is normal operation, as the torque needed to propel the vehicle with the steering wheel at full lock is greater than with the wheels straight, and the motor is operating at idle, its lowest rpm. This combination of operating conditions causes a 'hiccup' of acceleration as the rpm of the motor tries to compensate for the increased torque demand."

Saying it's normal and explaining it that way seems like BS to me. I didn't buy the car new, but at 20K miles there were NO symptoms of this problem; the low rpm turning clunking started at around 25K miles and has grown worse ever since. I'm sort of used to it, but passengers wonder what's wrong with the car. The BMW technician wrote that he checked out components of the front suspension and motor mounts and found nothing wrong. That's great, but it still feels like an awful lot of pressure is being put on some component that won't hold up for much longer.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I thought this issue should be revived. What options do we have? (Aside from grilling the technician when he's on his lunch break.)
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      05-14-2013, 02:54 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiyar
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiyar
I have an X3 28i 2013 ,I have exactly the same problem as you guys describing ,the dealer keeps saying its normal because BMW says its in the design !
After several visits and reading and searching forums , it seems to be a faulty design of steering rack , and the dealer in my region (Kurdistan of Iraq ) is now convinced that the problem is in steering rack ,but he told me that I have to let the car with them for 2 days maximum in order they record this fault by video and send it to BMW !
So they will get convinced also to send a new steering rack , in which I hope it will fix my car !
Thanks
Finally the dealer agreed to change the steering rack after sending the video to BMW in Germany ,it will be ordered to arrive in 20 days
Finally the steering rack arrived !
They got changed it and now it's prefect , no more noise .
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      05-29-2013, 11:13 PM   #36
walendvay
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Local dealer replaced left strut. No change in noise. Now, they believe it's the left tie rod.

Tie rod arrives today. Will see what happens.....
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      06-03-2013, 09:58 AM   #37
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tie rod replaced, noise still there.

FINALLY, the dealer was given the OK by BMW NA to replace the steering rack with the updated part number! Rack arrives today. Hopefully, this fixes it just like the others have commented!

can't wait!!!
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      06-04-2013, 09:00 AM   #38
Rodion
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Quote:
Originally Posted by walendvay View Post
tie rod replaced, noise still there.

FINALLY, the dealer was given the OK by BMW NA to replace the steering rack with the updated part number! Rack arrives today. Hopefully, this fixes it just like the others have commented!

can't wait!!!
Please follow up here how it turns out?
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      06-04-2013, 08:29 PM   #39
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All Fixed!

Received the updated steering rack p/n 1-32-10-6-859-278

I drive ~2mi of washboarded dirt roads every day, so if it redevelops, I'll let you know.

Had the noise since day 1 of the car. Apparently, new '13 and '14 X3s don't have the noise (service tech verified).

Thanks for the pointers to the others who had the rack replaced!

I did get a left strut and a left tie rod out of the deal during the debug process!
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      06-17-2013, 11:23 AM   #40
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Thanks for the info!

I think the correct part number doesnt' have the 1 in front of it for US folks (based on P/N from Realoem)

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...92&hg=32&fg=12

32106859278
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      06-25-2013, 04:24 PM   #41
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My steering rack doesn't clunk, but if the car is stationary with the engine off and I move the steering wheel back and forth, I can hear a noise, like a bit of play being taken up. I don't know if this is normal? My car has only done 5K miles!
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      07-01-2013, 10:00 PM   #42
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Steering rack video

I have the same issues with mine (2012 X3 35i, with 8,500km) - clicking sounds when reversing from stationary, feeling like something is loose when driving, sudden clunking noise when driving over small potholes, etc

After reading the thread decided to rotate the wheel with the engine off - check out this video http://youtu.be/35F0DLA8GHU

Does yours sound like this as well? Truly doubt this is normal in a brand-new $60k vehicle...
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      07-02-2013, 04:32 AM   #43
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This sounds like mine did before steering rack was replaced at 10000 mls
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      07-16-2013, 03:39 PM   #44
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Mine makes a noise when turning the wheel with the engine off as well. Once the engine is running that noise goes away so I guess the noise is normal. Has anyone else had their steering rack replaced with the newer number? While I couldn't find any recalls related to the steering rack I did see that realoem lists several revisions to the part with older part numbers deprecated ("ENDED"). The latest was dated 7/13 but it wasn't the part number that walendvay referenced.

I'm taking my car in tomorrow to see if I can coax them to at least take a closer look at the steering rack and do some internal research on the issue. Hopefully the end result will be that I get a new steering rack. If that doesn't fix it I will settle down, file it away under "Idiosyncrasies", and get comfortable with notion of joining the Porsche, Audi, or Land Rover families.
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