[loatron]

My car arrived at the dealer on Wednesday, my CA said he went to fill it with gas last night (Thursday) and the steering wouldn't work. They hooked it up to their machine and determined that it was an "electrical component within the steering rack" and that the entire rack has to be replaced. Furthermore, the rack comes from Germany and he has no ETA on when the part will ship. He mentioned that with priority, once it ships, it takes 7-10 days to arrive and then however long it takes to replace the steering rack.

To make matters worse, I sold my old car a few days ago and am now carless! My CA is trying to see if he can get me a loaner, which would be great. I'm leasing, so I'm not concerned about the part replacement and the effect on resale, as long as it works new, but I also don't know anything about steering racks.

I knew my order process was going too smoothly!

[tuco44]

Originally Posted by loatron

My car arrived at the dealer on Wednesday, my CA said he went to fill it with gas last night (Thursday) and the steering wouldn't work. They hooked it up to their machine and determined that it was an "electrical component within the steering rack" and that the entire rack has to be replaced. Furthermore, the rack comes from Germany and he has no ETA on when the part will ship. He mentioned that with priority, once it ships, it takes 7-10 days to arrive and then however long it takes to replace the steering rack.

To make matters worse, I sold my old car a few days ago and am now carless! My CA is trying to see if he can get me a loaner, which would be great. I'm leasing, so I'm not concerned about the part replacement and the effect on resale, as long as it works new, but I also don't know anything about steering racks.

I knew my order process was going too smoothly!

Well, stuff like that can happen, I assume that usually it's caught at the factory before it gets shipped, but somehow your car slipped by. Seems like a loaner is in order tho.

[Powerrunner]

That not good, at least the dealer should offer a loaner until the repair is done to your satisfaction.

[Bimar]

I thought there is no steering rack in the X3 for its electromechanical?

[bekind]

Still has a Steering Assembly / rack, just the old hydraulic bits are replaced by an electric motor. Sounds like the actual motor was DOA. I bet it still worked in a limp mode and only provided non-power assisted steering.

If upon failure the entire steering locks up this would not be acceptable nor approved by DOT. These systems have to have some level of fault tolerance built into them.

[loatron]

Originally Posted by bekind

Still has a Steering Assembly / rack, just the old hydraulic bits are replaced by an electric motor. Sounds like the actual motor was DOA. I bet it still worked in a limp mode and only provided non-power assisted steering.

If upon failure the entire steering locks up this would not be acceptable nor approved by DOT. These systems have to have some level of fault tolerance built into them.

This is how he described it; it'll still turn, just no power steering. I assume it worked when it left the factory. Oh well, such is life. CA is letting me use a loaner, which is all I can ask for.

[Mako]

yeah loaner would be a no brainer, I would be shocked if they didn't say okay to that...

If you were buying the car I would say you don't want it and want them to order a new one, but since its a lease, I wouldn't worry about it...

[bekind]

Yeah other than having to wait for your sweet new ride a little longer it should be an easy fix.

The new electrical unit is probably easy to replace. No steering fluid to worry about, no belts to mess with, no hose fittings to be made.

[loatron]

Originally Posted by bekind

Yeah other than having to wait for your sweet new ride a little longer it should be an easy fix.

The new electrical unit is probably easy to replace. No steering fluid to worry about, no belts to mess with, no hose fittings to be made.

Yeah, my CA said it's a really easy install. They don't have an ETA on when the part will ship, but it's 7-10 days after that + install. CA got me a loaner last night, so it's back to the waiting game now.

[eliotn]

Hey,

How long did it take for the steering rack to arrive?
my e92 is in the dealer for a week now.

Thanks
Jake

[loatron]

Originally Posted by eliotn

Hey,

How long did it take for the steering rack to arrive?
my e92 is in the dealer for a week now.

Thanks
Jake

It took about 2 weeks for part delivery and install.

[eliotn]

Thank you for quick reply.
So how is it now, any further issues with the steering rack? I've been reading lots of horrific stories about the second time round

Thanks
Jake

[loatron]

Originally Posted by eliotn

Thank you for quick reply.
So how is it now, any further issues with the steering rack? I've been reading lots of horrific stories about the second time round

Thanks
Jake

The only issue I've had in the subsequent (and initial) 3600 miles is that cruise control stopped functioning in the middle of a 2 hour drive, but it came back after I restarted the car. I have no idea if this is related to the steering rack or what, but it went away so I never took it to the dealer.

[SomeRandomer123]

So your car should come back with a new amazing rack! Sorry I couldn't resist!!

[mibmwx3]

Is your car one of the 50 on the recall list?

[Dr Stig 2]

Interesting thread.

I too had to have the steering rack replaced on my Z4.
Mine didn't completely fail - it just made a horrible groaning noise.

They had to replace the whole rack.
In Oz, it took them three weeks to get the part from Germany (and at least the Z4 is made in Germany so that made sense in my case) and two days to install.
All up the dealer estimated it cost BMW about $5ooo. Ouch.
Good as new now though.

[loatron]

Originally Posted by mibmwx3

Is your car one of the 50 on the recall list?

Negative, I began production back in March.