NHTSA Complaint #10351140 — 2004 BMW Z4

ONLY IN HOT WEATHER THE STEERING BECOMES VERY HARD AND STICKY AND REQUIRES INCREASED FORCE TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. THE BMW DEALER CLAIMS THEY CANNOT FIND AN "INTERNAL BULLETIN" #4515500-02, RELEASED ON 05/05/06. IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO STAY IN YOUR LANE, AND TWO HANDS ARE NEEDED TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE WHEN THIS DEFECT ACTS UP AFTER SITTING IN THE SUN OR HOT WEATHER. THIS IS NOT NOTICEABLE UNTIL YOU HAVE REACHED SPEEDS OF 30 MPH OR OVER AT WHICH TIME YOU ARE PRETTY MUCH COMMITTED TO FIGHT THE STEERING. THIS BECOMES VERY SCARY AND DANGEROUS. BMW IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND CLAIMS IT'S NOT A "SAFETY ISSUE". I BROUGHT MY CAR TO THE DEALER BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM AND THEY SAY I NEED A STEERING RACK FOR OVER $4000.00. THE "BULLETIN" SAYS THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE EPS COLUMN WITH A MODIFIED ONE WHICH WAS AVAILABLE SINCE WEEKS 17 AND 18 OF 2006. UNFORTUNATELY, I BOUGHT MY CAR USED AND WAS NEVER INFORMED OF THE STEERING DANGERS. IT TOOK SOME TIME TO RESEARCH THIS PROBLEM AND YET, BMW IS NOT WILLING TO FIX THIS DEFECT. *TR