NHTSA Complaint #10451721 — 2004 BMW Z4

I HAVE THE "Z4 STICKY STEERING" PROBLEM WHICH IS WIDELY DOCUMENTED ON THE INTERNET. STEERING IS OK WHEN COLD OR AT LOW SPEEDS AND OCCURS ONLY WHEN TEMPERATURE IS OVER 75 DEGREES F AND AT SPEEDS OVER 45 MPH. THE STEERING WHEEL FIRMLY RESISTS TURNING (STICKS) AND, WHEN ENOUGH FORCE IS APPLIED, FINALLY RELEASES AND TURNS UNTIL ANOTHER STICKY ZONE CREATES RESISTANCE. THIS MAKES SLIGHT STEERING CORRECTIONS IMPOSSIBLE AND RESULTS IN A ZIG ZAG RATHER THAT STRAIGHT LINE PATH DOWN THE ROAD. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE SINCE THE EFFORT LEVEL IS MUCH TOO HIGH FOR DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED AND COMPROMISES THE ABILITY TO PREDICTABLY CONTROL THE VEHICLE. THE EFFORT LEVEL TO OVERCOME THE STICKINESS IN THE STEERING WHEEL ROTATION IS COMPARABLE TO THAT REQUIRED FOR PARALLEL PARKING OF AN OLD NON POWER STEERING VEHICLE. MY WIFE IS AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR ON THE HIGHWAY. I HAVE HAD OTHER CARS RECALLED FOR MUCH LESS SIGNIFICANT ISSUES THAN THIS. *TR