NHTSA Complaint #11113717 — 2003 BMW Z4

MY 2003 BMW Z4 HAS VERY TIGHT STEERING WHEN DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT 65 MPH, AND I NOTICE THE PROBLEM IS MORE COMMON ON WARMER DAYS. LAST WEEK AS I WAS DRIVING ON A WARM DAY, I NOTICED I HAD TO REPEATEDLY PUT SIGNIFICANT EFFORT IN ORDER TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL ON A TURN ON THE FREEWAY, AS THE STEERING WHEEL KEPT STICKING. WHENEVER I'VE APPLIED THIS SIGNIFICANT EFFORT TO GET AROUND THIS ISSUE, THE STEERING UNSTICKS AND THEN TURNS TOO MUCH. ON THAT DAY, I WAS VERY CLOSE TO HITTING THE CAR IN THE LANE NEXT TO ME, CAUSING THE CAR NEXT TO ME TO SWERVE A BIT AS WELL TO AVOID ME. IT WASN'T THE FIRST TIME THAT THIS HAPPENED TO ME WITH THIS CAR, AND IT WAS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS. I TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP AND THEY SAID IT'S A VERY COMMON ISSUE WITH THIS CAR AND THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. I BELIEVE BMW, WHICH PRIDES ITSELF IN THE QUALITY OF IT'S VEHICLES, SHOULD TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE, AS IT'S A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN FOR DRIVERS OF THIS VEHICLE. JUST BY DOING A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH, IT'S VERY APPARENT THAT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH EARLY YEAR Z4'S.