Other Restraint System Info: Head Inflatable Restraint for Driver and Front Passenger.
Knee Inflatable Restraint for Driver and Front Passenger.
Pretensioners for Driver and Front Passenger.
Plant City: Regensburg
Plant Country: Germany
Pretensioner: Yes
Seat Belts All: Manual
Series: Z4
TPMS: Direct
Trim: sDrive35i
Vehicle Type: PASSENGER CAR
Model year
COMPONENT
Complaint
2003
STEERING
WHEN DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE THE CAR HANDLES AS IT SHOULD. HOWEVER, WHEN AN ADJUSTMENT NEEDS TO BE MADE TO MOVE THE CAR TO THE RIGHT OR THE LEFT THE STEERING WHEEL WILL LOCK UP UNTIL ENOUGH FORCE IS USED TO JERK IT FREE. WHEN THIS IS DONE THE CAR OVERSTEERS TO THE RIGHT OR LEFT. AS THE PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE THE CAR IS JERKING MORE VIOLENTLY TO THE RIGHT OR LEFT WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL FINALLY LETS THE STEERING ADJUST TO THE RIGHT OR LEFT. TAKING THE CAR TO THE BMW DEALERSHIP, THEY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS THE ENTIRE STEERING MECHANISM INCLUDING THE ELECTRIC MOTOR ASSIST WILL HAVE TO BE REPLACED. FIELDS BMW IN LAKELAND, FLORIDA IS THE DEALERSHIP THAT I TOOK MY CAR TO HAVE THE PROBLEM DIAGNOSED FOR $85.00. WHEN I BOUGHT THIS CAR FROM FURMAN CHEVROLET IN TAMPA, THEY CLEVERLY FORGOT TO WRITE IT INTO THE CONTRACT EVEN THOUGH I COMPLAINED ABOUT THE SMALL HANGUP OF THE STEERING WHEEL AT THAT TIME AND THEY ASSURED ME THAT THEY WOULD FIX IT. NOW I AM GOING TO TAKE WHAT I CONSIDER A VERY UNSAFE CAR BACK OUT ONTO THE HIGHWAY AND HAVE TO DRIVE A PIECE OF JUNK FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS UNLESS THERE IS A RECALL FOR THEIR POOR ENGINEERING OR, WORSE YET, LOUSY PARTS. I HAVE FOUND THAT THE BMW EMBLEM AT $35.00 IS A HOT SELLER AND THAT THE CUP HOLDERS AT $55,00 EACH ARE IN GREAT DEMAND AS IT SEEMS BMW CAN'T ENGINEER THOSE TO LAST EITHER. I CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR THE NEXT FAILURE. NO WONDER THEY HAD NO Z4S ON THE LOT FOR RESALE. I IMAGINE THEY ARE STAYING AS FAR AWAY FROM THESE AS POSSIBLE AS THEY MUST KNOW THEY ARE CUTE CARS, BUT REALLY JUST JUNK! *TR
2011
TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS
26SEP12 THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE A FALSE FAILURE WHEN THERE IS CERTAIN ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE (E.G. CELL TOWERS). THIS IS A RECOGNIZED FACT AS NOTED IN THE DRIVER'S MANUAL (P.71). THE ISSUE IS THAT THE SYSTEM FAILS TO RESET AFTER THE INTERFERENCE HAS PASSED AND ALL OF THE FAILURE LIGHTS REMAIN ON FOR AN INDETERMINATE PERIOD OF TIME (FROM 2 HOURS TO 3 DAYS) BEFORE AUTOMATICALLY RESETTING. ABSENT THIS RESETTING THE CAR IS UNSAFE AS, WITHOUT A WARNING SYSTEM FOR TIRE FAILURE (EITHER LOW PRESSURE OR TREAD FAILURE), AN ACCIDENT COULD OCCUR. THE DEALER OFFERED NO SOLUTION AS THE COMPUTER DOES NOT REGISTER A SYSTEM INCIDENT AND ALL SYSTEMS PASSED A COMPUTER CHECK ON 16AUG.. BMW NORTH AMERICA ([XXX]) COULD NOT PROVIDE ANY FURTHER ASSISTANCE. A PROPERLY FUNCTIONING RESET SYSTEM IS NEEDED TO INSURE SAFE OPERATION OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. PRIOR REFERENCE WORKSPACE: NHTSA HOTLINE CENTER CASE: FAILURE OF TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS CASE NUMBER: [XXX] DATE: 09/24/2012 TIME: 16:15:14 CREATION DATE: 09/22/2012 CREATION TIME: 10:09:06 DESCRIPTION: ENTERED ON 09/24/2012 AT 16:15:14 EDT (GMT-0400) BY M WHITE: THANK YOU FOR CONTACTING THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE INFORMATION CENTER. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN FILING A COMPLAINT YOU MAY CALL OUR HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 AND A CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE WILL BE HAPPY TO ASSIST YOU. YOU MAY ALSO VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV FOR INFORMATION. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR