[Blake P]

FYI- the B8's are prone to steering wheel vibrations (both low speed and highway speed) as well. I've got an '09 B8 A4 S Line and it's a great car. I was initially planning on replacing it with a facelifted 2013 avant, but AoA decided to quit bringing them. Thankfully BMW hasn't abandoned the wagon market (yet)!

[driverman]

Vibrations can be very frustrating and difficult to diagnose.

I once had a 400E with vibrations in the steering wheel that haunted me for over a year! It was impossible to ignore when cruising on the highway and feeling the damn steering wheel vibrating in my hands.

Shop foremen and expert mechanics tried balancing, alignment, tires, wheels, rotors, struts, swapping driveshafts and more. What finally fixed it was non-standard wheel alignment settings. By the time they fixed it, I hated the car and sold it.

When I replaced the RFT's on my current E90 with PS2's, I got a vibration that started at 70 mph. It drove me nuts. I tried balance and an expensive alignment at the dealer. No help. I finally replaced the tires and the problem went away.

[mfear]

Originally Posted by justinnum1

Nice, i was looking at the audi but ended up with the 328.

you still having issues with your f30?

p.s. i got the audi at the pines dealer

[mfear]

Originally Posted by driverman

Vibrations can be very frustrating and difficult to diagnose.

I once had a 400E with vibrations in the steering wheel that haunted me for over a year! It was impossible to ignore when cruising on the highway and feeling the damn steering wheel vibrating in my hands.

Shop foremen and expert mechanics tried balancing, alignment, tires, wheels, rotors, struts, swapping driveshafts and more. What finally fixed it was non-standard wheel alignment settings. By the time they fixed it, I hated the car and sold it.

When I replaced the RFT's on my current E90 with PS2's, I got a vibration that started at 70 mph. It drove me nuts. I tried balance and an expensive alignment at the dealer. No help. I finally replaced the tires and the problem went away.

frustrating

[cardnation]

Originally Posted by mfear

on a side note, I traded in my VW GTI yesterday.. i was going to pick up a 335..then all this crap with BMW went down, so I got:



LOVE IT. doesn't ride as well as a [working] BMW, but i think it is much more aesthetically pleasing; inside and out.

Nice get .

I love my 2007 A4 S-line. I was set on a 2012 A4, but Audi's recent war on customers tuning (see here for more info) has turned me off the brand entirely.

[Blake P]

Originally Posted by cardnation

Nice get .

I love my 2007 A4 S-line. I was set on a 2012 A4, but Audi's recent war on customers tuning (see here for more info) has turned me off the brand entirely.

It's the same with any car manufacturer, pay to play. The only difference is now they're actually paying attention. You can't honestly expect them to warranty a tuned engine...

[cardnation]

Originally Posted by Blake P

It's the same with any car manufacturer, pay to play. The only difference is now they're actually paying attention. You can't honestly expect them to warranty a tuned engine...

That wasn't my point. I'm sorry if that is how it sounded. I wouldn't expect them to warranty a failure due to tuning, but I would expect them to warranty a defect in their product. Read through that thread and you will see some of the issues with the way they are handling this.

I'm currently in a similar situation with Audi. I had OEM (yes, Audi OEM) Sport Springs installed on my A4 which did not come with the sport package. 30k miles later I've developed a clunk, which Audi says is a control arm bushing, and have denied warranty coverage because they say my "vehicle is outside of factory spec". Out of spec with OEM parts?

[Blake P]

Originally Posted by cardnation

That wasn't my point. I'm sorry if that is how it sounded. I wouldn't expect them to warranty a failure due to tuning, but I would expect them to warranty a defect in their product. Read through that thread and you will see some of the issues with the way they are handling this.

I'm currently in a similar situation with Audi. I had OEM (yes, Audi OEM) Sport Springs installed on my A4 which did not come with the sport package. 30k miles later I've developed a clunk, which Audi says is a control arm bushing, and have denied warranty coverage because they say my "vehicle is outside of factory spec". Out of spec with OEM parts?

Is your dealer otherwise mod-friendly? My A4 is pretty decently modified and I never had issues with warranty claims, but it helps that I'm friends with my SA. Playing devils advocate, you can imagine that since they know your suspension has been modified, they have no idea if that suspension bushing may have been damaged by a careless tech or other outside factors as a result of having work done elsewhere. Not saying it's right, but could happen at any dealer, Audi or not. I had my local Mercedes dealer try and void my entire warranty because my car was lowered. We settled on just voiding the suspension portion, which thankfully I never had issues with.

[jzcrna]

Originally Posted by RxCritical

Latest update.
They changed all 4 Continentals to Pirelli's. No significant change to the vibration except it now seems more noticable around 45 mph. The Service Department is basically saying they are done and they don't think there is really anything wrong with the car. I heard the "it's characteristic of the vehicle. They all do that." I tend to disagree with them.
I am waiting to hear from the General Manager tomorrow (he was off today) for some sort of resolution.

did you have them check the wheels to make sure that they are not bent? even the slightest bend of a rim can cause noticeable vibration to the steering wheel.

[mfear]

You think it's a coincidence we all have a bent rim?

[RxCritical]

Originally Posted by jzcrna

did you have them check the wheels to make sure that they are not bent? even the slightest bend of a rim can cause noticeable vibration to the steering wheel.

No I didn't, but I think they do that when they balance.
Regardless, every f30 that I have driven seems to have the same issue (ie a steering wheel shake at around 50 mph). Maybe I am more sensitive to it now. But it's there and there is NO shake at other speeds. Some of them seem to have more noticable shake than others.

[cardnation]

Originally Posted by Blake P

Is your dealer otherwise mod-friendly? My A4 is pretty decently modified and I never had issues with warranty claims, but it helps that I'm friends with my SA. Playing devils advocate, you can imagine that since they know your suspension has been modified, they have no idea if that suspension bushing may have been damaged by a careless tech or other outside factors as a result of having work done elsewhere. Not saying it's right, but could happen at any dealer, Audi or not. I had my local Mercedes dealer try and void my entire warranty because my car was lowered. We settled on just voiding the suspension portion, which thankfully I never had issues with.

They used to be, but Audi's clamp down has forced them to be less so. If this was aftermarket parts I would not have an issue, but it's OEM.

[Bmwphile]

Originally Posted by SomeRandomer123

Good luck with it, hope you love it! Wonder if my right hand drive market is affected...
I will be sure to report back once I get my 328i!
Keep us posted

So are any right hand drive cars affected? I am eagerly awaiting mine

[mocohead]

Since I have a 328i on order I was concerned about this topic (although I live in LA and we rarely ever go as fast as 50 mph). So I visited realoem.com and learned some interesting things.

There are four different steering box/control unit part numbers for the F30 328i. One is for the non-sport until March 2012 production. A second part number is out there for non-sport after March 2012 production. The third is for the sport, and the fourth is for the sport with variable steering.

This suggests there might have been an issue with pre-March non-sport steering boxes that got fixed mid-cycle. Those of you having these issues it would be interesting to note:

1. sport vs non-sport
A. If sport, do you have variable steering
2. production date
3. tire brand

My intuition is that the problem will be pre-march non-sport cars. Let's see...

[Dutchf30]

I have a sport without variable steering with conti 17" 50 225
My car is pre arch built....severe vibrations...

[Sphinx-3]

People at BMW have no clue at what to do about this!! Every time someone talks to me, they are talking about wheel balance. I told them you are trying to fix the wrong thing!!

They are probably trying to waste sometime until someone steps up and decides to resolve this issue!!

[RxCritical]

My dealer has told me that BMW is "aware" of the issue and has a "team" working on it. No timetable for resolution available. All I know is that every F30 I have driven has this issue. Of course I have only driven 5 different ones. I'm not sure what to do now until BMW declares a "fix". The only thing I can do is bug my dealer who probably can't do anything else.

[Sphinx-3]

Originally Posted by RxCritical

My dealer has told me that BMW is "aware" of the issue and has a "team" working on it. No timetable for resolution available. All I know is that every F30 I have driven has this issue. Of course I have only driven 5 different ones. I'm not sure what to do now until BMW declares a "fix". The only thing I can do is bug my dealer who probably can't do anything else.

That's exactly what I'm doing!! I will keep bugging them until they fix it. I didn't pay that much money for a car with an issue like this.

BTW, this is the first time i know they have a "team" working on it!! They always try to avoid acknowledging the issue and going around it.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by mocohead

Since I have a 328i on order I was concerned about this topic (although I live in LA and we rarely ever go as fast as 50 mph). So I visited realoem.com and learned some interesting things.

There are four different steering box/control unit part numbers for the F30 328i. One is for the non-sport until March 2012 production. A second part number is out there for non-sport after March 2012 production. The third is for the sport, and the fourth is for the sport with variable steering.

Just remember RealOEM is actually a few months behind

There is a new change coming from July 2012 aswell

[Estimated Prophet]

Originally Posted by RxCritical

All I know is that every F30 I have driven has this issue. Of course I have only driven 5 different ones.

Were any of them 335i's or were they all 328i's?

[micknugget]

Just FYI but my late March production 328 does not have any steering vibrations and any speed. It has the 17" all season P7s.

[mfear]

Originally Posted by Sphinx-3

That's exactly what I'm doing!! I will keep bugging them until they fix it. I didn't pay that much money for a car with an issue like this.

BTW, this is the first time i know they have a "team" working on it!! They always try to avoid acknowledging the issue and going around it.

Mine had the regional engineer and his crew working on it..a lot of good that did lol.

At least our x3 will be here in a week or so.