[mfear]

car has 500 miles. it's not like it sat there for a long time,these are brand new cars, just rolling off thet rucks and i picke dit up 3 weeks ago, so it didn't sit on the lot for 2 months before being purchased.

all the other cars they have does it, and plenty of peopl eon here have the problem, so i doubt it's a tire issue.

[glitched79]

Originally Posted by mfear

car has 500 miles. it's not like it sat there for a long time,these are brand new cars, just rolling off thet rucks and i picke dit up 3 weeks ago, so it didn't sit on the lot for 2 months before being purchased.

all the other cars they have does it, and plenty of peopl eon here have the problem, so i doubt it's a tire issue.

I'll pay closer attention the next time I'm driving my car and report back promptly

[RxCritical]

They replaced a front tire on mine today. Apparently it was slightly out of round. It seems to have fixed 98% of the issue. Around 50-60 there is a very,very slight steering wheel shake but only with my hand momentarily off the wheel. Nothing noticable with both hands. I'm calling it good unless it gets worse.
YMMV,
Paul

[ric124]

I'm new to the BMW scene and I am not sure if this implies but Where was your car built?

In the VW/Audi world I know the quality of a Mexico build was not as good as the German built.

I also heard that most of the cars on the lots are South African built and Germany focuses more on the ordered cars. This might not be true tho

[mapezzul]

Originally Posted by mfear

they haven't switched out the wheels yet because they've tried it on 3 others with different wheel/tire combos and it's happened on them, too (i assume modern and luxury lines).

i'll describe it this way:

you could be on the smoothest road (freshly paved...or concrete, even).. close your eyes and drive from 30-70 mph and the ride will feel like you're floating on air.. won't feel a thing ..IF you hands are off the wheel. open your eyes, and with your hands of the steering wheel, you'll see the steering wheel vibrating left and right a few degrees.. has no effect on the direction or ride quality, but it's visually and physically perceptible.. to a significant degree. i should have video'd it.

it's not road feel or the typical BMW sporty feedback.. it's an internal problem. the guy was like, "well, bmw's definitely have a lot of feedback and a sporty feel.." ..well i've had 2 other bmw's and neither does this. lol

Does it do that in all "modes" comfort/sport? Seems like the rack is transferring movement on center. The center feel is really crappy in "comfort" I wonder if after the reviews they did a software change.

I hated the F30 EPS when I reviewed it but not as much as the F10 when it came out. The original EPS software in that was poor.

I am sorry you are dealing with this but honestly the A4 steering is worse even with your current situation (seriously over boosted).

Originally Posted by ric124

I'm new to the BMW scene and I am not sure if this implies but Where was your car built?

In the VW/Audi world I know the quality of a Mexico build was not as good as the German built.

I also heard that most of the cars on the lots are South African built and Germany focuses more on the ordered cars. This might not be true tho

All the initial cars came from Munich, Roslyn just came on line in March so they may just be hitting the US now.

Fleet can chime in as to what exactly Roslyn is building these days. With the past 3 it was only the 328i for the US. That may have changed.

[E30M3Driver]

Originally Posted by ric124

I also heard that most of the cars on the lots are South African built and Germany focuses more on the ordered cars. This might not be true tho

This is not generally true. Most 2011 328 and 335's on dealer lots right now are SA built cars only because of the build out of the 2011 models. Generally, the majority of non US made cars on dealer lots are Germany built.

Most if not all F30's on the ground now were built in Germany.

[justinnum1]

Yea dude, the a4 steering is much worse than the F30, no feel at all

[ric124]

Originally Posted by E30M3Driver

This is not generally true. Most 2011 328 and 335's on dealer lots right now are SA built cars only because of the build out of the 2011 models. Generally, the majority of non US made cars on dealer lots are Germany built.

Most if not all F30's on the ground now were built in Germany.

ok good to know, thanks.

I wanted to see if OP and everyone who has the steering issue, if their cars was built at the same plant or not.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by ric124

ok good to know, thanks.

I wanted to see if OP and everyone who has the steering issue, if their cars was built at the same plant or not.

You will find the South African made cars have less problems per 1,000 cars than the German made cars. The lines move slower so more time is given to detail. All current F30 Factories have come in below the South African factory in the internal BMW quality control competition fro over a decade.

This is part of the reason that with the F30 the plant has been expanded to produce almost double the amount of cars, especially US models. Close to 1/3 of the worlds F30 are to be produced here, with only Munich producing more per day.

Just ask SA made E90 owners how happy they ar with their cars.
Australia found 80% less defects when they switched from Germany to South African built E46.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by E30M3Driver

Most if not all F30's on the ground now were built in Germany.

Rosslyn South Africa started customer F30 production in Mid-February Producing close to 200 US 328i alone per day and making more per day every week.

So a couple thousand should be hitting US streets soon if not on them already.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by mapezzul

With the past 3 it was only the 328i for the US. That may have changed.

Currently 328i for US/Canada.
All other engines for other markets.

[E30M3Driver]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Rosslyn South Africa started customer F30 production in Mid-February Producing close to 200 US 328i alone per day and making more per day every week.

So a couple thousand should be hitting US streets soon if not on them already.

None showing in dealer inventory yet, but ~350 in transit.

Totally agree that build quality of SA plant equals or exceeds Germany.

[E30M3Driver]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Currently 328i for US/Canada.
All other engines for other markets.

Looks to me like 335i SA production has started as well now.

[SGScuba]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

You will find the South African made cars have less problems per 1,000 cars than the German made cars. The lines move slower so more time is given to detail. All current F30 Factories have come in below the South African factory in the internal BMW quality control competition fro over a decade.

This is part of the reason that with the F30 the plant has been expanded to produce almost double the amount of cars, especially US models. Close to 1/3 of the worlds F30 are to be produced here, with only Munich producing more per day.

Just ask SA made E90 owners how happy they ar with their cars.
Australia found 80% less defects when they switched from Germany to South African built E46.

Really glad to hear that the SA plant has such high quality control standards. And you were right about my Singapore-bound 328 being built in South Africa, E90Fleet. Just got confirmation from my sales exec over the weekend that Singapore's F30's are being manufactured in South Africa.

[Micleg]

The wheels can be balanced even though they aren't round. That would make the steering wheel vibrate, if the problem wheel(s) is in front. If it is a rear wheel problem the vibration isn't felt in the steering wheel but the rest of the car. It could also be that it isn't centered on the axle. Have had that problem too.

[mfear]

update:

still in the shop.. that means that they've now had the car longer than we have.. !

Talked to the service advisor and he said it's time to call new car sales and talk about getting into another car, because he' hasn't heard anything from BMWNA/Germany and there's little chance theyre going to be able to remedy the situation.

Maybe they'll swap us out for an X5 diesel!?! We'll probably move over into a 528i...that gets great mpg, too, right? same n20 motor?

[huskercubfan]

Originally Posted by E30M3Driver

Looks to me like 335i SA production has started as well now.

This is correct... I have a car on a boat from SA... and it's a 335i sportline.

[Shuttlegoose]

Wow is that a joke. If they throw you in a new car good luck, shame about the f30.

[mfear]

Yep.. sucks. The SA was like, "we havent heard a thing.. looks liek they don't know how to fix it." that's great.................................

[bananachipz]

Originally Posted by huskercubfan

This is correct... I have a car on a boat from SA... and it's a 335i sportline.

a bit OT but: How does it work for those that are doing ED? Do they specify a Munich build? I doubt they'd ship a car from SA to Munich...

[justinnum1]

Lauderdale is good about getting cars replaced, its not their fault they cant fix it. Good luck.

[huskercubfan]

Originally Posted by bananachipz

a bit OT but: How does it work for those that are doing ED? Do they specify a Munich build? I doubt they'd ship a car from SA to Munich...

I could be wrong but I don't believe they do "custom" orders out of SA. I just so happened to want the exact car my dealer had on order so it worked out well.