[ronniehotdogs]

Hi all, newbie here.

I purchased a G21 320i back in January and loved it so far - not quite as quick and nimble as my previous cars but a much nicer place to be.

Recently though it’s developed a slight knocking noise when travelling at low speeds which can also be felt through the steering wheel by turning it slightly when stationary. Seems to only occur when warmed up. After a quick search online I noticed quite a lot of folk have had a similar issue which turned out to be the track rod ends and I suspect this could be the problem.

I purchased the car privately and took out Official BMW Insured Comprehensive Warranty separately. Before I book it in I’m just wondering if anyone has had any experience claiming for this or any other suspension parts, is it worth it or will it be classed as wear and tear? The car is 4 years old with 48k miles and has full BMW service history with no outstanding recalls.

Any advice is greatly appreciated

[barian]

If you have the Comprehensive level of cover and it is the official BMW warranty (I mention this because the current underwriter is identified as AWP, which may or may not be Allianz) then wear and tear is covered up to 100k miles:
"This warranty will not cover the following. • During the service life of your insured
vehicle, normal degradation will naturally occur to some components, we term this wear and tear. For instance, components which are subjected to constant or sustained periods of movement, such as suspension bushes/ ball joints and steering joints, would be subject to wear and tear. Dependant on the age and mileage of your insured vehicle, we may not be able to cover this type of failure and the cost of replacement will be your responsibility.
If you have the Comprehensive level of cover however, we have included all insured components even if the failure is due to normal degradation (wear and tear) up to 100,000 miles from the date of registration. In addition, if a component has previously been replaced with a BMW Genuine Part, the same rule will apply, in this case evidence of mileage at fitment will be required."
Suspension components are not excluded. I think if you check your policy document you should be able to confirm the above.
The only difficulty I can foresee is that it might be claimed that the fault was present at the inception of the policy, but you are nearly half way through the policy period, if you bought an annual policy.

[ronniehotdogs]

Ah yes, apologies it is the BMW Comprehensive cover. Edited my post.

I misread the T&C's - just looked now and you are correct, thanks.

[Carl99]

Seems the same as my 330i - dealer replaced steering rack under Official BMW Insured Comprehensive Warranty, problem not come back.

[ronniehotdogs]

Originally Posted by Carl99

Seems the same as my 330i - dealer replaced steering rack under Official BMW Insured Comprehensive Warranty, problem not come back.

Ah that's good to know, thanks. Out of interest, how was the process -did they diagnose it straight away?

I'm concerned that since it only occurs when the car has warmed up there'll be a lot of back and forth with the dealer.

[a.summers86]

Originally Posted by ronniehotdogs

Ah that's good to know, thanks. Out of interest, how was the process -did they diagnose it straight away?

I'm concerned that since it only occurs when the car has warmed up there'll be a lot of back and forth with the dealer.

I took a number of sound clips of mine just in case on, the day of the booking, it wasn't making the noise.

I have all sorts changed over an 18 month period but the steering rack seemed to finally sort it.

[Carl99]

Originally Posted by ronniehotdogs

Ah that's good to know, thanks. Out of interest, how was the process -did they diagnose it straight away?

I'm concerned that since it only occurs when the car has warmed up there'll be a lot of back and forth with the dealer.

I demonstrated the knocking noise to the deal tech by driving very slowly over a speed bump in the dealership car park (A/C off). The car was also wandering a bit on the open road so this added to issue. The tech put the car on a ramp and reproduced the noise by levering around the rack and rods with a bar. A standard test he said to check the rack. He also compared it with another G20 and it had no noise.

[Carl99]

Originally Posted by a.summers86

I took a number of sound clips of mine just in case on, the day of the booking, it wasn't making the noise.

I have all sorts changed over an 18 month period but the steering rack seemed to finally sort it.

For me, the noise was only noticeable when the car was fully warmed up and especially in warmer months. Best to get a tech to look at the car with you when you arrived at the dealer - warn them this is needed - otherwise I suspect it will be "cannot find a fault" if the car is cold.

[Fox530]

Originally Posted by Carl99

For me, the noise was only noticeable when the car was fully warmed up and especially in warmer months. Best to get a tech to look at the car with you when you arrived at the dealer - warn them this is needed - otherwise I suspect it will be "cannot find a fault" if the car is cold.

I have the same problem and this is exactly my experience so far.

It's been to the dealer twice and on each occasion they couldn't find the noise, but I understand its difficult for them if they can't reproduce it. We've agreed the only real way to progress this now is if I drive to the dealer once the noise starts happening (Once it starts, it'll happen for the rest of the day) as none of the road tests they do are ever really long enough to get it to happen.

It seems to do it mostly when the outside temperature is warm and after the car has fully warmed up. It was happening every time I used the car last summer.

Once it starts, it's obvious and can be easily reproduced just by moving around the carpark.

It seems to be a common 3 Series issue, you'd think there would be an easier way to get this resolved.

[Carl99]

I forgot to say, gentle on/off braking at crawling speed also tiggered the knocking noise (with ASS off).

BTW it is not the noise made by the master cylinder when gently pumping the brake pedal - as discussed elsewhere in this forum. The noisy rack is similar sounding, coming through the footwell too, but also occurs without braking. A fully warmed up car, driven very slowly on a bumpy back road would also trigger the noise. It was a constant noise at low speed with the car fully warmed up in summer.

My car was built in June 2019 and has variable sports steering (std at that time on a 330i M-Sport). At the time of the fault, it had under 30k miles.

Good luck!

[Fox530]

Originally Posted by Carl99

I forgot to say, gentle on/off braking at crawling speed also triggered the knocking noise

Yes - same with mine.

It'll make the noise going over bumps in the road at low speed and also when braking/setting off at low speeds. On a warm day (23c or greater) it'll reliably start doing it after about 30 minutes of driving and then continue to do it all day.

It might do it at higher speed, but if it does it cannot be heard over normal road noise.

[Carl99]

Originally Posted by Fox530

Yes - same with mine.

It'll make the noise going over bumps in the road at low speed and also when braking/setting off at low speeds. On a warm day (23c or greater) it'll reliably start doing it after about 30 minutes of driving and then continue to do it all day.

It might do it at higher speed, but if it does it cannot be heard over normal road noise.

Yes! Same here.

[ronniehotdogs]

Brilliant. Thanks for the all the information guys. Also getting the noise when braking and setting off so I'll be surprised if it isn't the same issue.

Here's hoping the process isn't too painful

[a.summers86]

Originally Posted by ronniehotdogs

Brilliant. Thanks for the all the information guys. Also getting the noise when braking and setting off so I'll be surprised if it isn't the same issue.

Here's hoping the process isn't too painful

Noticed you’re in Yorkshire. What dealership will you be using?

Mine was at Sandal Huddersfield and they had another 3 in at the time with the same issue so they are aware of it at least.

[ronniehotdogs]

Originally Posted by a.summers86

Noticed you’re in Yorkshire. What dealership will you be using?

Mine was at Sandal Huddersfield and they had another 3 in at the time with the same issue so they are aware of it at least.

Ah what a coincidence, Sandal Huddersfield is the dealership I'll be using!

[AdaP]

Hi

Took my car in today for an MOT and brake fluid change. While there I asked them to look at the knocking noise. They acknowledged the knocking noise and fitted “grip discs between wheel hub and discs”. By the time I got home the noise was still there! I did mention to look at the track rod ends but they obviously didn’t.

[Carjack]

I recall a few years ago having a car which on full lock in one direction there was a click. I took the car into the main dealer who gave it a test drive and said no worries, it's just the rubber bush on the track rod end. I thought no more about it.
Later at the first MOT, at another garage, the mechanic said, I thought you would like to know that you had lost a nut of the bolt that secured the track rod end and he could see by marks on the chassis that every time I went on full lock it pushed the bolt back in!
The garage supplied a replacement nut.
The car was not a BMW.
Reminds me of tracks on the Russian WW2 T34 tank where loose track link pins are designed to be pushed back in at a certain point on the chassis!
There cannot be any connection surely?

[Huffski]

Any fixes yet, I am also suffering from this problem.

[Carl99]

Originally Posted by Huffski

Any fixes yet, I am also suffering from this problem.

In my case, new track rod ends and a new steering rack. No issues since.

Also the attached seems related?

[AlfaM]

Strange it doesn’t state G21 or Tourings. I’d have thought the front end would be the built with the same components.

Edit: Just seen it’s a US bulletin.

[FluffyCat]

Does anyone know if there is a bulletin related to the steering rack yet? I've seen the tie rods one, and they've been replaced on mine, but the issue still remains.

Dealer won't replace the steering rack as they 'can't find an issue'. Every time I go out in the car with a tech it's fine. I've recorded the sound, but apparently that isn't enough for them to replace the part. Super annoying issue.

[a.summers86]

Originally Posted by FluffyCat

Does anyone know if there is a bulletin related to the steering rack yet? I've seen the tie rods one, and they've been replaced on mine, but the issue still remains.

Dealer won't replace the steering rack as they 'can't find an issue'. Every time I go out in the car with a tech it's fine. I've recorded the sound, but apparently that isn't enough for them to replace the part. Super annoying issue.

I had my rack changed after the tie rods didn’t fix the issue.

Luckily the dealer could hear the noise. Just keep pushing for it, that’s what I did.