[itikia]

I have a weird issue with my new i4 M50. Took delivery of the car Feb 2023, it has just over 2000 km’s on it.

I noticed for day one steering felt weird, the car seem fidgety and would want to dart side to side.

As I further troubleshooted, I disabled all the driving aides, car felt better. But problem still there in that the car steering would not return back to center coming out of a turn. I took the car in a few weeks ago while I had my aftermarket winter wheels with pirelli rft winters on it. As I expected, the tech said they did an alignment and blamed the steering issue on my tires and square setup.

So I waited until last week, weather warmed up, and I put on my summer wheels on (19”) that came with the car. I drove the car same problem, coming out of a turn if you let go of the wheel the car just continues to turn and did not return to center.

So I took it back to dealer last Monday; the car has been there since for a, as the service advisor puts it, a BIG repair. They replaced the entire steering gear, which I assume is the steering rack. They said they needed approval from BMW Canada for the repair because it was significant cost. They said Thursday they are checking the car again tomorrow for any secondary issues.

Has anyone experienced any issues like this? Also, should I ask for some credit haven that they didn’t give me a vehicle to drive for a week?

[Schubee]

Hi,

I have an i4 eDrive40 with standard suspension and steering (not the servotronic with adaptive M suspension that is optional on the eDrive40).

I have the same steering issue. The car feels nervous and kinda insecure, the steering wheel does not return to the center position. It is simply not fun to drive at all.

I needed almost 400km to notice this bc I was focusing on everything else.
The whole issue is especially noticeable when I sit over from my "old" 2016 Tesla Model S which has an absolutely fantastic steering (Bosch) so I always want to push the corners.

I am confused because as I test drove the eDrive40 a year ago I liked the steering and that car was absolutely basic equipped.

The quality of my i4 is heavenly but they have forgotten the "driving pleasure" which is sad.

[RedKloud]

The electric power steering on modern BMWs unfortunately has near zero road feel, but I have not had issues with keeping the car tracking in a straight line etc.

[itikia]

So BMW replaced the steering rack, the car got much better but it still tends to not return to center on low angles from center. I took it back, the shop manager said these are the driving characteristics of the car. They tested another i4 and sent me a video of it doing the exact same thing.

So, I’ve decided to live with it. It’s the only thing I don’t like about the car. It’s quite bad, but it’s a lease and will be handed back. It just sucks that every time I get into my wife’s 2014 Ford Flex it get reminded how proper steering is supposed to work, yeah exact, a Ford Flex steering better than and i4. Also have my 2018 C43, which also feels much much better.