Steeringlock Warning sign - E90

[Twincam Shark]

hey guys
this morning i started my Bmw 325i E90 to pull out the drive way
and a steering lock warning came on.
is it safe to drive the car and i'm out of motorplan so will bmw charge to check and give me a quote as to whats wrong.

 

[Twincam Shark]

okay i booked the car in at Tune Tech to check
Bmw wants R850.00 per hour to check and said it might need a software reload which takes 3-4 hours worth of work or a new steering mechanism at a costs of R6000.00 :argh:
no motorplan and i have 102 000km
my after market warranty only kicks in after 2 months

 

[moranor@axis]

R850.00 per hour :thumbdo:

 

[Caddy101]

Damn!! That hourly rate is insane!
:nonono:
Its as if they don't want your business, they're deliberately deterring customers that no longer have MP

 

[SKYF]

if that sign changes to red you will not be able to start the car, so before that happens sort it out.
It happened to my mothers 2005 320i, with only 27000kms on the car

 

[Mike1]

Tell me, did the car struggle to start (slow or sluggish motor turnover) when the warning light came on?

Was the steering at full lock or turned when you started the car?

Has the car been standing at all?

 

[Twincam Shark]

the car was turned at full lock to the right when parked lastnight
started up this morning one time
i reversed keeping the steering the same
and then when i straightened and put the car in park the red light came on.
my wife actually has the car in constantia kloof as thats were she works.
now i'm getting worried if it switches of.
is there any way of claiming through my insurance for this.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Mike is on the ball! If the car's battery is a bit tired or needs a charge it can cause the steering lock to malfunction sometimes giving the orange error message. Mine started doing this on occasions since a year ago and then this past December it did it three times in a row. Car went in for a motorplan covered service and asked them to look at this. Apparently they updated the software and charged the battery - been fine ever since.

Replacing the entire steering column is madness - I saw a thread on the E90Post forum of a guy's DIY to remove and re-lubricate the steering lock mechanism. Quite a process but not impossible to do!

 

[Twincam Shark]

the guys at Bmw told me the same thing about the software reload
which takes 3-4 hours .
he also said sometimes it comes on and goes off on its own.
i have never changed the battery and the car is 2008 model
i have it for over a year now

i just hope the car can stay ok till i take it to Tune Tech on Wednesday morning for a check up

 

[moranor@axis]

at R850 an hour is it not worth going to the dealer?

 

[Twincam Shark]

i want to make sure what it is
Tune tech are not going to charge to check up for me.

 

[Twincam Shark]

okay
decided to cancel with tune tech and take it to Bmw Alpina
they said if its software recall its R775.00 and if its the steering column needs replacing they will quote me and if i decline the quote then i will still need to pay the R775.00

 

[moranor@axis]

i would have done the same...

 

[FaSTandFurious]

Let us know and good luck

 

[Twincam Shark]

i will
dropping the car of tommorow
i am 2000km over motor plan and the guy said maybe he can speak to the motor plan to pay some of it .
the last service was done by them and surely they should have checked this as the car had 99 995km when it went in

 

[Mike1]

I can tell you right now the problem was caused by strain on the motor and starting the car at the same time.

Let the car be, there is nothing wrong with it if it hasnt done it again.

Your owners manual specifically states (and the same applies to MINI) that you must never park or switch off the vehicle at full lock as it puts strain on the power steering system. When you start the car up the system strains to power the steering system because of the force against the tyre at that angle and that's when the warning comes up.

I used to get this a lot when maneuvering cars around the showroom, too many full locks at a time (of which there are many when parking in a showroom) and the steering goes dead for a second and the light comes on and then everything works again.

Dont waste your money, the car is fine. :thumbs:

 

[Twincam Shark]

hey mini mike
the light is still on but the car has not switched of or battled to start.
what do you think as i booked the car in for tommorow.

You are right when i park the car i have to turn full to the right to get in and the car sits like that till the next morning when i start and reverse.

how ever i have tried resetting teh dash twice
it goes away and comes on again.

 

[Mike1]

Is the steering heavy?

If not, then have you tried disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes and then in your user manual take a look as there is a guide on how to "re-calibrate" the steering wheel.

Mike

 

[Twincam Shark]

no the steering is not heavy at all
its like normal

did not disconnect the battery.
eish i dont know.
let see tommorow what Bmw say as all these elctronics is to much for me.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Okay, a few things:

The light is constantly on? Then the steering lock is either not locking or unlocking - do you hear a noise when inserting or removing the key fob? This is the steering lock mechanism...

Generally is better to park a car with the wheels pointing forward if possible, but definitely not anywhere near full lock.

I would, as decided already, rather take it to the agents to investigate.

When mine was mucking around it would just show the orange steering lock error message when inserting the key fob, and usually would be fine after taking the key fob out and trying again. It was just the last time back in December where it was doing this three times in a row. Jiggled the steering wheel on the fourth attempt and it was fine again.

Let us know what they find...