CarsApp
PE10020PE · Preliminary EvaluationClosed — No Recall

Sticky Steering

NHTSA investigated and closed this without ordering a recall.

Manufacturer
BMW of North America, LLC
Component
STEERING, STEERING:COLUMN, STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
Opened
Jun 28, 2010
Closed
Jun 28, 2011
Model years
2003–2005
Type
Preliminary Evaluation

Summary

ODI has evaluated the sticky steering condition, which included reviews of complaints and warranty claims, interviews and surveys of owners of complaint vehicles, road tests of complaint vehicles, and a review of BMW's engineering and test data.ODI found the sticky steering condition does not result in a significant steering effort, thus the impact on the driver's ability to control the vehicle does not appear to be significant.A safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists.The agency will monitor the issue and reserves the right to take future action if warranted by the circumstances.See the attached report for additional information.In addition, during this investigation, ODI became aware of allegations of failure or loss of electric power-assisted steering on the subject vehicles.As a result, ODI is separately reviewing this issue to determine whether additional agency action is needed.

Vehicles under investigation (3)

  • BMW Z42003
  • BMW Z42004
  • BMW Z42005

Source: NHTSA investigation PE10020. Investigations are NHTSA's review of a potential safety issue and may or may not result in a recall.