coreyf311

My 2004 545i has an active steering warning light. The iDrive says something to the effect of "active steering malfunction....may cause dangerous driving conditions, etc" Anyway, took it to the dealer and they say that a sensor went bad that requires the entire rack and pinion be replaced, not just the sensor!! The repair is gona cost $5k!!!!! Anyone heard of this before? They have disappointed me in the past with their quality of work so I dont have a lot of confidence in their diagnoses. Any help would be great!!!

EBMCS03

Any other dealer to get another opinion?

turboawd

did you check the fluid level?.....just incase they're trying to pull a fast one on you.

05545i

i'd get a second opinion.

coreyf311

After reading some of the posts here I did check the fluid level and it as at the correct level. Should I top of the container, IE going over the recomended level? I didnt want to do that because I heard that over filling could cause other issues.
I am dropping it off at another dealer next week to see what they say about it. It doesnt sound right to me that a "sensor" cant be replaced and that it requires replacing the ENTIRE rack and pinion. If that is actually true that sounds like really poor engineering!!

Thanks for all the replies!!

turboawd

yeah, it does sound like bs.
if that dealer dont work out, see if you can find an independent shop.

olskooldj

I just had mine fixed at the dealer - there is a 'contact' point on the steering column (or something to that effect) that was defective and triggered the same message that you are getting, and the part was replaced. I'll look at the explanation on the paperwork and add it here tomorrow.

Rex

SSRL_2006

I'm sorry but I saw a lot of posts about checking the fluid level... can you please tell me what and which fluid level you're talking about? And could you please also tell me where I can look this up? Like, I know you can hit the iDrive ->Services-> then check all the levels... but I don't see any fluid level apart from Engine Oil level... :S

turboawd

power steering fluid
read this recent thread:
https://5series.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=91270

Rudy

I would ask them what specific sensor went bad. It still sounds like BS to me but there are many different sensors associated with AS so it would help to know exactly what they think is bad...