Evenflow545

Happened again today, this time, conveniently, in a hairpin curve.

Maybe I will actualy die before I get old after all, a la Pete Townshend, who never really died before he got old, even though he wished in the early 1960's that he would.

But, then again, Pete Townshend's probably never owned a BMW 545; and, if he would have, he may have died at any point during driving same, after the active steering suddenly malfunctioned.

I can't contemplete anything more unsafe or annoying then your car telling you that your steering is "malfunctioning."

. . . . Except maybe getting rearended in a 1972 Ford Pinto.

Rudy

So did it actually malfunction? Did you almost lose control or was it scary just to get the warning?

Evenflow545

I noticed that it was making a bunch of funny noises, Rudy, and then when I started getting slightly squirrely (sic?), the malfunction screen came up. Nothing actually "malfunctioned," but it certainly doesn't bolster one's confidence in his automobile to have one's car tell the driver that his steering may give out at any point.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I think that active steering is a useless option.

Hormazd

Lest we start the AS is useless thread again. The E60 will never loose its ability to steer. AS is computer controlled. At the first sign of malfunction the steering is locked to the wheels. E.G. If you ever disconnect your battery, you will have to take the car in to have AS reinitialized. The loss of power is detected and the steering is locked always allowing you to steer.

EBMCS03

When Active Steering malfunctions steering still works correct? Will behave like a normal steering wheel w.out active right? It wont completly disconnect I hope.

Maybe it'll get stuck at a certain steering ratio maybe?

Rudy

Just to clarify what was already said, AS only assists an otherwise manual system. The E60 does not have a "steer-by-wire" system where you could have a catastrophic failure of the steering.

If AS fails, the car steers like an old-fashioned, fixed ratio car. No need to worry about not being able to steer. Certainly, the possibility exists where the change in steering could upset the balance of the car and, in very specific circumstances, could cause a loss of control. That being said, I'm confident that the car will still do what I tell it to do, with or without the help of AS...

BMW530

Does the power steering disappear too???

TitaniumGray5

Lest we start the AS is useless thread again. The E60 will never loose its ability to steer. AS is computer controlled. At the first sign of malfunction the steering is locked to the wheels. E.G. If you ever disconnect your battery, you will have to take the car in to have AS reinitialized. The loss of power is detected and the steering is locked always allowing you to steer.
[/quote]

So if I don't like AS, can I just pull the fuse and have normal steering with no AS?

Guest

This is nonsense -- the steering will not "give out at any point." When active steering "malfunctions," the system defaults to a mechanical fixed ratio (instead of the variable ratio that active steering provides electronically). Since the active steering is biased to low speed (to reduce lock-to-lock turns of the steering wheel), there is no danger that you will lose control of the vehicle at high speed, even if the active steering malfunctioned while taking a curve -- the risk of loss of control here is the same as you would have in any other non-BMW vehicle without active steering.

Of course, active steering may be "useless" to you, but this does not affect the safety of the vehicle, nor does the steering ever "give out at any point" as you state above.

Hormazd

Lest we start the AS is useless thread again. The E60 will never loose its ability to steer. AS is computer controlled. At the first sign of malfunction the steering is locked to the wheels. E.G. If you ever disconnect your battery, you will have to take the car in to have AS reinitialized. The loss of power is detected and the steering is locked always allowing you to steer.
[/quote]

So if I don't like AS, can I just pull the fuse and have normal steering with no AS?
[/quote]

Actually just discoonect the battery and connect it again. Thats all. You will have to live with the I-drive warning but you will have regular steering. I have not driven the car like this so i cannot attest as to whether you have any power assistance.