djyonce

Does anyone have problems needing frequent alignments on their E60? I have an '04 530i and I need an alignment again (steering wheel cocked left when driving straight - I don't have active steering) for the third time in about 9 months and 7K miles. The car also seems to go out of alignment in exactly the same manner, at least from a symptom standpoint - the steering wheel always cocks to the left. This makes me suspect that something specific is not being held into place properly.

Given that the dealer charges me $150 just to put the car on the rack, I'm hoping that I don't need an alignment every three months. Anyone experience anything similar?

UUronL

No, but dealer "alignments" are usually anything but. $150 strikes me as being awfully low for a 4 wheel alignment. They're likely just slapping it on the rack and verifying that it's within the loose definition of "spec". Having a car "within spec" and truly aligned can be quite different. I haven't had to align my E60 yet, but the shop that did my previous cars usually takes a few hours to perform an alignment. It's no easy task. Also, even a moderate bump can throw a car out of alignment.

You may be experiencing issues if you have wildly uneven tire wear, uneven tire inflation, spacers, damaged or worn suspension components, etc... or it could just be that you're driving on a lot of bumpy or torn up roadways.