I have an issue in the left front suspension of our 545i with 47K miles. When turning left at low speeds I can feel kickback in the steering wheel and the feeling of metal to metal contact at my feet. Sometimes a popping noise will occur, other times not. It feels exactly like when the control arm bushings on our prior generation E39 were going bad, yet the dealer could find no issues. The front suspension design is the same on the E39 and E60, yet the bushings appear to be more durable on the E60. The active steering rack was replaced by dealer service, yet the issue persists. Please let me know if you have this issue or had your front control arms replaced. Any help in resolving this issue is appreciated.

 

my left front bushings had been blown out and had to get them replaced last week, along with the front struts and bearings which had blown out too. do you have aftermarket suspension or springs? mine voided warranty cuz I have the H&Rs. They also found out that one of the bolts that holds the tire rod and the hub was loose. did the service guy check the struts or bearings?

 

I had both the 2 front (second change) and 2 back control arms changed 2 weeks ago (some 65,000 Kms done) as I experienced some noise when turning. Saw my ride's under-carriage when they elevated it and the control arm's joints had broken rubber sleeves. Service engineer explained that the joints are then exposed to sand and dirt, and the joints deteriorates. The ride is much better and I opted to change the engine mountings too - and it now sounds as good as new

 

Is control arm bushings still the common problem on E60 ?

 

No, not the control arm as per say, they are solid metal parts I think its the rubber sleeves that deteriorates too fast Shouldn't they use a better material? Otherwise, the entire solid part can be faulted at this weakest link

 

I'm with BMW of North America, LLC. I've passed this message on to a BMW NA Customer Relations Representative who will be in touch with you soon.

 

I had the same problem with my 02 325i about a year ago.
It's pretty expensive if you want to replace it by yourself.
If you are in the United States, they might replace it w/ a new one for free since it's still 47k miles.
Yoko.