Silver_545i

I am really hoping you can help me here, or at least point me in the correct direction.

My '05 545i has been making this noise when steering. It typically occurs during low speed driving when I turn the wheel just more than 1/8 of a turn. The noise lasts for the entire turn and goes away once my steering wheel is back in the straight normal position. The noise comes when I turn both directions - left and right.

The best way to describe the noise is like a low level humming / whistling - maybe almost squeaking. When I first heard the noise, I actually thought it was from my DVD player for the on-board navigation, but then I realized that the noise returned every time I turned. So, the sound is similar to the noise that CD/DVD players make when scanning a disc. It seems to be coming from under the passenger dash board area.

I took it to the BMW dealer and the shop foreman and I went for a drive. We were able to replicate the noise, but he had no idea why the car was making that sound or where it was coming from. He has been with BMW for over 10 years and has never heard this noise before. He definitely admitted it was not normal, but didn't even know where to start diagnosing the car. He said it sounded like a pump actuator or something - but the noise is quite enough that you wouldn't hear it if you were not specifically listening for it.

A few months back, I got that Steering Malfunction warning on my iDrive that many of you also experienced. I had the dealer top-up the steering fluid and the warning went away and never came back. Not sure if that was a related issue as the steering noise was present during the steering malfunction... I also hear a squeal noise some times as I come to a full stop while parking. This does not come all the time and the squeal noise gets progressively louder as I come to a full stop. My front & rear brakes are perfect so the noise is not coming from them... but I was not able to replicate the noise with my BMW foreman. I actually thought the stopping noise has gone away, but then I heard it yesterday as I stopped to park my car. So, now I have 2 noises that I don't know about!

I did many searches for this on the forum and some of you have experienced a similar issue but I couldn't find a resolution. Also, a few members mentioned there was a TSB out on the steering noise, but I couldn't find the actual TSB to forward to my dealership. Does anyone have it?

Do you have any suggestions for me?
Thanks in advance!

rafichicago

I have exaxtly same thing. I have it ever since I have the car. I have put over 30000 miles and it is still the same. I have also showed it to my dealer. Nobody knows what is this. I've had steering rack replaced, noise is still there. I would also be interested in resolving this.

e6t.lab.rat

sorry to hear of your troubles.

but have you inspected the suspension area where the noise is coming from? if not, i'd suggest you jack your car up and remove the pass. wheel. take a look at the surrounding parts, e.g. control arms, sway bar links, shocks/springs and the like to find any bindings. have someone turn the wheel for you and inspect the movements. you'd be suprise what you might find yourself. good luck

nikko64

same here. Exactly as you described. Mine occurs during cold weather in the mornings mostly. I have taken it to the dealer and they were not able to reproduce it and they inspected the front end and gave the car a clean bill of health. So, I guess I can live with it. If someone does figure this out, I would love to know.

safetywork

I have experienced a "groaning" sound when I make quick turns to the left at slow speeds but it hasn't been consistent. Please keep us posted. Hopefully I'll remember to tell them about it on my next service visit.

rafichicago

I am not a native speaker but will try to ask. Is the soun "spectrum" changes with the speed in Your cars? I mean the faster You drive through the corner the "higher the sound" ?

Silver_545i

Not sure if I understand your question correctly, but the steering noise is constant through the turn - the pitch does not change depending on how much faster you drive. The noise simply starts once you turn the wheel and stops when you return the wheel back to the straight position. Hope that helps.

I'm some-what surprised that many members on this forum have this same problem. Someone must have figured out a solution if it's that common?

nikko64

I'm some-what surprised that many members on this forum have this same problem. Someone must have figured out a solution if it's that common?
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You would think so...or that the SA's would know what was causing it. It's unfortunate but, what can you do...they tell me that the whole front end is fine and I left it at that

Gordast

I have the same exact problem and every time I go to the dealer, they are unable to replicate it. It does only happen in cold weather so I am worried as my warranty is about to expire.

flyingpuck

I have the same problem too! Last year, BMW had my car for more than 9 weeks trying to solve the problem, and after replacing a power steering pump, stated it was fixed.....but it wasn't and STILL isn't fixed. I get the sound unpredictably, though still fairly frequently. I would LOVE to be done with the problem (before it perhaps turns into something even worse), but BMW is not interested in fixing it!