Picked up the 545i last night after getting the 10k oil service and some minor fixes including a s/w update.. steering wheel felt really tight when picking up the car; thought it was b/c of the s/w update.. iDrive did loss the date (not time or anything else like addresses, EQ settings, etc.) and still no RDS; not sure what s/w was actually updated..

This morning while driving to work, got this message.. keeps coming back even after turning off/on the engine.. needless to say, the 5 is back at the dealer..

 

TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER.

 

I had the exact problem 3 times last week. Checked the steering fluid and found it was under the minumum level. Sent the car in to the dealer. They checked for tell tale signs of leakage but found nothing amiss. They then topped up the fluid and instructed me to look out for oil leaks or any other liquid marks on the floor every morning I move off from my home parking lot.

So far its all been okay.

Steering fluid is unlike engine oil and does not get "consumed". Beither does it evaporate. I wonder where it all went to.

 

I checked the driveway and garage floor for any oil or stains, and found nothing; floor was clean as a whistle..

does the standard oil service require any intervention with the power steering?

 

Let me guess; your ride was manufactured between Aug - Nov 2004?

As far as I know and have been told, there is no necessity to top up the steering fluid unless there is a leak.

However, the guys at the dealership told me that this lack of fluid could have originated from the factory which did not fill it up to the required mark.

I am still observing because I've got active steering and dynamic drive and if something goes wrong, all can go very wrong.

Be sure your dealer resets the OBC after topping up for you otherwise the fault will show up everytime someone plugs in their diagnostic tool to check your system.

 

actually, it's an May 04 build..