I opened a PUMA case on this Wednesday afternoon. I will report what I hear back. If you have this problem, you should also go to the dealer and open a PUMA case. I sat in a 530 and the steering wheel was not off center...the gauges lined up perfectly when I looked through the wheel.

 

I noticed this steering wheel on my car being off center after approx. two weeks driving the car. It took me awhile to realize that it was actually the wheel and not the position or installation of the seat; the gauges line up perfectly with the center of the seat. I measured the offset and it's approximately 5/8 of an inch. It's annoying to say the least.

I came to the conclusion that this arrangement was by design and not a manufacturing defect. There is a mechanical drawing of a 5-series that's in the 2006 5-series brochure; the front-on drawing shows the steering wheel not aligned with the center of the seat and it's offset to the left. A serious flaw in a car that's supposed to be a driver's car.

It also could be the case that this changed with model year; mine's a 2004. If this situation was rectified in subsequent years, I may seriously consider a trade....

 

Resurrecting a thread again but does anyone know if there's any kind of adjustment for this? It's driving me slowly mad..... I even resorted to taking the car to the stealer only for the service guy and his manager to both tell me that the wheel is "perfectly central". I hate being lied to by dealers! I bit my tongue and walked away because I'm running out of dealers in my area to fall out with over crap like this....

Cheers,

Ian.

 

If you're talking about a "centered" wheel as it pertains to it's turning, then my question is do you have Active Steering?

Take a look here:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=6423
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=31541
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=12497

If you're talking about the actual steering column, then I don't think there's anything you can do...

 

am excited about driving. but love the auto for most daily traffic on congested routes (and which aren't these days). that few times I can really use its possibilities in handling and performance don't outweigh the hassle of shifting in cities and traffic. Perhaps that's why steering wheel paddles are so popular these days.

oh, and yes, the steering column is off at the steering end. Probably to make it bend away when you hit it with your torso. looks and feels weird though. Like an old Opel (Vauxhall) ('80s) that had the whole thing a few cm's off.

 

Hiya Rudy,

No, not got AS. It's the actual steering column that's closer to the door than it should be. I was kind of hoping there was a big nut somewhere underneath the trim that I could slacken, move the column a tad to the left and re-tighten. If it can't be adjusted and it's a standard "feature", no wonder the guys at the dealers denied it!

Try this - centre your head on the headrest and look down over the top of the wheel towards the MFD. Mine lines up with the right hand edge of this, about 2cms from the middle. When low enough, the wheel obscures more of the speedo than the tacho. But mine's not just off centre, it's twisted too, I'm reaching further with my right arm than my left. Things will be the other way around on LHD cars I suspect.

Cheers,

Ian.

 

+1

 

I noticed this long ago, and it really an irritation if you have an alignment done. The reason, so I read, is so that the airbag doesn't hit you square on whgen deployed. Also, by deploying slightly to the left, your head will rebound (after hitting the airbag) to the right....away from the door-glass-roof frame You didn't think the teutonic white lab coat designers allowed this to happen by accident did you?

DRP

 

I noticed this after driving my 08 535xi for a bit. A first I thought I was nuts! But the steering wheel is definitely slightly to the left and this thread has just confirmed I'm not nuts.

 

There is an easy fix for it that involves a hacksaw, a roll of duct tape and a tube of crazy glue. PM me if there is any interest.