[pej7445]

I bought a 328i Sport in Dec 2013 with 18,000 miles. At the time it had Conti SSR Run Flats with 50-60% tread life remaining (225/45r18 Front & Rear).

This was my first BMW and my first experience with Run Flats so I wasn't sure if the road noise was normal. In the past I had used Tire Kingdom for balance/rotation/alignment. I learned from the first few months of ownership that that was not a suitable option for my BMW. They had screwed it up a couple of times and I had a new alignment/tire balance performed by the dealer which Tire Kingdom refunded me for.

After much research I decided to bail on the run-flats and live on the edge. I selected the Pirelli Cinturato P7's. They have excellent reviews. (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ll+Season+Plus)

My local Discount Tire Store was able to match Tire Rack's pricing so I got them there. They installed them and I was off. Compared to my worn out run-flats they were much quieter and smoother.

After about a week I had my first highway drive and noticed at higher speeds (45+) that the steering wheel had a pronounced wobble/vibration, not too serious but it was noticeable/irritating.

12/2: I went back to Discount Tire for re-balancing. They said that a weight had fallen off, and I was on my way again. The tires were smoother, but again once I hit the highway the vibration/wobble was back, although less noticeable.

12/4: I got a call from Discount Tire about my recent visit and subsequent survey response indicating that the tires were still not perfect and I would be taking it to BMW for re-balancing. The manager offered to refund me the cost of the balancing and/or swap out my Pirelli's for another tire, he mentioned Michelin. I am very impressed with his level of concern.

12/5: BMW dealership performed a tire balance. They said it was 'out' I drove off, and it was very smooth, yet there is still a noticeable wobble/vibration in the steering wheel from about 45 -70mph.

Now I don't know if it's the car, the tires or what!

Any suggestions? Thanks for reading all this, it's longer than I would have liked.

[G30 B58]

Road Force Balance?


Or, why not take up the manager on his offer of swapping the tires?


I can't stand the guy but here's a video of what I mean.

http://www.motorweek.org/features/go...orce_balancing

[claykin]

build date of car?

[pej7445]

Originally Posted by F32 N55

Road Force Balance?


Or, why not take up the manager on his offer of swapping the tires?


I can't stand the guy but here's a video of what I mean.

http://www.motorweek.org/features/go...orce_balancing

Yeah.. I'm pretty sure that's what the BMW dealer did. It's much better, just not perfect. I hope I didn't chop up the tires in the 800 miles I had to drive this week.

[pej7445]

Originally Posted by claykin

build date of car?

Looks like 7/17/2012
http://en.bmdecoder.com/WBA3A5C58DF3...bmw/vin/decode

[pej7445]

By the way, I really like this car, a lot!!!

I have 36,000 miles on it now.

[claykin]

Originally Posted by pej7445

Looks like 7/17/2012
http://en.bmdecoder.com/WBA3A5C58DF3...bmw/vin/decode

Check www.realoem.com. Here's some tips for you. Much of this occurred with production beginning 11/2012 however even some of that has been further changed.

steering rack has been upgraded
Steering column has been upgraded
Wheel hubs have been upgraded

Take this info to dealer and ask for a FIX.

[pej7445]

Originally Posted by claykin

Check www.realoem.com. Here's some tips for you. Much of this occurred with production beginning 11/2012 however even some of that has been further changed.

steering rack has been upgraded
Steering column has been upgraded
Wheel hubs have been upgraded

Take this info to dealer and ask for a FIX.

OK. I have a message into my service advisor. Hopefully this can get resolved quickly.

Thanks for the help.

[claykin]

Originally Posted by pej7445

OK. I have a message into my service advisor. Hopefully this can get resolved quickly.

Thanks for the help.

With x28 cars they cannot always make the "wobble" go away 100%. The question is whether you feel any vibration when holding on to the wheel. That they can usually fix.

I recently drove a MY15 328 and 528 and both had a small bit of steering wobble around 45MPH. You only noticed if letting go of the wheel. No noticeable vibration to the hands felt in either car.

[pej7445]

Originally Posted by claykin

Check www.realoem.com. Here's some tips for you. Much of this occurred with production beginning 11/2012 however even some of that has been further changed.

steering rack has been upgraded
Steering column has been upgraded
Wheel hubs have been upgraded

Take this info to dealer and ask for a FIX.

Originally Posted by claykin

With x28 cars they cannot always make the "wobble" go away 100%. The question is whether you feel any vibration when holding on to the wheel. That they can usually fix.

I recently drove a MY15 328 and 528 and both had a small bit of steering wobble around 45MPH. You only noticed if letting go of the wheel. No noticeable vibration to the hands felt in either car.

That is shocking to me!

Thanks for the feedback though.

A car of this quality/price shouldn't have this issue IMHO. My previous Acura's and Honda's don't suffer from a wobble.

[claykin]

Originally Posted by pej7445

That is shocking to me!

Thanks for the feedback though.

A car of this quality/price shouldn't have this issue IMHO. My previous Acura's and Honda's don't suffer from a wobble.

Now that you are armed with details, sit with your dealer and ask them to review the bulletins and if necessary open a PUMA case. They'll get you fixed up.

After almost 20 years of driving BMWs, I feel very confident that BMW stands behind their product and is very interested in customer satisfaction. Is their product perfect? No. Neither is Honda's.

[pej7445]

I spoke to my service adviser on Monday about the steering wheel wobble. He said "thats a common thing with your car, even brand new 3 series have that wobble".

I asked him about getting a PUMA open and perhaps seeing if any items can/should be replaced per TSB. He was going to check into it and get back to me.

Still waiting for a call back.

[pej7445]

By the way - Discount Tire gave me no hassles at all in paying for my BMW tire balancing. I'm very impressed with their level of customer service.

[Dippydo]

Did you check to make sure the wheels are round? Sometimes the wheel may not be perfectly round that will cause this. Either from manufacturing defect that slipped through or pot holes. You cant visually see it. You have to put it on a machine without the tires on it.

[Iceburg]

Also have diag on the rotors, bent or warped? this would cause some level of vibration at certain speeds and road conditions, along with the wobble/rotating sensation through steering wheel & pedal.

[pej7445]

My car went to the dealer Friday for further inspection. They opened a PUMA case and contacted BMW engineers. According to my service adviser, the engineers are "aware of the issue but have no remedy at this time". My service adviser indicated that we've reached the end of the road and don't really have any other options right now until engineering publishes a TSB with a fix.

Coincidentally, they gave me a 2015 328i as a loaner and the wobble is nearly non-existent. So BMW figured something out between my 2013 and the current model year to eliminate 99% of the wobble.

The 2015 also has the most current NBT head unit/Navi and it is so much faster and the display is much better than my 2013.

I guess my last ditch effort will be to contact customer relations Monday to express my frustration and see what they have to say.

[Labeef]

I've to recently started to notice a shimmy on my 14 320 in the 45mph-60mph range. I have 4k miles and have nearly brand new tires. I've road force balanced and the tires were perfect. One thing I noticed, when I installed different wheels/tires, that are lighter and more performance oriented, I feel it even more. I'm waiting till after the holidays to bring my car in. Keep us updated, I'm curious to see what they will do.

[pej7445]

My case is now with Customer Relations under review for a resolution.

[pej7445]

Originally Posted by pej7445

My case is now with Customer Relations under review for a resolution.

Customer Relations called me back today and basically told me to go pound sand.

They said that they spoke to the service manager at Tom Bush BMW and they indicated that they couldn't find anything wrong with the car.

Despite their lack of ability to find a root cause to the wobble, there is clearly something causing it.

Regardless, the woman on the phone had no authority and could offer no reasonable follow up steps.

Case closed.