[Jimmy Korander]

Hi, all - long time lurker. Mechanic by trade and have worked on a lot of BMW's over the years. That said, I'm still a student of my trade and have run into something interesting with my daughter's F30 - 2015 328i - Base model WITHOUT variable sport steering.

She had a "10 mph" fender bender with another car, very little body damage, just managed to smack her passenger front wheel into the vehicle on her right as both vehicles were maneuvering a dual lane left turn.

The result was a bent tie rod. I put it up on the rack, gave it a good visual inspection, replaced the tie rod, aligned it - caster and camber were both still in the green and well balanced so also seems to confirm nothing broken, bent or twisted.

There are no noises of groans from the steering gear or column and yes I am aware of BMW's recommendation of replacement, etc. when EPS is impacted.

The power steering works well, turn the wheel while sitting in park with a finger from lock to lock. There are no codes or concerns regarding the EPS or related systems.

The issue is while driving...after turning either slightly (lane change or curve) or full turn, the wheel must be MANUALLY returned to the center point - steer ahead. It acts as if there was no caster. It is not difficult to pull back, but definitely not a natural act. Even with no power steering a vehicle at speed will self center with decent caster.

My question is this...everything I have read indicates that this rack might fail, but a fail seems to be lack of power steering, grinding or something mechanically wrong internally. In my case, it is as if the rack is programmed to provide resistance to self centering.

I am prepared to replace the rack, but it would be very painful to discover that the symptoms are not resolved.

Any ideas are appreciated. Thank you