2004 BMW Z4
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
These records cover every 2004 BMW Z4. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
1 recall names the 2004 BMW Z4. Newest first.
On certain passenger vehicles, under certain environmental conditions, a vapor lock in the fuel pump could occur causing the engine to stall. if this were to happen, the engine would not be able to be restarted for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
If stalling were to occur, the driver would be unable to maintain vehicle speed or accelerate, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will install a resistor in the electrical line powering the fuel pump in order to prevent an occurrence of vapor lock. the recall began may 11, 2004. owners should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Twice this month, while operating the vehicle, the power steering completely stopped functioning, causing the vehicle to be almost uncontrollable. No prior warning light. When I purchased the vehicle in 2018, the same problem occurred and the dealer replaced the steering column under warranty. In researching online I find that this is a common problem with this model. I am surprised to find that there is no recall notice for what is a major safety concern.
Power steering wheel went out of power during a trip at about 70mph. Yellow light at the dashboard went ON then so, car became imposible to drive or so.
Power steering stopped working.
The electric steering gets sticky when very often. It feels locked in its position and requires extra force to unstick, once its past the sticking point it over corrects and causes the vehicle to swerve. This failure seems to be quite common and is well known. It seems to be a manufacturing defect inside the electric steering column. I believe it should be investigated by NHTSA. The last time it happened my car went off onto the soft shoulder. The manufacturer should repair the steering. It’s a widely known issue.
When driving the steering is loose or sticky. The problem gets worse when the weather is warm. Sometimes it’s hard to keep the car driving in a straight path. This is scary and dangerous. His occurs whenever the car is driven. Other z4 drivers are having the same problem.
The steering sticks, in warmer weather, at freeway speeds. Continuously trying to unstick the steering wheel, with the possibility of overcorrecting, at freeway speeds, could present a safety hazard. Yes, the alignment company recognized the problem during their post-alignment test drive. The vehicle has not been inspected by "manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives." No warning lamps/lights/messages on dash. However, if you google 2004 BMW with sticky steering, you will find NUMEROUS accounts of this happening to other owners of similar vehicles (specifically 2003-2005 Z4).
The electric steering gets sticky when hot. It feels locked in its position and requires extra force to unstick, once its past the sticking point it over corrects and causes the vehicle to swerve. This failure seems to be quite common and is well known. It seems to be a manufacturing defect inside the electric steering column. I believe it has already been investigated by NHTSA but a recall has not yet been called to protect the consumer. This failure only happens when it is hot or the heater is on in the car, there is no warning before it occurs. Thank you for your attention in this matter. Please help by re-investigating this common failure.
The steering is sticky, like the steering system is locking up. It isn't smooth but instead very jerky, and requires serious effort to manage. It is becoming dangerous and is very unsafe. I have seen a lot of complaints on the internet and can not believe this isn't a recall item!
Component or system failed: Steering Column. It is available for inspection. Safety or the safety of others put at risk: When driving the steering column will lock or stick into place until it is forced back into a normal driving position. This consistently occurs when driving on a corner or making slight steering adjustments on a straight road. Has the problem been reproduced by a dealer: UNKNOWN Has the vehicle or component been inspected: UNKNOWN Were there any warning lamps: None
Steering is "sticky" with a feel of detents in the steering instead of expected smooth engagement. At highway speeds this is concerning and feels unsafe. Difficult or impossible to steer smoothly.
The contact owns a 2004 BMW Z4. The contact stated while driving at various speeds in warm weather, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road. The contact continued driving with caution to his destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
The the vehicle sits out in the sunlight or its warm outside (usually over 80F) the steering wheel will get very notchy and “stick” towards the center position at highway speeds. This makes minor steering corrections at highway speeds very difficult to make without unintentionally leaving your own lane possibly into another car. This is very much a safety issue! This has happened on multiple occasions since the week after I got it in May 2022. Tonight its only 65 degrees and it was acting up (this is 2 hours after sunset).
The steering wheel is "sticky" and has play in it when you are driving it. It appears to have steering drift. I feel this car is not safe to drive and is hard to control. No warning messages have come on. When I searched online, it appears that many others are having trouble with their 2004 z4 steering.
The Electric Top Malfunctions because of fault design Behind the driver seat is a hydraulic cylinder that sits in a cabin. Water leaks into the cabin causing the hydraulics to go out. The cabin fills up with water, and submerges the pump. This is a major design flaw. It is common with all Z4 models 2003 - 2008. I have a roadster rental business, comprised specifically of the Z4 model. I can give you 4 different vehicles I own as an example. Plus I can quote every seller, that says the top does not work. If people are not aware of this it can lead to accidents, the claw hooks disengaging, unable to get the top up in a lightning storm, rain storm etc., I haven't seen any recalls on the tops. There are no warning lamps on the vehicle that indicate the top motor or its hydraulic cylinder are malfunctioning. Most of these tops quit working in the same year or a couple year after the car was purchased, from manufacturing date. My car, I have reported here, only has 75,000 Original miles.
I own a 2004 BMW Z4 2.5i I bought it used in 2010 with 22,000 miles. It was on a cool December day when I test drove the car and I loved it. No sign of any steering problems. On a warmer day after driving for a while I suddenly experienced a unexpected binding of the steering and almost binding ended up steering into oncoming traffic. This really scared me and I started investigating. Yes, this is a known safety defect, but BMW doesn’t do anything about it. NHTSA, which supposed to protect us from unsafe vehicles, did not do their job either. I am a retired Automotive engineer with Fiat-Iveco and NHTSA made my company recall vehicles for much less. The defect gets worse in hot weather and I don’t let my son, friends or anybody else drive the vehicle, as I am afraid that they could get hurt, aside from a liability issue on my side. I can’t really sell the vehicle with a known safety defect from a moral standpoint and I definitely would be liable should the car get involved in an accident caused by a known defect. BMW and NHTSA do your job before somebody gets hurt or killed! Doing nothing, will cost you more in Settlements and Reputation in a long run…the problem will not go away by doing nothing! Following site lists 137 BMW Z4 owners reporting problems related to steering column: https://www.carproblemzoo.com/bmw/z4/steering-column-problems.php This is a major design and safety defect and justifies a safety recall!
Whenever the temperature Is above 80 degrees the steering becomes very stiff with no power assist due to a design defeat within the steering column. The vehicle because very dangerous to drive due to the lack of steering control. This problem effects all BMW Z4s from 2003 to 2006. BMW wants the owners to have the dealer replace the steering column for $6,000. Please assist us in having BMW issue a Recall for a very dangerous situation they created with a defectively designed steering column.
Steering sticks causes excessive force to turn steering during highway driving
Unfortunately, I have a lot of problems with the steering wheel of my 2005 BMW Z4. It IS completely unstable. For instance: 1)IT keeps pulling to the left, or to the right. It requires constant adjustments so that I could keep the car aligned, or centered. 2)I experience sudden jerks to the left, or to the right when the road surface IS slightingly uneven. I can never predict which way the car pulls me. I struggle a lot to keep the steering centered when stopping at any red lights. 3) sometimes, the steering feels like it IS stuck
They do not work
I have a 2004 BMW Z4 which I purchased used in 2016 with 67000 miles on it. Over the past 2 years, the steering has become sticky and hard to keep the vehicle in my lane when travelling straight. I have to constantly correct the steering as the car tries to pull either to the left or right. Also, it IS hard to correct the pull, resulting in jerky driving or overcorrection. The problem happens when driving both straight and on curves. It seems to happen more often in warmer weather, but have experienced a slight problem even in cooler weather. It has occurred at both slower speeds and highway speeds. This problem began at approximately 80000 miles. I have owned the car 5 years and have put less than 20000 miles on it in that time period, so it IS not driven excessively or under harsh driving conditions.
Reoccuring issue: -door locks not functioning by remote or central button -wipers not functioning -trunk release not functioning by remote or button -windows not functioning -lighting of interior not working, to include gauge cluster -top not functioning issues intensify on days of low/higher temperatures. seems to reset by disconnecting battery and reconnecting after several minutes. issues points to GM5 module being faulty/failing this IS not discovered until you start the car, seems to be a random occurrence, but happens at least once weekly. Sometimes it IS multiple times a day.
When the temperature reaches approximately 80 degrees the steering starts to stick and becomes jerky in order to stay in the driving lane. It gets increasingly worse as the temperature rises to the point that the car becomes difficult to handle. Over a period of time, while in route to my destination, it becomes exhausting to drive. It IS very dangerous to be on the road in the summer, which IS the best time for driving a roadster with the convertible top down.
Steering gets sticky intermittently, more common when vehicle IS hot. seems like a loss of power steering. vehicle only has 42K miles. difficult to maintain lane especially on curves and in city traffic. very dangerous and unexpected.
The car experiences sticky steering almost all the time now. it IS most pronounced when temperatures are higher. there IS difficulty keeping the car in it's own lane. it has not resulted in an accident, but requires an inordinate amount the focus and control to keep the car moving in the correct direction. there IS only 47,000 miles on this car and I do not think something like this should be left unrepaired by BMW. it has been getting worse as time goes on.
As I am driving this car my steering IS sticking and jerking as I turn from left to right and back again. It IS hard to turn and not smooth as it used to be. This problem occurs at high speed, low speed and on all road surfaces. I changed the tires hoping that would address the problem, however it did not help. It should not operate this way and it seems unsafe to drive. I see that many owners have complained about this ongoing safety problem, please advise. *tr
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
ODI has evaluated the sticky steering condition, which included reviews of complaints and warranty claims, interviews and surveys of owners of complaint vehicles, road tests of complaint vehicles, and a review of BMW's engineering and test data.ODI found the sticky steering condition does not result in a significant steering effort, thus the impact on the driver's ability to control the vehicle does not appear to be significant.A safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists.The agency will monitor the issue and reserves the right to take future action if warranted by the circumstances.See the attached report for additional information.In addition, during this investigation, ODI became aware of allegations of failure or loss of electric power-assisted steering on the subject vehicles.As a result, ODI is separately reviewing this issue to determine whether additional agency action is needed.
BMW IS conducting a safety recall campaign on approximately 200,000 MY04 through MY06 subject vehicles built through 11/30/05 to correct the front passenger seat air bag occupant detection mat. The specific vehicles included in the recall aremy04- 06/ 5-series with standard and sport seats, my04-06/ x3-series and MY06/ 3-series with sport seats. In addition, BMW will extend the warranty coverage of the passenger seat air bag occupant detection mat to 10-year/unlimited mileage on approximately 120,000 remaining my04-06 subject vehicles built through 11/30/05. The specific vehicles included in the extended warranty are my 06/ 6 series, my 06/ 3-series with standard seats, my04-05/ Z4, my04-06/ 7 series, my 06/ X5, and my04-06/ 5-series with comfort seats.the average frequency of failures among the extended warranty groups was less than 1/7TH of the recall vehicle groups.please see bmw's 08v-384 recall notification for further detailsdepending on seat configuration and vehicle geometry, the occupant detection mat can fatigue during use depending on the manner and frequency of the front passenger's entry and exit.specifically, over time, micro-cracks could develop in the side flanks of the mat causing a broken circuit.a brokencircuit can lead to the deactivation of the passenger air bag and the illumination of both the air bag warning light and the passenger air bag light.
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.