2006 BMW 7 Series Steering Problems

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 20 MILES PER HOUR APPROACHING A STOP, THE CAR SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND ON THE DASH INDICATED THE GEAR IS NOW "N", THEN STEERING WHEEL LOCKED AND I COULD NOT TURN TO PULL OFF THE ROAD. THIS WAS DANGEROUS AS I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. AFTER TURNING OFF THE CAR, TURNING IT BACK ON, THE PROBLEM DISAPPEARS. IF THIS FAULT HAPPENS ON A HIGHWAY, IT CAN CAUSE A FATAL ACCIDENT IF THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKS AND GEAR SHIFTS TO NEUTRAL. FROM READING BMW FORUMS, THEY SAY POSSIBLE CAUSES COULD BE THE INTEGRATED SUPPLY MODULE, TRANSMISSION FAULT, ELECTRICAL ISSUE, OR THE SMG SENSOR. PLEASE READ SIMILAR STORIES ONLINE. AT THE LINKS BELOW. HTTP://WWW.BIMMERFORUMS.COM/FORUM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?1618729-CAR-WENT-INTO-NEUTRAL-ON-IT-S-OWN-WHILE-DRIVING-THEN-DIED! *TR

I OWN AN 2006 BMW 750LI, VIN#. [XXX], WITH ABOUT 34,428 MILES ON THE CARE. I AM GETTING A MESSAGE EVERY NOW AND THEN SINCE 2 DAYS ON THE DASHBOARD THAT MENTIONS THAT THE FLUID IS LOW AND PRESSURE LOSS IN THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM. WHEN I DRIVE, I FEEL THAT IT IS GETTING HARDER TO TURN AT SHARP ANGELS. I NOW SEE THE FLUID LOSS ON MY GARAGE FLOOR AFTER I SAW THE MESSAGE ON THE DASHBOARD. I RESEARCHED ON THE WWW.BMWUSA.COM WEBSITE, AND I SEE THAT THERE IS A RECALL CAMPAIGN FOR THE EXACT SAME ISSUE ON NEWER VEHICLE MODELS (MODEL YEAR 2012-13 BMW X5 SAV AND MODEL YEAR 2013 BMW X6 SAC), CAUSED BY THE STEERING GEAR HOUSING WHICH CAUSES THE WITH FLUID AND HYDRAULIC PRESSURE LOSS UNDER THE CAMPAIGN # 12V-267: STEERING GEAR WHICH DESCRIBES THE PROBLEM AS BELOW ON THE RECALL CAMPAIGN NOTICE. "DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM THE ISSUE INVOLVES THE STEERING GEAR. DUE TO A MACHINE PROCESS ERROR AT THE SUPPLIER, A SNAP RING IN THE STEERING GEAR HOUSING CAN LOOSEN DURING VEHICLE OPERATION. THIS WOULD LEAD TO LEAKAGE OF POWER STEERING FLUID FLOWING INTO THE RUBBER BOOT OF THE STEERING GEAR, CAUSING A PRESSURE LOSS IN THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM. THE RESULT IS A LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST. STEERING FUNCTION WILL BE MAINTAINED; HOWEVER, THE EFFORT REQUIRED TO STEER THE VEHICLE WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER. IN SOME CASES, POWER STEERING FLUID CAN SPRAY ONTO HOT EXHAUST COMPONENTS. THEREFORE, AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE MAY OCCUR. " I LATER CALLED BACK THE LOCAL DEALER UNITED BMW IN ROSWELL, GA TO REPORT ABOUT THE RECALL AND THE SERVICE REP SAID, MY VIN# DOESN'T SHOW UP ON THIS RECALL AND SO I WOULD HAVE TO CALL BMWUSA OR NHTSA TO REPORT THIS ISSUE. HENCE I AM REPORTING THIS TO THE NHTSA. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT THE NEXT STEPS WOULD BE AND IF I CAN GET THE ISSUE FIXED UND ER THE RECALL NOTICE # 12V-267: STEERING GEAR. LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR ADVICE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I AM THE OWNER OF A 2006 BMW 760 LI, PURCHASED IN LATE 2008 FROM A GEORGIA DEALERSHIP AND SHIPPED TO HONOLULU. MY WIFE IS THE PRIMARY AND DAILY USER OF SAID VEHICLE. CURRENTLY, I'M SO AFRAID FOR MY WIFE, PASSENGERS AND MYSELF WHEN ENTERING THIS VEHICLE DUE TO IT'S UNSAFE AND HAZARDOUS STATE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO OR IF I HAVE A RIGHT TO BUT, I'M HOPING FOR ASSISTANCE TO HAVE MY VEHICLE OPERATING AGAIN IN PROPER WORKING CONDITION. THE FOLLOWING COMPLAINTS ARE WITH BMW OF HONOLULU (BOH) SERVICE DEPARTMENT. I CHOSE BOH BECAUSE I THOUGHT THEY WERE THE MOST REPUTABLE AND BEST QUALIFIED BMW SERVICE CENTER HERE IN HAWAII, SO I THOUGHT. FIRST COMPLAINT, COOLANT LOW LITE ILLUMINATED ON AT LEAST FIVE SEPARATE OCCASIONS. SYSTEM WAS TROUBLESHOT, PARTS REPLACED AND STILL LEAKING APPROXIMATELY 4 CUPS PER MONTH, I WAS CHARGED FOR REPLACEMENT OF PARTS. 2ND COMPLAINT, REPORTED DRIVER SIDE WINDOW INOP. AFTER TECHS TROUBLESHOT, QUOTE OF $381.25/WINDOW MOTOR, $250.50/LABOR. LATER, REGULATOR AND LIFT ASSEMBLY WERE ALSO REPLACED. MY CHARGE WAS $1197.08. THIRD COMPLAINT: BOH SERVICE REP INSISTED FRONT TIRES REQUIRE CHANGE. WEEK PRIOR, SAFETY CHECK WAS DONE. MY CHARGE WAS $1429.99. FOURTH COMPLAUINT: REPORTED DISPLAY ICONS ILLUMINATED. AS BOH TECHS TROUBLESHOT, THEY INCURRED FIVE SHORTED FAULTS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO VOLT CHECK ACROSS VARIOUS MODULES AND SWITCH CLUSTER/S. SERVICE REP TOLD ME TO TAKE MY CAR OFF THEIR PROPERTY BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT TO WORK ON IT ANYMORE. WHEN I REQUESTED HE SEND A SHUTTLE TO PICK UP MY WIFE, HE SAID, NO, TAKE YOUR CAR OUT OF HERE. THESE ARE JUST BRIEF SCENARIOS OF REALLY WHAT HAPPENED. I WOULD LIKE TO GO INTO MORE DETAIL. *KB

ON 1-25-2010 I WAS GOING TO NEW PORT BEACH AND TRAVELING ON FWY405N. ABOUT 5 MINUTES BEFORE THE PLACE OF ACCIDENT MY CAR STARTED SWIRLING ABOUT 2' LEFT AND RIGHT AND I WAS VERY WORRIED. THERE WAS NO SIGN ON THE DASHBOARD BECAUSE FOR ANY KIND TROUBLE TO THE CAR THERE IS ALWAYS SOME THING OR OTHER CAUTIONING DRIVER OF STEPS TO BE TAKEN. ALSO BECAUSE I WAS ABOUT 10 MINUTES AWAY FROM MY DESTINATION SO I CONTINUED TO DRIVE VERY CAUTIOUSLY. IN ABOUT 5 MINUTES TIMECAR STARTED SWIRLING VERY VIOLENTLY RIGHT AND LEFT AND BRAKES AND STEERING CONTROL WAS NOT WORKING AS I TRIED MY BEST TO CONTROL THE CAR. THIS HAPPENED CLOSE TO FWY73 EXIT. THOUGH I WAS CONTINUING TO 405N I WAS ON MOST LEFT LANE CLOSE TO DIAMOND LANE. AFTER VIOLENT SWIRLING RIGHT AND LEFT DURING THAT ACTION CAR TOOK A COMPLETE 180 DEGREE TURN AND QUIETLY STOPPED VERY CLOSE TO AND PARALLEL/ADJACENT TO CENTER DIVIDER FACING TO ON COMING TRAFFIC. I WAS SAFE WITHOUT ANY HURT. I IMMEDIATELY CALLED 911 AND THEN I CALLED HOME AND THEN I CALLED MY CONTACT TO WHOM I WAS GOING TO SEE. AFTER HWY PATROL ARRIVED I SAW THAT BOTH THE BACK WHEELS WERE TILTED AT 60 DEGREE ANGLE AND WHEN CAR WAS TAKING 180 DEGREE TURN BUMPER TOUCHED THE CENTER DIVIDING WALL AND CAME OFF. THIS WAS TOTAL DAMAGE TO THE CAR. NO OTHER VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN THIS ACCIDENT AND I DID NOT HIT ANY OTHER STATIONARY OBJECT. BMW DOES NOT WANT TO ENTERTAIN THIS AND MY INSURANCE COMPANY LIBERTY MUTUAL IS CONSISTENTLY TELLING THAT I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCIDENT AND I HIT THE CAR WITH A STANDING OBJECT. I AM ASKING FOR THAT THEY SHOULD INVESTIGATE IT PROPERLY BY READING IN THE CAR COMPUTER THAT WHAT WAS THE REASON OF ACCIDENT AND WHAT WAS MILEAGE I WAS TRAVELING. ALSO WHY BRAKES AND STEERING STOPPED WORKING WHICH COULD HAVE HELPED ME IN PREVENTING THIS ACCIDENT. I AM NOT LOOKING FOR ANY GAINS BUT TRYING TO SEE THAT MORE PEOPLE MAY NOT GET INVOLVED IN THESE ACCIDENTS AND MAY NOT BE AS LUCKY AS I WAS. I SINCERELY NEED YOUR HELP. PLEASE HELP! HELP! HELP! *TR

WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT THE CAR I HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE AIR CONDITIONER, SINCE THEN MY CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP ALMOST MONTHLY FOR PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE AND THE TRANSMISSION AND STEERING. BMW WRITES ON THE YELLOW SHEET THAT THEY HAVE YOU SIGN WITH WHAT YOU TELL THEM BUT WHEN YOU GO BACK THE INVOICE THAT YOU ARE GIVEN IS DIFFERENT THAT WHAT YOU SIGNED FOR. I RECENTLY LEARNED THAT WHEN I NOTICED THAT THE INVOICE DOES NOT HAVE THE INFORMATION THAT WAS WRITTEN WHEN I WAS IN FRONT OF THE SERVICE ADVISOR. WHICH MEANS THAT WHEN YOU ARE ASKING FOR COPIES OF YOU REPAIR ORDER THE INFORMATION IS DIFFERENT THAN YOUR ORIGINAL COMPLAINT. *TR