[pits200]

I have a 2009 335xi and have 7k miles on the odometer. I have only had this car for about 600 miles. I purchased it from a BMW dealership and was told the car is pristine.

I have no mods, car is completely stock. Making my first road trip I noticed a vibration in the steering wheel and the seat was like a massage chair.

The tires are in like new condition (225/45/17) so I just figured that they were out of balance. Took the car to BMW of Bloomfield in NJ (GREAT service so far).

They started off by balancing the tires which were way out of spec. After that we drove it on the highway and the problem still was there. So the tech got another set of 335 tires and replaced them to narrow down the issue. Even after changing the rims/tires out the problem was still there.


After spending 8 hours at the dealership, they came back with a conclusion that both front axles need replaced and that will be the start to finding out what the problem is. I seriously haven't even had a chance to punch the car once because I wanted to do a 7500 mile oil change. So it's not like I have driven the car hard.

Anyone have any ideas of what this might be? Car feels fine up to 55mph, but over that the shaking gets pretty excessive in both the steering wheel/feet/seat area.

No shaking under acceleration, no brake issues, no sounds, no codes, no nothing, just the shake and wavy feel at speeds over 55mph.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[hjernazian]

Originally Posted by pits200

I have a 2009 335xi and have 7k miles on the odometer. I have only had this car for about 600 miles. I purchased it from a BMW dealership and was told the car is pristine.

I have no mods, car is completely stock. Making my first road trip I noticed a vibration in the steering wheel and the seat was like a massage chair.

The tires are in like new condition (225/45/17) so I just figured that they were out of balance. Took the car to BMW of Bloomfield in NJ (GREAT service so far).

They started off by balancing the tires which were way out of spec. After that we drove it on the highway and the problem still was there. So the tech got another set of 335 tires and replaced them to narrow down the issue. Even after changing the rims/tires out the problem was still there.


After spending 8 hours at the dealership, they came back with a conclusion that both front axles need replaced and that will be the start to finding out what the problem is. I seriously haven't even had a chance to punch the car once because I wanted to do a 7500 mile oil change. So it's not like I have driven the car hard.

Anyone have any ideas of what this might be? Car feels fine up to 55mph, but over that the shaking gets pretty excessive in both the steering wheel/feet/seat area.

No shaking under acceleration, no brake issues, no sounds, no codes, no nothing, just the shake and wavy feel at speeds over 55mph.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

i will tell you exactly what this problem is, and it is definitely not the axles. if it were the axles you would notice it at all speeds, not just higher speeds. i spent unneeded time and money getting an alignment, balance and rotation and it did not fix the problem.

it is the wheel bearings. i just had this problem.

i was taking a mean corner and took it too short and slammed into the curb. the alignment was off so i fixed it, but the rumbling in the steering wheel and the wheel was noticeable at speeds of 50+, especially when taking a turn. i did some research and found out it was the wheel bearing. chances are, the previous owner slammed into something and never got it fixed. it's a cheap replacement, but BMW will not do it for you. i would suggest doing that before you let them change your axles because they can fux the car up even more.

even if your car is CPO bmw will probably not notice this. on my old 328, i had the same problem near the end of my lease but it wasn't because of slamming into a curb. i hit a nasty construction zone pothole that probably damaged the bearing. i gave the car back like that thinking they wouldn't notice, and they didn't...

[uberschnell]

Sounds like your "pristine" car was in some sort of incident. Did you carfax it?

[sneaks]

Pits,
Should you be worrying about the details? I think it is up to the dealer to make good on this. You haven't even used 2 tanks of gas!

[pits200]

Originally Posted by MteK

Sounds like your "pristine" car was in some sort of incident. Did you carfax it?

Definitely carfaxed it. No issues besides the front bumper had a small dent in it and they disclosed that in the sales report, it was about an $800 fix prior to me getting the car. Besides that, nada.

Besides that, the car visually looked in excellent condition. The engine sounds strong and the interior is excellent and no rattles.

As for the wheel bearing, Ive had many go out on a few of my other high mileage cars and there was a noticeable whine or some noise associated with this. You may be correct that someone smashed into the curb prior to me receiving the car but the rims are very clean with no sign of curb rash/impact. Im not writing off the wheel bearing and I'll even suggest it to them but it would surprise me if that was the issue considering there is no noise.

[pits200]

Originally Posted by sneaks

Pits,
Should you be worrying about the details? I think it is up to the dealer to make good on this. You haven't even used 2 tanks of gas!

Trust me, I feel the same way, but I don't want them tearing apart my car when they may not even be looking in the right place. The dealership I have my car now isn't where I purchased the car. I have the utmost confidence in the techs here at BMW of Bloomfield.

I just wanted to get some opinions on this to see what I might be in for.

Overall, yes this is an inconvenience but I'm fine with the wait. I have a loaner and Im good to go.. Don't want to sweat the small things in life, it's too short.

[ShastaMan]

I would have the tires checked also to see if they are out of round or have slipped a belt.

[pits200]

They changed out my rims/tires with another set in the shop and the problem was still there. You're right, the techs also thought it might have been a tire after the balance was finished and the problem was still there.

[XS222]

any resolution to this? i'm starting to get something similar to this, where i'll feel and hear a vibration in the steering wheel, and pedals....only happens up to around 45mph

[pits200]

No solution yet. So far they
1.) Changed the front left axle.
2.) Swapped differentials


They literally have no idea, now they are just changing part after part to try and figure out the problem.

[itsbrokeagain]

my girlfriends car gets a humming/shaking in the right front...I know its the wheel bearing because the car smacked a curb when someone rear ended it while it was parked. Just gotta get it changed out one of these days LOL