[LazyHound]

Hi guys,

I am about the acquire a E91, thought I would say hi.

It is a E91 2012 318d ES - it is my mums old company car/lease. (she is moving onto a F31) So I have been able to get a good price for it as a "driver to buy scheme" through lease.

I will put up some images soon. With it being last of the line (2012) I believe these are some the best models one can buy?

I am a long term BMW 1 series 2008 owner 118d (done 165k on this so time to move it on) and was very active on babybmw.net, so its a nice step up for me, always wanted a E91 Touring.

I was wanting to ask a question. Compared to my 2008 118d this E91 has significantly heavy/meatier steering. Is it true to believe this 3 Series could still have "hydraulic steering"? albeit being a 2012 model?

My 118d is the ED model and the steering is feather weight!

[ally_bassman]

I may be wrong, but I once read that some very late E90/E91 cars were fitted with the electo-assist.

My car is a 2011 and the steering is by no means light!

[LazyHound]

Yeah thats what i thought - I looked on RealOEM and it lists both EPS and Hydraulic? Just want to make sure it is not broken...but searching everywhere they say the E90/91s are rather hefty...is there anyway looking in engine any to confirm?

[bishbosh]

My 2008 E91 came with EPS so I'd wager the more recent models have EPS too.

[LazyHound]

Yeah thats what i think - it just seems a lot heavier than my 2008 118d...are they significantly different mechanically? I will see if there is anything in the engine bay that points to it being EPS or Hydraulic.

Also this car came from the factory on non Runflat tyres which i thought was odd, and no spare

[bishbosh]

Look at the steering rack (easily seen on a 2.0), if you see wires and a motor on it then you have your answer

[LazyHound]

Originally Posted by bishbosh

Look at the steering rack (easily seen on a 2.0), if you see wires and a motor on it then you have your answer

Brill - thanks guys.

Been read to believe these are rather good tanks to run the E91 - I read online its maybe the last proper compact estate from BMW and will probably be missed in a few years time, now the new F31 is basically nearly the same size as the older 5er!. Looking forward to acquiring ti!

[LazyHound]

Originally Posted by bishbosh

Look at the steering rack (easily seen on a 2.0), if you see wires and a motor on it then you have your answer

Right I had the chance to sit in X3 2012 E91's today...

This is interesting "2" had electric steering and "1" had hydraulic steering - as it had steering fluid reservoir?

I'm completely confused as to the fact that all E91's 2008+ (LCI) had Electric assistance for steering.

Don't get me wrong i prefer the feel of hydraulic, but very strange.

Attached are images from the E91 under the bonnet with "heavy/meaty" steering (rack and reservoir)

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Not sure on this. My E91 late December 2011 has servotronic steering which if I'm right in saying is a hydro rack with electronic control inputs included that make the steering adapt to the driving conditions and vehicle speed ie. nimble and light at low speeds/manoeuvring then gets firmer with increased feel and response at higher speeds and when in the twisties got to say I've never had my steering feel poor in the e91 and find the feedback and feel especially at speed confined and inspiring something along with the seat height and position I did not like at all with the newer F series model touring I test drove at the time of deciding which car to go for. The E91 was purchased purely on it just felt the nicer car to drive imo.

[LazyHound]

So with servotronic steering will your have a steering fluid reservoir, like above picture - definitely the E91 does feel great to drive with this set up. Just weird how even cars in same year have different set ups... 🤔

On the second image showing the rack, it has two pipes running of it - the really light feeling steering didn't have these just electric wires...And no reservoir.

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Go find out exactly what the BM you are buying/considering left the factory with you can check it by putting the last 7 digits of the vin into this checker https://www.bmwdecoder.com/?gclid=CP...FUsq0wodTEAKZg

iirc most/all e90/91/92 that had servotronic also had the sport steering wheel fitted from the factory too but again this might be wrong as there are so many options builds on these cars it's hard to know hence the vin check to get the build from factory list up on it.

I will check what's under my bonnet steering wise when I top her up with washer fluid in the morning.

[LazyHound]

Excellent that would be good mate - added the VIN number of E91 I am looking at into the decoder..

Nothing on there tells me about the steering - only says it has S240A Leather Steering Wheel, so it has the ugly non sport one if this makes a difference?

[RajB]

Welcome aboard.

Hopefully you find the answer regarding the steering.

You can call up the dealers with your chassis and they should be able to confirm.

[rriverside7]

I have a 2007 328i E90 sedan. To change the headlight lamps I had to rotate the steering wheel several time from left to right and right to left to create space to work below the car. Suddenly the steering wheel get locked and the cars does not starts, Lost the entire power. In one of my attempt to start it disconecting a reconnecting the battery the dash panel shows the eps symbol. Does someone knows how to reset the eps or where is located the eps plugs ? My car also have power steering fluid reservoir.