[routal.mathis]

I’ve recently bought a 328xi 2007. I’ve had it since 5-6 weeks.

Everything was good with it until now.

Here are the problems with it that I can’t seem to understand why.


First there is the slow start up. I thought it was the battery at first or the starter so I changed both of those. But nothing changed, so I went to my garage to replace the ground cable. It was fried, so I was pretty happy with that since that was probably the reason. Sadly it’s not. I even tried to use ground cable around my car for the battery. There is no recall on the car for the fuse box. Could it be that or something else?



Second problem is my steering wheel shaking. Once I got the car everything was good until I changed my tires for some 18”

Then, suddenly my steering wheel shakes or vibrates around 80km/h. Does anyone have an idea why? The problem doesn’t come from the wheels I’ve rechecked with the garage and it’s neither a control arm problem also.




I’m not the best with cars, I do have my uncle who has been repairing bmw for 6-7 years even he could not locate the problem.

[gaze2]

Do you have access to a scanner? Maybe that can help you diagnose the slow start. Does it start better when the engine is hot?

For the vibrations, does the vibration go away above ~110km/h? If it does its wheel balance, if it doesn't it could be alignment (including bad suspension bushings on the arms). It could also be bent rotors but I doubt it, does it get worse when braking?

[routal.mathis]

It doesn’t get worse when braking and it doesn’t stop when going over 110-120.


I do have access to a scanner. It doesn’t really help even if they engine is hot. Sometimes it starts normally sometimes it’s a slow start

[marvinstockman]

Have you measured voltage at the starter and at the battery when the starter is cranking. You also need to measure battery voltage before you try starting the car.

Your shaking issue is probably a bad tire - new tires can be bad. Do you still have your old tires/wheels.

[gaze2]

Originally Posted by routal.mathis

It doesn’t get worse when braking and it doesn’t stop when going over 110-120.


I do have access to a scanner. It doesn’t really help even if they engine is hot. Sometimes it starts normally sometimes it’s a slow start

if it doesnt stop shaking then its most likely not a balance issue but an alignment issue, or a bent disk. The alignment issue could be a shot bushing on the control arms, or the tie rods going bad. You could jack up the car and grab the tire at 9 and 3 o clock and try to move it, then at 12 and 6, if there is excessive play its probably something suspension related that causes the vibrations. You could also turn the wheel to one side so the tire sticks out and kick it radially on the threads, if again it moves significantly its bad suspension arms.
For the slow start I cant tell you, could be battery, or starter, or I dont know, look up some info on here could be useful.

[lookalikehuuh]

Let's break this up in to 2 different sections:

1. Slow Startup: This can occur as the starter starts to wear out. Many times the starters just fail without any symptom, but sometimes the starters begin to get weak over time. On my 330i I suffered from slow cranking even with a new H8 battery. Eventually the started died outright and I had it rebuilt by my local rebuilder. Instantly there was a huge improvement in cranking speed. There could be something else but sounds like you eliminated ground and battery already, so most likely starter now.

2. Shaking: Sounds like you swapped to new Wheels and tires right? It is critical that your new wheels are HUBCENTRIC if they are not, you need to get hubcentric rings. The wheel studs are not sufficient to correctly center the wheel on the hub of the car and will cause random vibration. There is a lip on the hub of the car that fits perfect into to OE wheels. When you get aftermarket wheels its critical to ensure they have the same hub size because if they are too loose you will get random vibrations at random speeds depending on how they align each time you install. If your wheels are not exact size for the hub then you can purchase something called "hubcentric rings" which are plastic or metal rings that fill in that gap and correctly align the wheels on the center of the hub before the wheel bolts are tightened.
Some good quick info on this: https://www.discounttire.com/learn/h...storeCode=1872

[lordnikon]

Didn't the OP already change both the battery and starter?!

[Misery]

A long start could be a camshaft sensor problem but I recommend using a scanner to see the codes camshaft sensors codes would be 2a99 or 2a98