‘Wandering’ issue

BearsFan52 · 03-10-2020, 06:55 PM

So I got my 09 e90 328xi about 4 months ago and it was super smooth and felt like the car was on rails, smoothest car (besides my fathers new Cadillac) that I’ve ever driven. After doing some sliding around/‘drifting’ in the snow I noticed the next day that I had a few millimeters of play in my steering wheel from center and the car wanders above about 60 mph. The alignment shop I talked to said that an alignment wouldn’t fix my problem. I have an extended platinum warranty so hopefully if it’s something big it’ll be covered but still nervous lol.

iqraceworks · 03-11-2020, 06:58 AM

How many miles on the car? Probably something simple like worn ball joints or bushing arms. Get under the car while someone turns the wheel back and forth and start feeling/looking around for whatever is lose.

BearsFan52 · 03-11-2020, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iqraceworks

How many miles on the car? Probably something simple like worn ball joints or bushing arms. Get under the car while someone turns the wheel back and forth and start feeling/looking around for whatever is lose.

Only 92k I’ve put about 3k miles on it since I got it but I’ll go to my buddy’s shop and try that out

marvinstockman · 03-12-2020, 09:37 AM

If everything checks out mechanically, rotate tires front to back, as you might have a bad belt in one of the fronts.

nsjames · 03-13-2020, 11:24 AM

my prime suspect would be tension strut bushings.

but really anything sloppy in the front end results in that.

shudder under hard braking as well?

at nearly 100K miles you can expect some bushings need love in the front end.

03-10-2020, 06:55 PM	#1
BearsFan52 Enlisted Member 12 Rep 38 Posts Drives: 2009 328i xDrive Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Wisconsin iTrader: (0)	‘Wandering’ issue So I got my 09 e90 328xi about 4 months ago and it was super smooth and felt like the car was on rails, smoothest car (besides my fathers new Cadillac) that I’ve ever driven. After doing some sliding around/‘drifting’ in the snow I noticed the next day that I had a few millimeters of play in my steering wheel from center and the car wanders above about 60 mph. The alignment shop I talked to said that an alignment wouldn’t fix my problem. I have an extended platinum warranty so hopefully if it’s something big it’ll be covered but still nervous lol.
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03-11-2020, 06:58 AM	#2
iqraceworks Brigadier General 2001 Rep 3,731 Posts Drives: 2007 335i Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Missouri iTrader: (0)	How many miles on the car? Probably something simple like worn ball joints or bushing arms. Get under the car while someone turns the wheel back and forth and start feeling/looking around for whatever is lose. __________________ 2007 335i, BMS DCI, BMS Chargepipe w/Tial BOV, ARM Catless Downpipes, silicone inlets, Bilstein B12 Prokit Suspension, Whiteline subframe bushings, Front/Rear M3 control arms, G-Plus FMIC, Stage 2 LPFP, Custom E40 tune by Justin (V8Bait), xHP stage 3 transmission flash, RB Two Turbos....10.90 @ 128mph
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03-12-2020, 09:37 AM	#4
marvinstockman Major 399 Rep 1,078 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 328i Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Rockville, MD iTrader: (0)	If everything checks out mechanically, rotate tires front to back, as you might have a bad belt in one of the fronts.
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03-13-2020, 11:24 AM	#5
nsjames Brigadier General 2440 Rep 4,330 Posts Drives: 08 328xi Touring Join Date: May 2017 Location: ohio iTrader: (0)	my prime suspect would be tension strut bushings. but really anything sloppy in the front end results in that. shudder under hard braking as well? at nearly 100K miles you can expect some bushings need love in the front end.
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