Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2007 BMW 525I submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 12 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
LIGHTS OF THE STEERING WHEEL ITS BEEN LOCK CAME OUT, THE CAR WAS PARK AND WAS READY TO GO TO WORK, BUT WHEN I TURNED ON THE LIGHT SHOW UP ON THE PANEL, AND THE STEERING WHEEL WAS NOT LOCK, I WAS ABLE TO TURN IT,, I TURN IT OFF AND ON AGAIN AND THE LIGHT STILL ON
THE CAR WILL NOT START, A STEERING LOCK MALFUNCTION AND A ENGINE MALFUNCTION MESSAGE APPEAR. HAD BMW MECHANICS TRY TO RESOLVE PROBLEM. CHANGED STEERING LOCK MECHANISM, REPROGRAM MODULES, CHANGE SEVERAL SENSORS, PLACE NEW BATTERY AND EVEN REPLACE THE DME. THE ONLY THING THAT SEEMS TO PARTIALLY ALLOW THE CAR TO START IS TO "RESET THE CAS" WITH A COMPUTER.
AT 51000 MILES A RED LIGHT WITH A STEERING WHEEL AND A PADLOCK APPEARED ON THE DASH. THE CAR STARTS AND STEERS OK WITH THE RED STEERING LOCK LIGHT ON. THERE ARE NO MECHANICAL ISSUES WITH THE CAR BUT THE LIGHT AND A MESSAGE STATING GO TO A SAFE PLACE BEFORE TURNING THE CAR OFF. I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY TELL ME THE WHOLE STEERING COLUMN HAS TO BE REPLACED TO GET RID OF THE RED LIGHT AND THE MESSAGE ON THE NAVIGATION SCREEN. THIS WAS AFTER REPLACING THE STEERING COLUMN SWITCH CLUSTER AT A COST OF $1033.THERE WAS AN INTERNAL FAULT OF THE STEERING SENSOR CAUSING THE ABS LIGHT TO SHOW UP ON THE DASH. APPARENTLY BMW HAS BUILT IN DEFECTS THAT SHOW UP ON THE DASH AS A WARNING LIGHT . THERE ARE NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE WARNING LIGHT BUT A VERY COSTLY FIX TO HAVE THE WARNING LIGHT REMOVED. THE SERVICE ADVISOR AT THE BMW DEALERSHIP SAID HE DIDN'T QUOTE ME ON THE STEERING COLUMN REPLACEMENT BECAUSE IT WASN'T WORTH DOING. SO I AM DRIVING THIS BMW WITH A RED DASH LIGHT SHOWING A STEERING WHEEL AND A PADLOCK WITH A MESSAGE ON THE NAVIGATION SCREEN TELLING ME TO DRIVE TO A SAFE PLACE BEFORE TURNING THE ENGINE OFF BECAUSE THE ENGINE MAY NOT START AGAIN. AFTER GOING ON LINE AND DOING SOME RESEARCH THE STEERING WHEEL/PADLOCK LIGHT ISSUE IS A COMMON PROBLEM. BMW NEEDS TO ISSUE A RECALL ON BOTH OF THESE ITEMS AND REPAIR THEM FREE OF CHARGE WHEN THEY OCCUR. *TR
MY STEERING WHEEL IS LOCKED AND CAR CANNOT START.
I HAVE A BMW 525I 2007, WHICH WAS A CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED VEHICLE BOUGHT FROM EAST BAY BMW. AROUND 71,000 MILES, THE 'STEERING WHEEL LOCK MALFUNCTION' LIGHT CAME ON (RED COLOR). THE CAR IS DRIVABLE, AND WORKS FINE, HOWEVER, THE LIGHT IS STILL ON WITH A WARNING THAT THE ENGINE MAY NOT START. I ASKED BMW OF MOUNTAIN VIEW FOR A QUOTE. THEY SAY THAT THE ELV LOCK (STEERING WHEEL LOCK) AND SCREWS NEED TO BE REPLACED FOR $1521.49!! THAT'S INSANE. I SEE MANY MANY OTHER BMW OWNERS COMPLAINT ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL. MANY OWNERS SAY THAT SIMPLY REPROGRAMMING THE CAS (CAR ACCESS SYSTEM) MODULE FIXED THE PROBLEM. BMW OF MOUNTAIN VIEW SAID THAT THEY WILL CHARGE $200 FOR THE REPROGRAMMING, WITH NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL FIX THE ISSUE. IF AFTER REPLACING THE ELV LOCKS + SCREWS ANOTHER REPROGRAMMING NEEDS TO BE DONE, THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER $200 FOR PROGRAMMING. THIS ISN'T RIGHT. BMW PLEASE OWN UP TO YOUR DEFECTS.
I GOT IN MY CAR TO GO HOME FROM WORK, AND A RED WARNING LIGHT CAME ON SAYING "STEERING WHEEL LOCK MALFUNCTION" I HAVE READ THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH MOST BMW 3 SERIES AND SOME 5. I HAD THE BATTERY CHANGED ONE YEAR AGO FOR $800, SO IT CAN'T BE THE BATTERY. I BELIEVE THIS IS AN ISSUE BMW KNOWS ABOUT, BUT WILL NOT ISSUE THE PROPER RECALL. *TR
ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS MY VEHICLE FAILED TO START BECAUSE THE STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED ACCORDING TO THE INDICATOR ON THE DASH. THE INDICATOR HAD THE LETTERS ELV WITH A PICTURE OF A STEERING WHEEL WITH A LOCK. IT STATED THAT FOR SAFETY REASONS THE VEHICLE WILL NOT START AND IN ORDER TO START IT RECOMMENDED THAT I MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL IN ORDER TO START THE VEHICLE. THE WARNING WAS IN YELLOW AND SEVERAL TIMES IN RED. I'M AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE WHILE RUNNING ERRANDS FOR THE FEAR THAT I WILL BECOME STRANDED IF THE VEHICLE WON'T START. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 BMW 525I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AT ENGINE STARTUP, THE STEERING LOCK WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO CONFIRMED THAT THE STEERING COLUMN AND SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 76,750 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 76,780.
RED LIGHT ON DASHBOARD SHOWING A STEERING WHEEL WITH A LOCK. FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED. TOOK CAR TO BMW AND HAVE TO PAY OVER $100 FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND TO BE TOLD I'LL PROBABLY NEED NEW STEERING WHEEL COLUMN. CAR HAS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED. NEED A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM AS OTHERS HAVE THIS SAME PROBLEM. *TR
THE STEERING LIGHT CAME ON IN MY CAR STATING THE WHEEL WAS LOCKED AND I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DRIVE MY CAR. MY CAR IS STILL DRIVABLE. I TOOK MY CAR TO BMW AND WAS CHARGED 145.00 FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST TO BE TOLD I NEED A ELV STEELING LOCK WHICH IS GOING TO COST ME 880.00. I BOUGHT THIS CARE 2 YEARS AGO 2 CARMAXX. *JS
ELECTRIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK: A RED LIGHT SHOWING A STEERING WHEEL WITH A LOCK SHOWS UP ON THE DASHBOARD WHEN TRYING TO START THE CAR. IT STARTS THE FIRST TIME AND THEN DOES NOT START ON SUBSEQUENT TRIES. THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED TO BMW AND THE REPAIRS INVOLVE REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING WHEEL COLUMN. THIS LOOKS LIKE A MINOR SENSOR FAULT REQUIRING THE REPLACEMENT OF A MAJOR MECHANICAL COMPONENT DUE TO BAD DESIGN. I BELIEVE THAT BMW SHOULD RECALL AND REPLACE THE BAD SENSORS THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN WIDELY REPORTED BY OTHER OWNERS OF BMWS AROUND THE SAME MODEL YEAR HTTP://WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=410153
2007 BMW 525 HAS A MESSAGE INDICATING THE STEERING LOCK IS ACTIVATED. MESSAGE WILL NOT GO AWAY. BMW INDICATES THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM BUT IS NOT COVERED OUT OF WARRANTY. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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