Offset steering wheel,any help?

[Lee4.8is]

Bought my x5 last sept & have had a niggle with the steering wheel it is not fully in the centre,its slightly offset to the right.

So if you held it dead centre it would steer slightly to the left,so i have booked it into bmw next week to have it looked at.

Does anyone know if this would be covered under warranty please?

i thought because i have a years bmw warranty its worth them looking at it just incase anything else is wrong.

It drives fine & does not pull to anyside its just the steering wheel does not sit central.

Not worried if not covered,its just i thought its better to get it sorted while under warranty.

Any help appreciated,thanks.

[CondorX5]

I would clarify that with the dealer before incurring costs myself.....just so you know there are no nasty surprises. The BMW warranty doesn't cover bulbs, wiper blades or body / trim defects, or brake pad / disc or tyre wear. They may try to argue its becuase of a wear and tear issue like tyre wear or a knock to the wheels on a kerb that has knocked the alignment out. Either way, it shouldn't be too expensive to sort.

[Lee4.8is]

Thanks a lot for the quick response Condor.

My thoughts were the same as yours that it shouldnt be too costly to fix...but you never know with the stealers!!!

Cheers again, hope all is well with yours.

[stevox5]

Hi there

Unless there os a failed component it is very doubtful it will be covered by the warranty , if it needs a four wheel alignment to centre the steering this won't be covered.

Good luck

[Lee4.8is]

Thanks for the input stevox5,

i am hoping it is not going to be too complicated,we will wait & see.

Cheers.

[Raj]

It does sound like just a full KDS is needed. Cheap workaround is of course to just take the wheel off and re-align it straight.

[5wany]

Agree full KDS would solve but cost approx £100

[Lee4.8is]

Hi Raj,if car was not under warranty i would of just re aligned the steering wheel myself..but thought better to get them to check if any probs.

I thought bmw would just re align the wheel straight? sorry for my ignorance but what is a full KDS?

Heres hoping bmw dont bleed me dry then & thanks for the input.

[AW8]

KDS is BMW's terminology for the kit they use.......some use KDS others supposedly KDS2 I am told.

I would be lying if I told you I knew 1st hand exactly how KDS works as I don't know, however a quick search on the net shows a post from peter over on the land. He says KDS stands for Kinematic Diagnosis System & it apparently uses cameras mounted on each wheel which talk to each other from front to back and side to side & gives info to the computer which holds data for just about every BMW back to the E21 3-Series, (thanks to peter for that info).

Any equipment is only as good as the operator. I knocked my X5 alignment out when I clipped inside of a, (since replaced), tyre traversing a kerb at low speed. Stupidly I first went to kwik-fit in hope of a cheap resolution but if anything it was worse afterwards. I then, (with new thrust bushes fitted), caused it to have a KDS alignment. The main dealer was unable to give a fixed quote for the work as they said the final price would depend on the time taken to check & adjust plus time to sort anything found in need. It took them 3 go's to sort it ( their task perhaps more difficult due to poor alignmment work elsewhere). Suprisingly once done the dealer advised me I could knock the alignment out again if I placed a bag of sand in the boot as the rear sub bushes were worn. Unconvinced I took the car back. The bushes, (which weren't sloppy or making noise when KDS done), were replaced some 15k miles later & when I deemed they needed changing. Car drove 100% straight with wheel to centre right up until I had rear bushes changed by my indy who afterwards checked the alignment again- no idea what he used but he said it was good kit..............My negative dealer experience re the alignment, (plus being quoted for tailgate work that was 100% NOT needed), caused me to stop using that particular main dealership.


I recall being told that the BMW KDS system is similar to the Hunter alignment sytem, (though I have not had this 100% confirmed). You can search for expert workshops using the Hunter system if you click here ...........................The hunter expert I used, (via that site), for the Z3 perform free alignment checks & only charge if work is required. When daughters car was checked there it cost me nothing & on Z3 when work was required it was at a very reasonable price.

HTH

[Raj]

As above, KDS is just BMW's terminology for a full 4 wheel alignment.

You can get this done at a lot of reputable garages. As AW8 states, it really comes down to the person using the equipment.

Best equipment is the Beissbarth machine and one of the best people out there is Chris @ http://www.centergravity.co.uk/index.cfm

He has set up 3 of my previous cars and his work is meticulous and attention to detail is beyond many doing geometry setup. Not cheap but completely custom to how you want the car to handle and drive.


As for the steering wheel. You'd be surprised at the dealers tbh. They may do a full alignment but some will just re-align the steering wheel still at the end of the process to centralise it...

[Lee4.8is]

Thanks very much AW8 & RAJ for all your info..it really is a hive of knowledge this site.

Will keep my fingers crossed & hope all goes well when it goes in on tue of next week..so much for me thinking they would just take the wheel off & centralise it!!!

[AW8]

Personally I'd save my money, & instead take it to one of the experts I linked to...You can still go back to a dealer if a physical defect is found that needs a claim.

KDS price likely down to you unless the issue was reported just after 1st bought & collected.

I prior convinced myself that dealer KDS was the only solution until my prior bad experience.

[motormender]

taking the wheel off on many cars is a thing of the past as they now have a steering angle sensor and removing the wheel can mess things up. some also have a master spline setup and cannot be moved. as the e53 is a fairly old platform neither of these probable exist but just a warning. we always do it properly by adjusting the track rod ends to suit. (not nice on a bmw as nearly always siezed)

[Sanj]

[quote=""motormender""]taking the wheel off on many cars is a thing of the past as they now have a steering angle sensor and removing the wheel can mess things up. some also have a master spline setup and cannot be moved. as the e53 is a fairly old platform neither of these probable exist [/quote]

I have had my steering wheel off in the past and can confirm neither of the above exist - just a load of splines that the wheel can fit through but there is always a mark that states where the steering wheel 'should' sit and as motormender says, to do it properly you set the steering wheel straight, put the brace on it and then sort the wheels out from underneath - to make them sit straight.

[Lee4.8is]

Thanks for the recent replys...u lot on here are a good education & its such a great site of knowledge.

Lee.