Advice needed: Steering wheel wobbling and brake problem

[bbmm2007]

Hello all,

I have been driving a 2007 3-series for 7 years.

I have been very troubled recently with my car's steering wheel.

Videos:

The steering wheel wobbling normally start 15 to 20 mins after driving (on the expressway). This has been going on for a few weeks. Sometimes the wobbling gets worse when I tap on the brake while the car is running above 70km/h. I have been in and out of the workshop twice. Workshop said they fix the "balancing", but the problem did not go away.

The problem escalated last week.
I was driving on the expressway from one end of SG to the other. The steering wheel started wobbling, this time round to the extend where my passenger felt that the whole car is shaking.

I tried to step on the brake to slow down the car.
To my horror, the car brake didn't work when I step on the brake halfway (30% or 50%).

I've to do e-brake/ step all the way down to 100%, to slow the car down.

With my passenger safety in mind, I stopped the car and got my car towed away.

My car has been in the workshop for 2 days, and my workshop mechanic couldn't detect any problem with the car.

I hope fellow owners can advise if they have encountered similar problem. Thank you!

 

[MW]

Your rims are probably warped liao..balancing will not resolve the problem. Need to fix on new rims and then drive and see again...

 

[sszone]

check your rims and your brake discs
and i think u probably need a more experienced ws

 

[insomic]

It is either your rims or ur brake disc rotors or both are warp. U need to replace them. Worst case is your steering rack is spoil. Try replacing your brake disc rotors first and observe.

 

[bbmm2007]

I asked the mechanic to check. He says the rims are good and not warped.
Will get them to check the brake disc rotors and steering rack next...
Thank you guys.

 

[johnny cash]

Looks scary.

Hope it's solved : )

 

[bbmm2007]

The mechanic checked all the mentioned parts but its all in good condition (as per him).

The car was transferred to performance motors service centre last friday afternoon.
Performance will be conducting a thorough check come Monday. Hopefully they can diagnose the root of problem soon.

 

[Mkw13]

Hello bbmm2007,
May I know what's the outcome of the check? Problem solved?

 

[V-Tec Asia]

I would suspect the brake rotors else the brake hose oil intake not smooth.

Happens to me when driving in Malaysia, 160km/h braking to 100km/h, same senerio as you, whole car shaking when i step on brake, and braking power reduced by 30%, quite terrifying experience, try to get it solve soon.

 

[bbmm2007]

Hey all, sorry for the lack of update. Have been really busy with work.

Ok a quick summary: When this first happened, I left my car in my first workshop for 7 working days. But despite numerous checks, they insist that my car is fine and safe to be driven. I told them I've driven this car for 7 years, I know when this car is fine and when it is not fine. I refused to bring the car back to the road, so I had the car towed to performance motors. Within an afternoon, performance diagnosed the problem but the repair cost is exorbitant as expected.

Refusing to give up, I decided to give a 2nd private workshop a shot. R2Dautoworks was recommended by my husband's friend. I gave the boss Rodney a text and had my car towed from performance to R2Dautoworks in Woodlands. Upon receiving the car and within 1-2 hours, Rodney diagnosed the problems and gave me a call on how he's going to fix the car. (I did not tell Rodney performance motors' diagnosis. It was a good test on R2Dautoworks's skills and ability.)

Trust me, at that moment I was shocked yet amazed. The first workshop took 7 working days (like seriously) and could not diagnose a single problem with the car. Performance took an afternoon but cost was crazy. R2Dautoworks took less than 2 hours to solve the puzzle which was driving me up the wall.

Rodney and his team proceeded with the repair and the car was ready by the next working day. Till date, the car has been good (choy choy).

I paid for all repair cost out of my own pocket. So I'm purely sharing cos I think Rodney and his team deserve this for the good job done

R2D contact: 9665 1761

 

[MW]

Ahem, so what was the problem?

 

[bbmm2007]

Rodney fixed these, and my ride has been good since.

-Brake booster, pump and valve
-Engine oil leak (front crankshaft seal)
-Coolant leak from rear plastic connector
-Front tension arm bushes
-Belt, tensioners and bearings