2020 F82 M4 Steering Wheel Oscillation/Shaking

[CrazyFlame]

Hey everyone,
I see there are already similar threads, but instead of trying to bump multiple old threads I'd like to start a new one. If it's poor forum etiquette please let me know.

Short version:
As the title states, I am experiencing mild steering wheel shaking while cruising at certain speeds (40-45 mph and 70-75 mph). The issue is most prominent if I remove my hands from the wheel at those speeds and look at the seams at 10 and 2. The steering wheel shakes back and forth half a centimeter or less only at those speeds. The dealership is adamant that this is normal but I am not convinced.

Sequence of events:
- Normally functioning 2020 M4 which I've solely leased (and now own) since brand new
- Had dealership replace Michelin PSS tires with PS4S due to normal wear @17k miles
- Noticed mild steering wheel shake as described above, brought car back in for service
- Dealership stated that 3 out of 4 tires were improperly balanced, rebalanced all tires
- Noticed issue was still present but slightly better
- Had tires road force balanced
- Noticed no improvement
- Had tires road force balanced by shop manager and ride-along with shop manager - he says it is normal behavior
- Noticed no improvement

I am starting to get concerned as the dealership is not acknowledging a clear issue and I've spent quite a bit of time trying to sort this out. Please let me know if you have any info that can help me figure out what's going on - I appreciate it in advance.

[Drifter2090]

Are you running spacers? or have you tried cleaning the hub surfaces if rusty?

[Pauldunlop13]

I would take it to a tire shop and have them balance all 4 wheels

the symptom and the exact speeds you mention are 100% in the 'unbalanced tires' range

prob worth doing a front end alignment as well

but no -the dealer saying it is Normal, is total BS

[CrazyFlame]

Originally Posted by Drifter2090

Are you running spacers? or have you tried cleaning the hub surfaces if rusty?

I'm not running spacers; the car is stock. The hubs are rusty and have been like that for a while. I was not planning on cleaning them and honestly did not consider the rust as a possible cause until now.

Originally Posted by Pauldunlop13

I would take it to a tire shop and have them balance all 4 wheels

the symptom and the exact speeds you mention are 100% in the 'unbalanced tires' range

prob worth doing a front end alignment as well

but no -the dealer saying it is Normal, is total BS

I will probably bring the car to another place and have them balance the tires. Just to re-iterate that I've balanced them three times and had an alignment done once recently, all at the BMW dealership. Interestingly, the shop manager admitted that one of their balancing machines has been poorly calibrated (!) so I could have been unlucky in that regard.

[N1rve]

Probably a dumb question but is the road smooth? LOL. Does it happen on all roads?

What is your cold tire pressure? This car loves to tramline more than other cars.

When the vibration happens, are you accelerating or just rolling? Too much toe in can lead to some scrubbing feeling.

[AlmondJayRoM3]

Not normal at all. Ask them to drive with you in another car and prove that it is normal. Or just go to a different place.

As for the fix, you need to check not only balance and alignment but also wheels or tires being out of round. At the same time check for any loose suspension parts. This can be done with the wheels off the ground and trying to shake the wheel at different angles. Plenty of YouTube videos on this.

Last thing to cause a steering wheel shake would be a busted steering angle sensor or an issue with electric power steering. This is not likely because the shaking would be more pronounced than just a vibration.

[CrazyFlame]

Originally Posted by N1rve

Probably a dumb question but is the road smooth? LOL. Does it happen on all roads?

What is your cold tire pressure? This car loves to tramline more than other cars.

When the vibration happens, are you accelerating or just rolling? Too much toe in can lead to some scrubbing feeling.

It's a good question. The roads vary widely because of construction and paving happening in the area, but I have driven on beautiful, newly paved roads and still experienced the issue.

The cold pressure is about 30 PSI for all four tires. The door jam label indicates that the cold tire pressure should be 32 PSI and I have identified the need to add a bit more air. I'm not sure if there's a different PSI suggestion for PS4S tires.

Normally I notice this when I'm cruising at a constant speed with low throttle input, especially 45mph.

Originally Posted by AlmondJayRoM3

Not normal at all. Ask them to drive with you in another car and prove that it is normal. Or just go to a different place.

As for the fix, you need to check not only balance and alignment but also wheels or tires being out of round. At the same time check for any loose suspension parts. This can be done with the wheels off the ground and trying to shake the wheel at different angles. Plenty of YouTube videos on this.

Last thing to cause a steering wheel shake would be a busted steering angle sensor or an issue with electric power steering. This is not likely because the shaking would be more pronounced than just a vibration.

I agree that I need to check for the things mentioned in your second paragraph. It's very suspicious to me that the issue started when the tires were changed, so I'm leaning towards the tires being out of round or some suspension component was damaged when they were changing the tires. I know they changed the tires hastily because they left a ton of mounting lubricant all over my wheels! It was tough to clean off.

I'm planning to having someone else look at the car on Wednesday and I will mention all these things. Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far.

[M3SQRD]

Yeah, a +/- 1 cm oscillating steering wheel is quite far from normal! If you had no issues with the PSS then it definitely points to the PS4S being the cause/problem.

One thing you could try is have the tires dismounted, rotated 180 deg and then remounted or even remounted on the wheel on the opposite side of the car. Tire being out of round and/or a bent rim will cause a vibration even if they’re balanced properly. If you had a second set of wheels you could quickly find out if the wheels/tires are the problem or if it’s from something else on the car. Definitely take your car to a non-BMW shop because the ones you’ve been going to clearly don’t care about addressing your issue.

[RoundelM3]

You may want to check whether you have a bent wheel or wheels - even a slight bend from running over something can affect balance. I had a similar problem after running over an asphalt bump that slightly bent both right-side wheels. Fortunately, there was a Rimguard shop nearby and they were able to straighten both wheels and eliminate the vibration.

[CrazyFlame]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

Yeah, a +/- 1 cm oscillating steering wheel is quite far from normal! If you had no issues with the PSS then it definitely points to the PS4S being the cause/problem.

One thing you could try is have the tires dismounted, rotated 180 deg and then remounted or even remounted on the wheel on the opposite side of the car. Tire being out of round and/or a bent rim will cause a vibration even if they’re balanced properly. If you had a second set of wheels you could quickly find out if the wheels/tires are the problem or if it’s from something else on the car. Definitely take your car to a non-BMW shop because the ones you’ve been going to clearly don’t care about addressing your issue.

It's definitely closer to a few millimeters but still noticeable. I agree with everything you said and will try to troubleshoot. I like the idea of using an entirely new set of wheels+tires, but I don't have a new set. I use the same set year round, but maybe this is an excuse to get an additional set

Originally Posted by RoundelM3

You may want to check whether you have a bent wheel or wheels - even a slight bend from running over something can affect balance. I had a similar problem after running over an asphalt bump that slightly bent both right-side wheels. Fortunately, there was a Rimguard shop nearby and they were able to straighten both wheels and eliminate the vibration.

Thanks, I'll check for a bent wheel. Do you think the wheels could have been damaged when they were changing the tires? As stated above, the dealership performed the tire change hastily and I wouldn't be surprised if something got messed up during the process.

[NSX2M4]

I would take the recommendation to look into the vibration device attached to the steering wheel. My 2019 had one go bad about 2 years ago and it drove me nuts. I compared the old one to the new and could not tell any difference or notice any play in the shaft but the new part fixed it. It was the slightest bump in the road or imperfection that would make it shake.

[Dré-stylè]

Originally Posted by CrazyFlame

Hey everyone,
I see there are already similar threads, but instead of trying to bump multiple old threads I'd like to start a new one. If it's poor forum etiquette please let me know.

Short version:
As the title states, I am experiencing mild steering wheel shaking while cruising at certain speeds (40-45 mph and 70-75 mph). The issue is most prominent if I remove my hands from the wheel at those speeds and look at the seams at 10 and 2. The steering wheel shakes back and forth half a centimeter or less only at those speeds. The dealership is adamant that this is normal but I am not convinced.

Sequence of events:
- Normally functioning 2020 M4 which I've solely leased (and now own) since brand new
- Had dealership replace Michelin PSS tires with PS4S due to normal wear @17k miles
- Noticed mild steering wheel shake as described above, brought car back in for service
- Dealership stated that 3 out of 4 tires were improperly balanced, rebalanced all tires
- Noticed issue was still present but slightly better
- Had tires road force balanced
- Noticed no improvement
- Had tires road force balanced by shop manager and ride-along with shop manager - he says it is normal behavior
- Noticed no improvement

I am starting to get concerned as the dealership is not acknowledging a clear issue and I've spent quite a bit of time trying to sort this out. Please let me know if you have any info that can help me figure out what's going on - I appreciate it in advance.

Only thing i read

Car was fine
New wheels
Car not fine

Search for a well known tire shop , let em check first if there is a imbalance and RESET the tires on the rims if not , then check again

i had this with my M3 after i noticed a slab of led on my rims ,, tire was not correctly seated

[CrazyFlame]

UPDATE:

I had multiple shops / third parties drive my car, perform an assessment, and rebalance the tires with little to no change. Everyone said that the car is driving properly. A few of them did acknowledge the shaking motion of the steering wheel but said that it is within normal parameters, as the car itself is not shaking.

At this point, I cannot continue investing time and money into solving an issue that has been deemed non-existent by pretty much everyone I've talked to. Hopefully a new set of tires in ~15k miles will eradicate the issue.

Until then, thanks for the suggestions everyone.