[ZBov82]

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to determine whether I've got something more serious going on with my 2019 M240i XDrive's steering or if it's typical steering frustrations that many have faced. I've read every steering related thread on here and am just hoping to get a little more clarity on what other M240i XDrive owners have going on.

I just bought my car about a month ago and immediately noticed the steering didn't feel right on the highway. The best way I can describe it is both loose and light. By loose, I mean I can jiggle the wheel around on the highway and not get a steering response. I know that's a common complaint and it doesn't seem a lot can be done on the XDrive models. By light, I mean there's no resistance / weight at the center of the wheel and the resistance isn't even. I can turn 1/2 to 1 inch in either direction from center and it's like there's hardly any resistance / weight. After that inch or so, you get resistance. Also, around that resistance point or right before when the steering responds, it just takes off in the direction you're pointed. The car is very darty. You have to be focused in on the highway to keep the car going straight making frequent small corrections. Also, when you're going around a ramp turning the wheel at speed, the feeling can be incredibly awkward. No resistance, sudden movement where it feels like the wheel just drops in your hand, then you hit the resistance.

The previous owner of my car also had complaints about the steering and took the car to the dealer at least twice (I bought the car from the dealer he traded it into and was unaware of the issue when I bought it). He had the tires replaced (currently running Pilot Sport A/S 4 square), wheels rebalanced, and an alignment. None of that helped. The dealer I took it to this week acknowledged there was an issue with the steering feeling loose and aligned the toe on each front wheel at 0 degrees 13', which is the highest toe in setting within factory specs. The car feels even dartier than before now.

So I know there's going to be a neutral zone with little response at the center of the wheel - I get that's there and designed in. But are other XDrive owners having issues with the lack of resistance / weight at the center of the wheel on the highway? Is the steering resistance uneven for you?

I'd really like to drive a couple of M240i XDrives back to back to see how the steering resistance feels. I drove a 2021 M235i XDrive Gran Coupe as my loaner car. The steering felt completely different. The big difference was there was even steering resistance and weight at the center of the wheel on the highway. Different car of course, but that's how I'd expect the steering feel on mine. I don't think I notice the loose feeling if there was proper steering resistance at center.

This turned into a novel - thanks for putting up with me! Any color you can provide helps.