04-29-2024, 07:33 AM | #1 |
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M235i F23 Convertible rough ride and vibration
I'd like to see if there are any other F23 owners on here that can help answer questions. I bought a 2016 M235i F23 convertible with 62,000 miles on it from a local BMW dealership in December of 2024.
Since I bought it it's been back in the shop for a myriad of issues such as the head unit constantly restarting, the driver's seat heated base not working, bad steering rack and both front wheel bearings being worn out. It has a vibration issue that begins at about 38 mph then runs through 60 mph. Initially they said I had bent wheels so they straightened the wheels and that didn't help. I then replaced the wheels with new aftermarket wheels and new Toyo tires. The vibration is still there. They road force balanced my tires and wheels and weren't able to get the road force down to what they thought it should be so they've stated that my new tires and wheels are bad. Prior to buying the aftermarket tires and wheels I also bought a new set of Pirelli runflats which also did nothing to help the issue, they actually made things a little worse. The car also rides kind of rough. if there's an imperfection in the road you're going to feel. I took the car to a privately-owned BMW specialty shop and they looked the car over and drove it and said the issue is that it's a BMW convertible and that due to not having the front and back of the car connected with the pillars and the roof that this vibration will occur and there's nothing you can do about it. I considered trading it so drove a 540i that was very smooth and the salesman told me that the 2 and 3 series BMWs are entry-level cars that a BMW enthusiast would buy for their kid's first car and that you can't expect them to drive smooth. I drove a 325i 20 years ago quite a bit that drove smooth as silk. So my questions are do these always have unresolvable vibration and rough ride issues that cannot be resolved? And, is it normal for the steering rack and both front wheel bearings to go out at 62,000 miles? I'm beginning to think that the previous owner used this for a track car and wore the front end out. Thanks in advance for any input. |
04-29-2024, 10:46 PM | #2 |
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Sounds like the car never had any maintenance done or possibly was wrecked at some point. I doubt it was tracked, convertibles are the absolute worst option for that.
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04-30-2024, 09:58 AM | #3 |
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The CarFax did state that it had minor repair done due to an accident at one time. I know that minor doesn't mean much on CarFax. I had a Hyundai Tucson that I hit a deer with. Insurance paid $10k to fix it. I looked it up on CarFax and it showed minor damage.
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05-22-2024, 02:30 PM | #4 |
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I drove a 2018 m240i convertible for 3 years. Bought it 3 years ago at 22k miles, now its at 74k miles. Mostly freeway miles, but occasional weekend canyon carved. Never had any vibration issues. Recent steering issue was probably my alignment after bursting one of the tires. Issue is gone after recently going to coil and did an alignment. My shock was also worn and was making noise and hence why I went to coil.
I feel like there is a lot more story to that. If you have that much issue, you should have just return the car >.< Especially if you have to spend so much already on new wheels and tires and stuff.. The fact that the car comes with bent wheels... At this points, sounds like a lot of work need to be done to check on the suspensions, shocks, control arm ect ect. I dont however think the car has been tracked. One big issue is a lot of track don't allow convertible. |
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05-28-2024, 03:41 PM | #5 |
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FWIW, BMWCCA doesn't allow convertibles on the track as part of their programs. You can autocross but not full HPDE. So if you want to go on a track, you need to hook up with the local Porsche club who allows convertibles. What you are describing is not normal - find another shop and look for evidence of front end damage.
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