BMW 116i steering rack issue?

nothinglefttosay

Hello,

I bought a second hand 2006 BMW 116i in April last year from a large dealership (not BMW).

Within six weeks, the steering went and it ended up that it needed a replacement steering rack which was done under warranty. The 'new' steering rack was second hand - I argued about this at the time, saying that I thought it should be a new one, but didn't succeed and there was nothing in the warranty to say that they couldn't. The replacement rack came with a three month warranty which is the same period I had for the whole car. The work was done by a specialist BMW garage, but not the main dealer.

In March, my MOT had an advisory to replace a rod from the steering rack which had some play in it. I had this fixed, again not at a main dealer.

Then at the weekend, the steering went again and it turns out that it needs another steering rack replacement. All the symptoms were the same so I guessed it was and it's a pretty dangerous thing to happen as it is virtually impossible to steer once this goes. This is quite an expensive repair (around £1300 for a new rack, 700 for second hand) and this time it's not covered by a warranty.

Have I been particularly unlucky to have this happen twice in the space of less than twelves months? Is there likely to be an underlying cause that will lead to this happening again.

Does anyone know if this is a common fault - doing a little googling, problems with the PAS pump seems to be an issue with the Mini but I can't find anything relating to other BMW cars and the 116i in particular.

Is there anything I can do to try to recover any of the cost from either BMW, the non-BMW dealer that sold me the car, or the garage that performed the repair?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
NLTS

harveybobbles

It's a common problem on the 1 and 3 series. Pritty !!!!!! designs to be honest.

I'd be asking BMW for goodwill gesture perhaps?

reeac

I find this amazing. In over 50 years of mostly secondhand car ownership I've never had a steering rack problem. My 1958 MGA rack is original and has absolutely no detectable play in it. I did have to change the rubber boots about 25 years ago, I admit.

harveybobbles

Thats cos they dont make em like they used to!

Strider590

Not very well built cars, they don't need to be because it's the badge that sells. Mercedes went the same way and Audi isn't far off doing the same.
People will buy any old tat when faced with the promise of increased social status.

anotherbaldrick

harveybobbles wrote: »

Thats cos they dont make em like they used to!

Quite right , a lot of cars now are not hydraulic power steering any more but steering rack is actuated by an electric motor and box of electronic gubbins. Don't know about the 2006 1 series though

atrixblue.-MFR-.

arent them racks electronic? recon rack is what you need, they come with an atleast 12month warranty and dont cost the earth, you could even have yours rec'ned, depending how much downtime limit you have on your car, any garage can have it sent off for recon, you dont have to go to a dealer, and many racks they have on the shelf will be a recon not new.

your in the same boat with KA/FIESTA (98-2008) owners with their powerstearing racks as a common problem with leaking from the seals.

Strider590

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

Quite right , a lot of cars now are not hydraulic power steering any more but steering rack is actuated by an electric motor and box of electronic gubbins. Don't know about the 2006 1 series though

They're also safety critical parts and as such, failures should be taken VERY seriously.