3.5% of complaints about the 2003 BMW Z4 came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2003 vehicle — around the middle of the 228 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 8.7 yr in service. The most-reported system is steering (341 complaints), typically at 8.8 yr or about 42,000 miles.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, INCOMPATIBLE ELECTRONIC AIR BAG SYSTEM PROCESSORS MAY HAVE BEEN INSTALLED.
IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT MAY NOT OCCUR, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURIES TO THE DRIVER AND/OR FRONT PASSENGER.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, UNDER CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, A VAPOR LOCK IN THE FUEL PUMP COULD OCCUR CAUSING THE ENGINE TO STALL. IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN, THE ENGINE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BE RESTARTED FOR APPROXIMATELY 15 TO 20 MINUTES.
IF STALLING WERE TO OCCUR, THE DRIVER WOULD BE UNABLE TO MAINTAIN VEHICLE SPEED OR ACCELERATE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
ON CERTAIN VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 18" TIRES, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE TIRE HAS BEEN DAMAGED DURING THE MOUNTING PROCESS TO THE RIM.
CONSEQUENTLY, A LOSS OF TIRE PRESSURE, OR A TIRE FAILURE, COULD OCCUR. DEPENDING ON TRAFFIC CONDITIONS AND THE DRIVER'S REACTIONS, THIS COULD LEAD TO A CRASH.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE CONNECTION OF THE SAFETY BELT BUCKLE TO THE STEEL ROPE OF THE TENSIONER DOES NOT MEET BMW SPECIFICATIONS. IN SEVERE FRONTAL CRASHES, THIS CONNECTION CAN DETACH.
IF THE CONNECTION DETACHES, THE PROTECTION PROVIDED BY THE SAFETY BELT IS LIKELY TO BE IMPAIRED, AND SERIOUS INJURIES TO THE DRIVER AND/OR FRONT PASSENGER COULD OCCUR THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE BE MITIGATED.
I HAVE A 2003 BMW Z4 2.5I ON WEDNESDAY JUNE 9, 2004 THE AMBIENT TEMP IN CT WAS IN THE MID 90'S WHILE DRIVING MY CAR THE STEERING FELT LIKE IT WAS BINDING, WAS STIFF TO TURN AND DID NOT AUTOMATICALLY RETURN TO A CENTER POSITION. THE STEERING LOST THE SMOOTH GRADUAL ROTATION AS I TURNED THE WHEEL THE FOLLOWING DAY WHEN THE TEMPERATURE WAS COOLER THE PROBLEM DID NOT REPEAT ITSELF. *AK
DURING EXPOSURE TO HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE MID 1990'S FARENHEIT THE STEERING BECOMES STIFF, UNRESPONSIVE WITH A TENDENCY TO "STICK" WHERE IT IS SET. ONLY SEEMS TO OCCUR AFTER VEHICLE HAS SAT IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT ON HOT DAYS.*AK
WHEN MY VEHICLE IS PARKED IN AMBIENT TEMPERATURES EXCEEDING ROUGHLY 85 DEGREES, FOR PERIODS OF AN HOUR OR MORE, THE CAR'S POWER STEERING BEGINS TO MALFUNCTION. THE STEERING TAKES ON AN EXTREMELY HEAVY FEEL, AND IS OFTEN DIFFICULT TO TURN. ADDITIONALLY, IN A GENTLE TURN, THE WHEEL DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY RETURN TO THE CENTER POSITION WHEN IT IS RELEASED. THE CAR CONTIUNES TO TURN INDEFINITELY. AS LONG AS TEMPERATURES REMAIN HIGH, THE PROBLEM PERSISTS.*AK
I TOOK MY CAR IN TO THE BEVERLY HILLS BMW REGARDING NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NO. 04V247000 AND ASKED THAT THE DEALER/SERVICE CENTER CHECK OUT MY AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT PROCESSORS AS MY VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED IN JUNE OF 2003 AND APPEARS TO BE COVERED UNDER THIS RECALL. THEY REFUSED TO PERFORM THE SERVICE SAYING THAT THEY HAD NO RECORD OF THE RECALL FROM BMW OF NORTH AMERICA. I THEN TELEPHONED BMW OF NORTH AMERICA AND ASKED ABOUT THE RECALL. I SPOKE WITH "JASON" AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NO RECORD OF THE RECALL ANYWHERE AND THAT BMW WOULD NOT CHECK OUT MY CAR OR THE AIR BAG PROCESSORS. *NM