[alfcam]

Hi All,

This is my first post here, thanks for all the helpful information. I have read most of the posts about the dreaded steering lock error (I got the red sign). The car can still start and the lock seems to be working. I read in the posts that this is a known issue and a software reset or steering column replacement should solve it.

I just bought the car used from the UK and imported it into Malta. The year of manufacture is October 2007. It seems that every country has different warranty durations. In the UK it seems to be three years whereas in Malta it is 2 years unlimited mileage. I wanted to check whether BMW have any international warranty in place that would help me fix this issue. I would assume that a company like BMW would respect its warranty obligations even if the car is now in another country. Did anyone ever try to fix this problem out of warranty and claim costs from BMW since it seems to be a relatively common fault?

Could this fault develop since the car has not been used for quite some time ?

Thanks & Regards.

Alfred

[hanmaas]

BMW will honor the warranty according to local policy, which would then be 2 years in your case.

[alfcam]

Thanks for your reply !

Alfred

[combatcarry]

Insist on getting the new column. The software upgrade worked briefly for me. Then the steering wheel locked and my car had to be towed.

[TaTaToothy]

Definitely press this issue. In the US your warranty will extend past its original term where you have recorded complaints about the problem before the warranty runs out, but I have no idea about Malta law. In any case, this is a well-known problem and any dealer should be aware of it. I had this problem on my 2006 330i and my service adviser immediately recognized the problem and replaced the column under warranty. Worst case scenario, they try the software fix and it works well enough to get you to the end of the warranty, then fails, leaving you with a bill for replacing the column.