Vibration becoming alarming

AlastairM · 05-14-2020, 11:30 AM

I've had an issue with vibration in my X3 at 130kph (c 80mph). It doesn't come through the steering wheel, more through my foot resting on the floor which goes on tingling for over an hour after a 10 hour drive. When I took it to the dealer they did the usual wheel balancing but found nothing wrong. They didn't detect the vibration but I have got used to it and it comes on at a bit over 70mph and it seems to vary according to how hard the car is working (eg uphill generally worse than downhill. I had worked out that it was coming from the rear end and planned to get it booked in when I returned to the UK.

A few weeks ago as the limit on the motorway went from 110kph to 130kph I flicked the cruise control to accept the new speed limit and all hell let loose. There was a frightful rattling noise and vibration from the rear and stuff in the boot was being thrown in the air. I had a feeling that the car was about to self destruct. I killed the cruise control which stopped the problem and pulled off the motorway. Unable to see that any bits were actually missing, I continued my journey and the problem hasn't repeated although the previous vibration remains.

I have the car booked into BMW in a couple of weeks time but wondered if anyone else had experienced this problem and if so what caused it - or does anyone have any ideas?

There's an additional challenge in that BMW UK won't drive the car at 80mph and won't go out with me driving due to social distancing.....

SteveX3M40i · 05-14-2020, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlastairM

I've had an issue with vibration in my X3 at 130kph (c 80mph). It doesn't come through the steering wheel, more through my foot resting on the floor which goes on tingling for over an hour after a 10 hour drive. When I took it to the dealer they did the usual wheel balancing but found nothing wrong. They didn't detect the vibration but I have got used to it and it comes on at a bit over 70mph and it seems to vary according to how hard the car is working (eg uphill generally worse than downhill. I had worked out that it was coming from the rear end and planned to get it booked in when I returned to the UK.

A few weeks ago as the limit on the motorway went from 110kph to 130kph I flicked the cruise control to accept the new speed limit and all hell let loose. There was a frightful rattling noise and vibration from the rear and stuff in the boot was being thrown in the air. I had a feeling that the car was about to self destruct. I killed the cruise control which stopped the problem and pulled off the motorway. Unable to see that any bits were actually missing, I continued my journey and the problem hasn't repeated although the previous vibration remains.

I have the car booked into BMW in a couple of weeks time but wondered if anyone else had experienced this problem and if so what caused it - or does anyone have any ideas?

There's an additional challenge in that BMW UK won't drive the car at 80mph and won't go out with me driving due to social distancing.....

Hi,
How many miles has the car covered?
Are the rear tyres originals or replacements?
We had problems with bulging on tyres that meant they effectively weren’t perfectly round - on a previous car (ML63) and it’s amazing how much vibration this caused!
Once we changed the tyres and had the new ones properly balanced - everything went back to normal.
You might want to get your car on a ramp and examine the tyres by rotating each wheel by hand and taking a good look at each tyre for uneven wear and roundness.
Cheers
Steve

AlastairM · 05-14-2020, 11:56 AM

Steve -

I'm sure BMW will have had a good look at the tyres when I took it in last time but something like that would be nice and easy to fix. The car has done about 15,000 miles on the original tyres.

SteveX3M40i · 05-14-2020, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlastairM

Steve -

I'm sure BMW will have had a good look at the tyres when I took it in last time but something like that would be nice and easy to fix. The car has done about 15,000 miles on the original tyres.

Ha ha - you are joking!
Unlikely that the garage will have properly checked the tyres!

TheusBimmer · 05-14-2020, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveX3M40i

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlastairM

Steve -

I'm sure BMW will have had a good look at the tyres when I took it in last time but something like that would be nice and easy to fix. The car has done about 15,000 miles on the original tyres.

Ha ha - you are joking!
Unlikely that the garage will have properly checked the tyres!

I second Steve's comment lol. You will be surprised of the incompetency of most dealership lol. I would do a quick check myself or bring to another bmw (hopefully better) dealership for second opinion or indy.

BMWZ4 · 05-14-2020, 12:27 PM

This reminds me of a series of posts/threads about a god-awful vibration at speed. I tried a quick search but no luck. Maybe you can give it a go. Bottom line was no real solution was found, but they had been replacing both rear axles as I recall only to alleviate the issue for a few thousand miles before it returned

EDIT: it was for model 2018's, M40i's

383vett · 05-14-2020, 01:14 PM

What year is your car? Some early 2018's had vibration problems. Mine did and after wheel balancing and swaps, dual rear axle replacement, driveshaft replacement, muffler replacement and buyback, my problem was solved.

AlastairM · 05-14-2020, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWZ4

This reminds me of a series of posts/threads about a god-awful vibration at speed. I tried a quick search but no luck. Maybe you can give it a go. Bottom line was no real solution was found, but they had been replacing both rear axles as I recall only to alleviate the issue for a few thousand miles before it returned

EDIT: it was for model 2018's, M40i's

I did do a search but I will look a little more.

AlastairM · 05-14-2020, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 383vett

What year is your car? Some early 2018's had vibration problems. Mine did and after wheel balancing and swaps, dual rear axle replacement, driveshaft replacement, muffler replacement and buyback, my problem was solved.

2019MY, delivered Nov 2018. Sounds like you had quite a time!

BMWZ4 · 05-14-2020, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlastairM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 383vett

What year is your car? Some early 2018's had vibration problems. Mine did and after wheel balancing and swaps, dual rear axle replacement, driveshaft replacement, muffler replacement and buyback, my problem was solved.

2019MY, delivered Nov 2018. Sounds like you had quite a time!

I think your production date puts your vehicle right in that sweet spot for the issue. Issue seemed to start around ~10,000+ miles...

Jcbmally · 05-14-2020, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlastairM

2019MY, delivered Nov 2018. Sounds like you had quite a time!

There was an issue with a dodgy batch of driveshafts on earlier G01 X3's. I believe a new supplier was eventually sourced and dodgy ones were replaced.
Have you checked the wheel nuts? and I would definitely check the tyre for bumps, unevenness as the run flats are absolute tat.

BMWZ4 · 05-14-2020, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jcbmally

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlastairM

2019MY, delivered Nov 2018. Sounds like you had quite a time!

There was an issue with a dodgy batch of driveshafts on earlier G01 X3's. I believe a new supplier was eventually sourced and dodgy ones were replaced.
Have you checked the wheel nuts? and I would definitely check the tyre for bumps, unevenness as the run flats are absolute tat.

I'm not so sure that the drive shafts were in fact the issue. A few owners reported the same vibration after a few thousand miles even with the new shafts.

VTX3 · 05-15-2020, 08:59 AM

I vote the tires. With ~8500 miles on the stock garbage runflats, picked up a bad vibration from uneven wear. Very common on these cars.

383vett · 05-15-2020, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlastairM

2019MY, delivered Nov 2018. Sounds like you had quite a time!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWZ4

I think your production date puts your vehicle right in that sweet spot for the issue. Issue seemed to start around ~10,000+ miles...

Spot on. My 2018 was delivered in January. Vibration started around 6000 and got worse. BMW was very fair with the buyback process

05-14-2020, 11:30 AM	#1
AlastairM New Member 5 Rep 16 Posts Drives: X3 xDrive30D MSport Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	Vibration becoming alarming I've had an issue with vibration in my X3 at 130kph (c 80mph). It doesn't come through the steering wheel, more through my foot resting on the floor which goes on tingling for over an hour after a 10 hour drive. When I took it to the dealer they did the usual wheel balancing but found nothing wrong. They didn't detect the vibration but I have got used to it and it comes on at a bit over 70mph and it seems to vary according to how hard the car is working (eg uphill generally worse than downhill. I had worked out that it was coming from the rear end and planned to get it booked in when I returned to the UK. A few weeks ago as the limit on the motorway went from 110kph to 130kph I flicked the cruise control to accept the new speed limit and all hell let loose. There was a frightful rattling noise and vibration from the rear and stuff in the boot was being thrown in the air. I had a feeling that the car was about to self destruct. I killed the cruise control which stopped the problem and pulled off the motorway. Unable to see that any bits were actually missing, I continued my journey and the problem hasn't repeated although the previous vibration remains. I have the car booked into BMW in a couple of weeks time but wondered if anyone else had experienced this problem and if so what caused it - or does anyone have any ideas? There's an additional challenge in that BMW UK won't drive the car at 80mph and won't go out with me driving due to social distancing.....
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05-14-2020, 11:56 AM	#3
AlastairM New Member 5 Rep 16 Posts Drives: X3 xDrive30D MSport Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	Steve - I'm sure BMW will have had a good look at the tyres when I took it in last time but something like that would be nice and easy to fix. The car has done about 15,000 miles on the original tyres.
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05-14-2020, 12:27 PM	#6
BMWZ4 Major General 1910 Rep 5,105 Posts Drives: '23 X1/'23 Allroad Progressiv Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Toronto iTrader: (1)	This reminds me of a series of posts/threads about a god-awful vibration at speed. I tried a quick search but no luck. Maybe you can give it a go. Bottom line was no real solution was found, but they had been replacing both rear axles as I recall only to alleviate the issue for a few thousand miles before it returned EDIT: it was for model 2018's, M40i's __________________ '11 Z4 30i (retired);'11 X3 28i (retired); '15 M235i Stage 1 Dinan (recalled & crushed); '16 M235i Stage 3 Dinan (retired); '15 X3 28i (retired); '14 328i (retired), 2019 X3M40i (retired); Loaded '18 X1 (retired); Loaded '20 X3MC DG, Black/Tan Merino (retired); Loaded '23 X1 Cape York green and Red/Black interior; '23 Audi A4 Allroad Progressiv
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05-14-2020, 01:14 PM	#7
383vett Major 626 Rep 1,044 Posts Drives: 2018 X3 M40i, 2012 X3 Xdrive35 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Moraga, California iTrader: (0)	What year is your car? Some early 2018's had vibration problems. Mine did and after wheel balancing and swaps, dual rear axle replacement, driveshaft replacement, muffler replacement and buyback, my problem was solved. __________________ 2016 Z06 Vette, 10.53@132 1984 Vette, 406, 10.23@131 2021 SQ5
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05-15-2020, 08:59 AM	#13
VTX3 Private 45 Rep 69 Posts Drives: 2019 X3 M40i Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Vermont iTrader: (0)	I vote the tires. With ~8500 miles on the stock garbage runflats, picked up a bad vibration from uneven wear. Very common on these cars.
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