Violet vibration when braking

CarolBr · 01-03-2007, 06:15 AM

2003 BMW 530i - purchased 08/06 - 30K miles. Certified pre-owned w/extended 100K warranty. When coming to a normal stop and braking, car starts to shake violently from side to side. Steering wheel and brake pedal also vibrate. Dealer claims it is ABS kicking in but this has happened 4 times on dry, flat pavement and this is not normal ABS brake pedal vibration. This is a loud clunking and banging noise that lasts 20-30 seconds and is very scary - car feels like it is having it's own little earthquake episode. Passenger the other day asked me to pull over and let her out of the car!! HELP!

Jeron · Jeron's Garage

I would take it to the dealer.

Next time it happens see if the traction control light or any other light comes on on the dash. 20-30 seconds is a long time, I can only imagine if it lasts that long that a component of the traction control system is malfunctioning.

CarolBr · 01-03-2007, 10:24 AM

Thanks for the reply. I the meantime, I heard from a BMW expert out in New York. He says this problem is exactly like the one he experienced and that it affects a lot of the E39 models (525i, 528i and 530i) and it's the control arms that need to be replaced. He said that there are tons of people writing about this problem on a Yahoo forum and that BMW has refused to acknowledge that it's a serious safety issue. He said everyone describes that intense shaking and banging noises just as I described. New tires, different wheels and new factory pads and rotors do not help and that the only thing that works is replacing the front control arms because of worn bushings. I am dealing with our local BMW dealer with this right now - my car has been there for two days and they said they can't do a thing because "they can't duplicate the problem". Thanks, Carol B.

Jeron · Jeron's Garage

"cant duplicate the problem" seems to be all I hear from dealers.

Does the shaking happen only while you are braking or does it continue after you release the brake?

It shouldn't be difficult for the dealer to tell if your control arms or bushings are bad. Your description seems too extreme for a bad control arm issue.

CarolBr · 01-03-2007, 10:46 AM

I am requesting that they check the bushings and control arms as I am typing this. They seem to only rely on readings from some gadget that they attach to the "brain" of the engine rather than actually LOOKING at the parts of the car. Then they insist that if BMW of North America says they have never seen that problem, then it really doesn't exist (and only in my mind? I don't think so!). The guy in NY said that his car was shaking pretty violently just as I described and that he went through the process of trying new rotors, pads, brake bleeding, tires and different size wheels but the only fix was replacing the control arms and bushings. Anyway thanks for your reply. Carol B.

JonyRR · 01-03-2007, 01:19 PM

there's a reason that some shops install 7-series bushings in NEW 5-series control arms. That's a 'hot setup' race fix.
I front replaced thrust arms, front control arms front swaybar bushings ande rear control arm bushings on my E34 (1994) 530I to cure just what you are describing.

But at ONLY !!!! 30K miles since new, I can't imagine those parts are worn out. perhaps the vehicle hit something or got curbed somehow.....
good luck. I think my first BMW car will also be my last, as this nonsense is not enough to justify driving a roundel....

JonyRR · 01-04-2007, 01:55 PM

'2003 BMW 530i - purchased 08/06 - 30K miles'

any action on that thing?

looks like the auto side of BMW NA is as obstinate and anal as the M/C side.

with only 30K miles on this, it should still be a creampuff virgin...unless it's been binned, of course.
One thing I was surprised at was how fragile and easily bent these thrust and control arms are. I used the old ones I replaced in a shop project tht required me to bend the arms to a different angle and it took little to bend them radically; about 5 tons of force in my 30-ton press. scary

CarolBr · 01-04-2007, 03:08 PM

No action. It's like they are completely avoiding talking to me. It's been in the shop now for 3 full days. I am going down tomorrow to find out what the heck is goingn on.

JonyRR · 01-05-2007, 10:23 AM

take it back to the seller and reaquaint him with the vehicle using a proctologst's approach?

BMWCowboy · 01-07-2007, 05:13 PM

With the car in the air grab both sides of the wheel & shake back & forth~~>it should be tight~~>bushings wont do that but a loose arm will and you can diffently feel it like I described~~>I doubt thats it cuz the dealer would find that

Chris Lovell · 01-16-2008, 06:38 PM

I had the same. Thrust arm bushings need replacement. Mine looked fine on visual inspection. We replaced them anyway. Problem solved.

ruf-porsche · ruf-porsche's Garage

Make sure that the BMW shop put it in writing that nothing is wrong with the car so that when you lose control and crash the car you can sue them.

Fido's ride · Fido's ride's Garage

I've had the same issue and have bad thrust arm bushings however, the shaking or a bad previous wrench bender seems to have under torqued the pitman arm to steering box... amplified the problem!! I recommend checking both during investigation. Blve the Bently manuel recommends 59 NM torque on this bolt.

Fido

Decolliber · 01-16-2011, 01:54 PM

I had a milder version of the same problem: slight vibration when coming to a stop. It was the left lower control arm ball joint. The entire control arm has to be replaced. No need to go to dealer and pay much more. Any shop that does suspension work can do it. I just replaced that one arm. I don't think there is any need to replace all four front control arms when one goes bad, though you do have to pay for an alignment each time.

JhwShark · JhwShark's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruf-porsche

Make sure that the BMW shop put it in writing that nothing is wrong with the car so that when you lose control and crash the car you can sue them.

+1...Carol, I presume you do not work on your car so...
I would get their assessment in writing that they do not find a problem, evaluate the list of what they did, and reject what seems out of scope to your non-fix and make sure they do not charge you for storage as well, and then leave the shop!
...then go to a long term independent suspension shop (some tire shops do this work) for a diagnosis...they can perform most of what you need done if suspension, steering wheel hub, bearings, brakes...

my thoughts could include: the car has been hit on one side or has gone over a large bump or curb with speed damaging control arm, or out of balance tires (usually vib's/shaking between 55-65), warped front rotor (you mention it happens when braking and you feel it in the steering and brake), bad master brake (low prob)??