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2002 530i Problem

5K views 18 replies 10 participants last post by  superdeadman 
#1 ·
I recently purchased a 2002 530i sport with 26000 miles on it. So far the only major problem has been @ 80 mph, the car shakes violently. I have taken it back to the dealership 3 times and they "balanced the rims" but that only made it worse. When I called to complain the manager told me that all 530i's with the sport package have this problem. Does anyone with this car have the same problem? Its an awesome car but so far the service has been pretty bad.
 
#2 ·
Originally posted by dscherpf@Sep 1 2005, 04:45 PM
I recently purchased a 2002 530i sport with 26000 miles on it. So far the only major problem has been @ 80 mph, the car shakes violently. I have taken it back to the dealership 3 times and they "balanced the rims" but that only made it worse. When I called to complain the manager told me that all 530i's with the sport package have this problem. Does anyone with this car have the same problem? Its an awesome car but so far the service has been pretty bad.
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Hah! That is a big JOKE! You said "Shakes Violently" and they tell you all 530i sports have this problem??? So BMW made them that way???

It could be so many things, control arms, bushings, suspension, even TIRES which are the least suspected culprit. Good Luck!
 
#3 ·
The sport package on the 02 530 is a stiff ride and maybe a bit rough but definitely shaking violently is not acceptable. this is NOT normal. I would definitely be complaining to the sales manager and the service manager until they get this issue straightened out. Make sure that the wheels are not bent and they are just trying to hide it so that they dont have to buy expensive new wheels. If necessary take it to a different dealer or a tire shop for a second opinion. Ask the dealer or the other shop to "road force" balance the wheels and tires and provide you a printout from the machine showing that all wheels are not bent and how many lbs of roadforce the wheel/tires assemblies are out of spec.

DT
 
#4 ·
Well I got on the phone with the sales manager and demanded that he fix it so I am going to take it to him next week. It sounds like they might do it right this time so we'll see. I might go ahead and take it to a second shop just to get my facts straight before going back to the dealer. Thanks for the help, hopefully this gets put right because I will not be happy if I have to take it back again. This car was CPO shouldn't this problem have raised some flags?
 
#5 ·
Yes, the problem should have raised some flags definitely. Does it only happen at or above 80mph? Because if so maybe the car never got roadtested at that high of speed. Even though most of us do drive that fast remember it is above the legal speed limit and the mechanic who did the CPO inspection may have never driven it that fast. If it happens also at slower speeds then somebody could have overlooked it, had a bad day, whatever... the important thing is how they handle it now and that they get it taken care of and make it right.

DT
 
#6 ·
I do realize that 80 is above the speed limit but on the highway that is where traffic flows. Originally the shaking started at 80 but ever since they "balanced the rims" it now occurs from 70 and up. You are probably right about them not checking 80 for obvious reasons, but really this car is designed for the autobahn so it should be able to go that fast without issue.
 
#9 ·
Sorry for sounding harsh, it just gets frustrating after 3 trips to the dealer with nothing to show for it. I assume that when they balanced the wheels the tires were also balanced? I wonder if an independent shop would have a different approach to the issue.
 
#10 ·
Originally posted by dscherpf@Sep 2 2005, 04:23 PM
Sorry for sounding harsh, it just gets frustrating after 3 trips to the dealer with nothing to show for it.  I assume that when they balanced the wheels the tires were also balanced? I wonder if an independent shop would have a different approach to the issue.
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It is most probably just the Rear Wheels that need balancing because these cars are real wheel drive. Only the Wheels get balanced, with some small weights the fitter will put on the Alloy Wheel rim, not the Tires. This is the most common reason why vibration occurs at high road speeds.
 
#11 ·
Originally posted by zayd55+Sep 3 2005, 06:45 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(zayd55 @ Sep 3 2005, 06:45 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-dscherpf@Sep 2 2005, 04:23 PM
Sorry for sounding harsh, it just gets frustrating after 3 trips to the dealer with nothing to show for it.  I assume that when they balanced the wheels the tires were also balanced? I wonder if an independent shop would have a different approach to the issue.
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It is most probably just the Rear Wheels that need balancing because these cars are real wheel drive. Only the Wheels get balanced, with some small weights the fitter will put on the Alloy Wheel rim, not the Tires. This is the most common reason why vibration occurs at high road speeds.
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Im sorry but rear wheel drive doesnt have anything to do with it, all 4 wheels will need to be balanced. The wheel with tire is balanced as an assembly but weights are only added to the wheel. Technically it is a wheel balance but you are balancing the wheel with the tire mounted on it to compensate for weight differences in the tire. Here is a good article on wheel balancing....
Wheel and Tire Balancing

DT
 
#12 ·
I had the same problem (although not "violently). I had shaking between 50 and 60 and then again around the 80 mph mark. My problem was four fold:

One wheel was bent. :cya

I needed new thrust bushings.

The tires I had, for some reason, would not stay in balance (I had a discount tire Lifetime balance thank heavens :) ). I had them balanced three times in three months and everytime I went back they were out of balance again. I finally put a new set of tires on it (the "old" ones only had 4K miles on them).

After all that -- fixing a rim ($125 at a local repair facility -- they did a nice job), rebalancing 3 times, taking it to the dealer for new thrust bushings under warrranty, and then finally buying new tires (for the second time this year) -- the problem has disappeared :clap2 .

Good luck to you. I suspect you have more than one issue that needs to be resolved.
 
#13 ·
I have a feeling that my problem is many things as well. The tires that are on it are Bridgestone Turanza LS-H, iirc. After driving on the highway yesterday the shaking seems to occur from the front passenger wheel and the rear drivers wheel. Before it seemed to be coming from the front wheels. I'm not sure if violent was the right word to describe it, it is immeadiately noticible @ 70 mph. Everytime it hits 70 there is no question that the car is shaking. Hopefully something good will come out of this next dealer visit, if not I'll take it to a wheel & tire shop.
 
#14 ·
Only 26,000 miles? I had vibration at 70-80 mph on my 2001 530i Sport at 80,000 miles. Replaced thrust rod bushings in front, ball joints in back, new tires and alignment fixed the problem. $$$ If a trip to a good wheel/tire shop doesn't fix it, find another dealer or independent. You need someone who will test drive it at 80 mph and figure it out.
 
#15 ·
dscherpf said:
I do realize that 80 is above the speed limit but on the highway that is where traffic flows. Originally the shaking started at 80 but ever since they "balanced the rims" it now occurs from 70 and up.
They may have just thrown a bunch of weights on the problematic wheel to
try to make the vibration less noticeable.

dscherpf said:
I have a feeling that my problem is many things as well. The tires that are on it are Bridgestone Turanza LS-H, iirc. After driving on the highway yesterday the shaking seems to occur from the front passenger wheel and the rear drivers wheel. Before it seemed to be coming from the front wheels.
My guess is that the dealer rotated the wheels/tires front to back to
see if it would mitigate/lessen the problem.

I'm not sure if violent was the right word to describe it, it is immeadiately noticible @ 70 mph. Everytime it hits 70 there is no question that the car is shaking.
Vibrations occuring only at 65-75 mph are most likely caused by
wheels/tires imbalance. This is because most wheels/tires are about
14"-18" in diameter, which means that any imbalances in a wheel/tire will
cause vibration at approximately the same road speed i.e. the same
rotational speed.

zayd55 said:
It is most probably just the Rear Wheels that need balancing because these cars are real wheel drive.
I don't see how a car being rear driven precludes the front wheels/tires
from vibrating from being out of balance?

Dirty_Tool said:
Im sorry but rear wheel drive doesnt have anything to do with it, all 4 wheels will need to be balanced.
There's no need be hasty. First find out whether the vibration is actually
caused by the wheels/tires. Selectively rotate tires and see if the
vibration move from one corner to another corner.

If it is a wheel/tire, take it off the car and eyeball it real
closely. It might be dented on the inner lip for example, where you can't
see real easily. Or it may be warped.

In any case, if you find the problem, tire'wheel-related or not, you will
have more ammunition to fight the dealer.

I suspect though, that if it is a bent/warped/dented wheel, the dealer
will try to blame it on you, claiming that no such problem existed when
you bought the car.

If it is a tire defect/damage, it won't be the dealer's responsibility.
I would hope though, that a good dealer would meet you half way to try
to get your future business.
 
#16 ·
Well I dropped it off last night with the dealer, they said that they will change the tires. I plan on test driving it with the manager when I go to pick it up, if the problem still exists I get to spend another day with a 3 series. I think that they have begun to understand that I don't feel like playing around with them anymore on this subject so they are being more helpful.

I was able to get the "lead tech" at the dealer to test it at 80 but that was when they balanced the wheels. I'll let you know what happens tonight.
 
#17 ·
I have a 1995 525i with the vibration between fifty and 65, may I sugested you inspect the control arm bushings. I've replaced my calipers, pads, rotors and control arm bushings twice. My tires, drive train dampner discs, and rear body mount bushings once. There is still a vibration there. Noone has been able to figure it out. sy solution has been to travel at a higher rate of speed. My tech, now wants to send the drive shafts out to be checked and balancedif necc. Oh yeah, have them install 740 control arm bushings, they are stronger and they're the same price.
 
#18 ·
Well I got the car back from the dealership a few days ago with new tires on it. The problem still isn't gone but it is greatly reduced. Unfortunately, the manager I spoke to wasn't there when I picked it up so he couldn't test it with me. I am glad that I got new tires but I need to get this resolved, I'll go back to them with the parts you guys suggested and see what they say. It should be covered under warranty even though the manager doesn't like to admit it.
 
#19 ·
yeah, there are two things i can think off
1 - something with wheels (wrong balance, bushing, bent rim) ... i think alignment is probably a little bit off so it shakes when you get to high speeds
2 - i thas been in a n accident before (but that's a highly doubtful)

i got 99 528i with sport luxury package and i am abasolutely in love with it... 4 door car that can outhandle most of the cars on the road in the corners with stock suspension.. absolutely beautiful!

it's not normal in any 5-er because actually, sports suspension isn't harsh at all, in fact when i drive my car, it is always smooth, no matter which bump i'm going over! i bet the ride is harsher in stock 5 series and not the sports one.

yea, basically go to dealership few more itmes, and if they can't figure out the problem after the 3rd time, you don't have to pay for anything ( i think that's the rule)
 
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