2006 525xi steering wheel shimmy

[Darien Nunn]

We bought the car a few months ago and its had a steering wheel shimmy all along. The front rotors and pads were replaced with no change.

Whether driving or braking but more so when braking.

The wheels have been verified balance good.

Any ideas?

[ss109]

Control arm bushings. Common problem.

[Darien Nunn]

Damn...how can I verify?

Thanks!




Control arm bushings. Common problem.

[cpatstone]

how do you verify... are you willing to jack up the car and get your hands dirty, do some wrenching?

how many miles on the car? if over 60, they're suspect; over 80, they're due.

the only way I know is to pull the bushing end out of it's home, put in a 10mm (guess) rod, and pry/twist the bushing. you'll probably see cracks. since it's such a common problem, I'd honestly put in new control arms and see if that fixes it. could save a few bucks by putting in new bushings, but are you sure the ball joints are OK?

I'm going to get yelled at here, but... NO, you don't need an alignment after this job. Not if using good quality OEM parts, and assuming the car runs nice and straight after the job.

so once you've inspected the bushings, you can mcgyver up a press and put in new bushings. Good luck!