M a r t y wrote

’21 40i I’ll try to explain the condition to reproduce this vibration in hopes others will chime in with their experience.

- Drive mode: Comfort or Adaptive or Sport Individual with a comfort or adaptive transmission setting
- From a stop, press the gas pedal slowly on a smooth road and slowly increase your speed till you reach around 30 mph.
- Let off the gas pedal completely and coast to around 25mph, then ever so slightly press the gas pedal, not to actually gain speed but to maintain your speed so the transmission does not shift again. Try to stay in this range
- Do you get a medium to high frequency vibration felt only at the steering wheel and only when you are pressing/feathering the gas pedal?
- Once you gain speed and the transmission shifts to the next highest gear, the vibration goes away until you find yourself in the same situation (RPM window) but at a little higher speed.
- This is where the engine is calling for the slightest speed increase or simply trying to maintain the same speed but going up a slight very minor hill but not pressing the gas pedal enough to cause the transmission to shift

It’s most prominent at slower speeds, like around 30mph. It completely disappears when giving it moderate throttle, going downhill or not giving it any throttle at all (coasting). I drove three 40i’s (2020, 2021, 2022) that all exhibited this to varying degrees. I cannot recall this in any of my former BMW’s.

What say you?

wbuenorosa wrote

i Have the same exact problem!
any solution?

M a r t y wrote

I know I already responded in your other thread but thought it best to have that reply here since this thread has more history.

So, the issue isn't speed/mph, rather it's where the transmission happens to be in any gear at a certain rpm range. Took me a while to come to grips with how to reproduce it and explain it. Lugging is a low frequency vibration, not high like this. Lugging is more along the lines of a shudder, a skip-then-grab type of vibration and can be somewhat violent, not refined as this is. Lugging is the engine being close to stalling out.

No solution, BMW says it's normal and I did drive three other X5's that exhibited it. So does that mean it's normal or does it mean those three also have the issue? I find it hard to believe it's normal because to me, normal means it's supposed to do it and it was designed to do it and I just don't buy it and it didn't do it till somewhere around 15K miles or so. I have no other symptoms or issues and the car drives great. I've had the Xfer case and front diff fluid changed with no effect upon it. My dealer even replaced the two front axels which had no effect upon it. They gave up and called BMW, the tech came down from Jersey and drove it and said it's normal. I think they figured they spent enough on it so let's tell the owner its normal

I'm hopeful someone will figure out what's causing it and we learn how to get rid of it.

wbuenorosa wrote

Well, now more than ever I'm 100% sure there's a problem with the car somewhere. Why do I say that?
Mysteriously, my car had two days without any vibrations on the steering wheel, February 10th and 11th. I was happy; the car was driving smoothly without any vibrations at any speed. This made me drive around for half an hour to see if the vibration would return, accelerating in different ways. turning the car off and on to see if anything changed, but everything was still fine. Unfortunately, this morning around 8 am, I started the car as usual via the app, and when I got on the road, there it was again: the vibration. My happiness lasted only two days, and now it's back to the same problem.
For this reason, I know something is wrong. What it could be, I don't know.
I'll keep looking until I find a solution.

M a r t y wrote

The vibration is only felt at the steering wheel, correct?

See if for you it only happens for the first drive of the day, when the car is cold

wbuenorosa wrote

Yes, I feel it more in the steering column, however, a mechanic friend says he feels it in both the steering column and the chassis. But personally, I feel the discomfort most in the steering column.

And it doesn't matter if it's cold or hot; it happens in both situations.

M a r t y wrote

The chassis? Where on the chassis and how does he feel it?

wbuenorosa wrote

same vibration under seat. i personally don't fell it, i just fell on the steering wheel

Zumich wrote

Left the car at dealership yesterday after extensive drive with shop foreman.He felt the vibration.He said thinking it’s normal behavior,but will compare to other vehicle. They gave me brand new 26 x5 as loaner,I feel bit of vibration,but much less to acceptable limits.They put like almost 60 miles ont my car testing it back an forth to the dealer(see this on the app)since yesterday and received a phone call from advisor today.He said we feel the vibration,but nothing is out of normal and only thing bmw recommend a is to reset adaptations of the transmission te relearn shoplifting points.Also they opened the case with bmwusa to see if there are more complaints.

mucisland wrote

I have the same problem: vibrations in the steering wheel under load only at around 1000 rpm, most prominent in gears 8 (at ~80 km/h) and 7 (at ~65 km/h), but also noticeable in lower gears.

I sometimes also notice a "rumbling" in the gas pedal from 1500-2000 rpm, kind of like it has undamped contact with some engine/chassis/suspension component. Don't know if this is related to the steering wheel vibration issue.

Vehicle is a X5 30d G05 2022, bought 4 months ago with 80000 km on the clock. Options which may be relevant for the problem: Adaptive M Suspension, Integral Active Steering.

The BMW Dealership tried twice to solve this issue, but they didn't provide details about what they actually fixed or replaced. The latest information I got was that they consider this normal behavior and refuse to work on it anymore (on warranty).

Even though the car is fully functional, and some may call this a convenience problem, I cannot get over it. I cannot enjoy the driving experience because I always notice the vibrations - not on the Autobahn, but always when driving in the city. And I also cannot believe that this is state of the art for any car but the cheapest ones. I'm even thinking about trying to cancel the purchase contract.

In the German BMW forums nobody has a solution for this problem, and very few people report it at all. So I really hope that someone will post a solution - or at least the root cause - here!

Weltdriver wrote

Maybe it could be the Guibo ?

Weltdriver wrote

Maybe it could be the Guibo ?

wbuenorosa wrote

I don't think so, because it isn't permanent and only happens in Comfort and Eco modes.
I think that if it were the Guibo, it would be constant—though I could be wrong

M a r t y wrote

If it were the guibo, you should have it in all driving modes, which I do, so for me it's a possibility.

wbuenorosa wrote

Good Morning!
mi friend did you fix the matter? I'm still looking for a solution

mucisland wrote

I have the same problem: vibrations in the steering wheel under load only at around 1000 rpm, most prominent in gears 8 (at ~80 km/h) and 7 (at ~65 km/h), but also noticeable in lower gears.

I sometimes also notice a "rumbling" in the gas pedal from 1500-2000 rpm, kind of like it has undamped contact with some engine/chassis/suspension component. Don't know if this is related to the steering wheel vibration issue.

Vehicle is a X5 30d G05 2022, bought 4 months ago with 80000 km on the clock. Options which may be relevant for the problem: Adaptive M Suspension, Integral Active Steering.

The BMW Dealership tried twice to solve this issue, but they didn't provide details about what they actually fixed or replaced. The latest information I got was that they consider this normal behavior and refuse to work on it anymore (on warranty).

Even though the car is fully functional, and some may call this a convenience problem, I cannot get over it. I cannot enjoy the driving experience because I always notice the vibrations - not on the Autobahn, but always when driving in the city. And I also cannot believe that this is state of the art for any car but the cheapest ones. I'm even thinking about trying to cancel the purchase contract.

In the German BMW forums nobody has a solution for this problem, and very few people report it at all. So I really hope that someone will post a solution - or at least the root cause - here!

TheWatcher wrote

I have a very similar issue with my 2023 40d with 30,000 miles. My vibration is felt from 31mph to 43mph in the highest possible gear under semi-light acceleration. I can feel it in my seat and engine sound is almost described as extremely mild rumble.

It all started after VTG/transfer case replacement. First I got the classic shudder know to many of forum members and when they changed it I got the vibrations. The car has been in the shop many times, I even contacted the BMW German headquarters as I was loosing my temper and they instructed my dealer to try with new adaptations. The fix did help a bit, but it can still be felt. I see that dealers all around the world are the same as mine states that the vibration is in line with other comparable cars and in their opinion the problem is solved. Not so fast I say.

I have to test some more but it is beyond me what a shitty car I have(I am at the dealer almost monthly for different reasons, luckily still under warranty).

All in all, transfer case might be the culprit or it might be something else that my faulty transfer case "broke" before replacing it. Who knows.