vibrating steering wheel, and feels like tires are going to fall off
 

(2004 X5 4.4-65,000miles) When driving for about 10-15minutes the steering wheel starts to vibrate out of control and the wheels feel and sound like they are about to fall off. I went to the dealer to have this problem checked out, and they said the problem was either the stuck caliper on the passenger side or the a hole located in the cv boot in which all of the oil had leaked out. They said I should have both fixed. Has anyone else experience such a thing, I whould like to know so that I can try to choose the right repair in an effort to save me some cash.

Problem is control arms, or bushings, and maybe your brake rotors?

Control arms my man.

So, how was it ultimately fixed? I've same/similar problem on '04X5 3.0, only 37K miles. It comes & goes. Can't drive over 40 mph, vibrations real hard. After stopping for a while...it's ok for few minutes & comes back again. Took front wheels off, in park & no parking brake, tried to manually turn the rotors to see if they move freely & they seem to bind....the pad rubbing on the rotor.....Wonder if it's the "caliper stuck" scenario?

Find a good BMW Independent shop near you. Use them to diagnose any problems you have and do what work you can, and have them do the rest.

A dealer just diagnosed a $1600 suspension issue. I went to my Indy (known him 20 years) and NOTHING needs replacing. Now that money is going to tiires

I currently am having the same problem. Excessive vibration in the steering wheel. I also noticed that if I pump the brakes, even at a stop I hear clunking noises. After taking my 2001 X5 to my local shop and putting it on the lift, we noticed you could actually shake the drivers side front tire. I recently had the front axles replaced ( torn CV Boot ), sway bar links, brakes pads and rotors. Vibration and clunking was still there. I finally was able to see where the clunking was coming from. It is the control arms. The bushings are completely worn out. And for the $175 in parts, I'm replacing them both next week. Heck, my X5 will be like new.

I:cool: agree, know it all to well...

Welcome to the wonderful world of owning a X5 and replacing the control arm bushings.....which will go bad no matter what 100%

BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT...please check and see if......your calipers are frozen

I had a ceased drivers side caliper that made my wheels shake insanely. As the rotor would get hot from driving, the hot rotor expands and makes the wheel shake as the caliper presses on the rotor inwhich makes the steering wheel shake like a MoFo......

Had the same issue, it turned out to be a frozen caliper. CPO warrantee covered it, and I ended up having both calipers/liners/rotors replaced on my front end (too bad they didnt take care of the rear).

At least the CPO covered it.:cool:good to know for the future.

For sure, I was fired up! I thought my warrantee was up at that point, so I walked into the dealer with my tail between my legs :D

Good thing I didn't go to the indy, I would have payed out the a**.

CPO was good by me, I'll miss it now that its over...

wheel vibrations
 

I noticed while inspecting each axle carefully, that not only the front passenger side calliper looks frozen, but amazingly the rear driver side (diagonally opp.) big suspension spring is out of its base (off center) & the rubber piece it sits on is out of shape & it has a buttonlike piece than sits in a hole on the large axle is only 1/2 in the hole....don't know the names for all these parts. Anyone has any clue how this can happen & what solution?

Just got my X5 back today. Control arms stiffened the steering, like new again. Control arms help considerably. Still a clunk over big bumps. Found out the problem, but we don't know what the part is called. On my 01 X5 4.4 there is a curved bar that is below the control arms. Anyone know it's name? HELP PLEASE

Besides my frozen front passenger side calliper, I also noticed that (diagonally opp.) the big coil springs of rear driver side suspension have wierdly come off center the base rubber piece that sits in a hole in the big rear axle. Anyone knows anything about this kind of problem?

wheel vibrations.....gone
 

Took it to local Pepboys....asked their senior most tech. to look at it, he knows BMWs. Diagnosed as I thought...front right calliper frozen & rotors & brakes worn out, & rear susp big coil spring (seats only on a rubber disk...thanks to BMW) slipped off center. Back on road for $1600 -all 4 new rotors & brakes & 2 front callipers....brought him some parts from dealer & he also reseated the coil spring. Dealer said $3K for the same service!!