i have a friend of mine who has exactly the same prob he did a realighnment at the dealers 2 times but the problem was still there so he went to michlen to do a realighment and says the problem is gone

So, I take it there is no way to shut active steering off and go from there....

The dealers may be right about new tires...... ask them if they got a set to try out for a few miles..... just make sure the tires are different though.

If someone has the service tech manual, I'm sure there's a way to pull the fuse or circuit breaker to deactivate adaptive drive.

I'm going to guess the world it's not adaptive drive, though. I drove an X5 35d with 21" wheels at the dealer and the handling was atrocious. There was bump steer galore and a great need to keep the vehicle on track.

I then drove a X5 4.4 Sport M with 19" and adaptive drive and it was far, far better in terms of the vehicle's tracking.

Lastly, I drove the car I'm picking up from the dealer next week an X5 35d with 18" runflats, also with adaptive drive. It handled perfectly, and stayed centered at all times.

One thing to keep in mind is that as you increase the diameter of the wheels you're also going to increase the load placed upon all of the suspension and steering components. In theory, one would think that BMW engineers would have put some type of program within the adaptive drive control module, that would compensate for 20" or 21" wheels.

But, again, I don't think it's the adaptive drive. I think people are bolting 20 and 21" wheels onto vehicles that were delivered with 18 & 19" wheels. Even if the front and rear alignment were out by only 1/4th of a degree, with 21" wheels that could easily be enough to describe the symptoms of this thread.

The point is, make sure to align the vehicle properly to each wheel set you're using. You CAN NOT SIMPLY bolt on wheels in the summer and then BOLT ON wheels in the winter without an alignment job. By doing so, you're assuming your wheels are perfectly true, tires and all. I've rarely, if ever seen a perfectly true wheel, let alone 4.

But again, if you think it's the adaptive drive, disable it. If the issue goes away, there's your answer. In my book, there's no way the adaptive drive is causing the issue. It's not new technology and has been around on various automobiles for a decade at minimum.

My 2-cents.

My car is at the dealer now. I guess the other BMW dealer only did a regular alignment, not an Active Steering alignment... thats whats causing my issues...

Once again Active steering isn't worth it for the headache it is...

I think it's "toe" not to be confused with towing something.

Yep toe is correct. But, you'll be hard pressed to find any vehicle with 20"+ wheels and relatively low profile tires that will track like a sedan unless it's meticulously aligned.

Does your car also wander with a passenger in the car? What if you put a 150 pound passenger in the rear seat on the passenger side?

Still not believing adaptive drive has anything to do with the issue. It doesn't add up. 10k of mileage can be quite a lot, depending on the roads your tires were exposed to.

Again, disconnect the adaptive drive. If your problem is solved, there you go. But, again I'll bet it has nothing to do with it.

Though, in a hypothetical situation, if the driver of a X5 weighed 300 pounds, and there is no passenger in the SAV it's possible the adaptive drive is confusing the weight distribution for uneven road conditions and adjusting accordingly.

Who knows...

Get it aligned and if it's still giving you trouble, yank the adaptive drive breaker or fuse, and see what gives...

One more thing: make sure the load leveling suspension is operating correctly. It could also be malfunctioning, creating an imbalance.

I did the alignment today.

It was little incorrect, especially after i had front springs replaced, and rear links replaced as well. Because i bought my car lowered.

It only needed minor adjustment, but to be honest with you, i think it's the 21's with dunlop tires, i mean i can tell the difference, it is smoother but when i'am driving over the inperfect roads, and i let the steering wheel go, it still puls a little.

On the highway, it depends, when the road surface changes and especially, when the road is uneven it pulls for sure, so i think it has nothing to do with adaptive drive, it's all the 215's and 214's with runflets.

That's just my opinion

Yeah, I meant toe... brain fart I guess.

And my 20" wheels track straight on most roads, unless the road is messed up enough to make anything pull. But the E53 and E70 have much different suspension setups... But yes, the 21" wheels are more prone to wander than the smaller wheels.

Weasel, since you are a first source, how does suspention, and front springs of E70 compair to E53?

I find my ride, much rougher, then my previous one 4.8is. I know i know those god damn 21's with runflats, but apart from air leak, does the 4.8is or even 4.6is with its front springs have a better ride then the new generation?

Just trying to understand correctly, not critique in any way: you installed different springs to raise the car back to factory specs without having the car aligned?

I'm going to agree that the X5 engineers probably built in a bit of leeway with the vehicle to handle 21" wheels and tires, but I'm going to guess that it's pushing the envelope of the SAV's capabilities.

I think I mentioned in my earlier post that I drove a brand new X5 35d with active drive and 21" wheels. It tracked so poorly that I knew immediately it was the wheels. I told the salesman to remove them and replace them with 19s, and I'd take it that day. He refused, so I walked. There was an X5 Sport M on the lot with 19"s and it tracked perfectly, but the extra 2" made a massive difference.

Point being, it's very hard to have such large diameter wheels while expecting precise tracking. The larger wheel diameter will cause the vehicle to want to follow the crown of the road, and since the suspension is not specifically designed for such large diameter wheels (no matter what BMW claims) any imperfection in the road is going to magnified by flexing in the control rods, upper and lower suspension components (A-Arms), etc.

If anything the adaptive drive is probably helping keep the vehicle on track and stable.

I agree the 21s" look great, but they're putting a tremendous amount of stress on the X5.

Back in 2001 when 18" and 19" wheels were just starting to come out people went through the same thing. 21" factory wheels were unheard of, until recently. Just 7-year ago in 2003, I took delivery of a 350z with 18" rims (large for the year). It tracked horribly from the factory. It was one of the first to hit the ground in the States. Nissan actually flew out their chief engineer from California, to my then home state of AZ, to diagnose the issue. They spent 3-weeks on it and 150 miles, on my brand new toy! Eventually they disregarded the factory alignment numbers and made up their own. Those numbers were then, eventually, worked into service bulletins issued to all Nissan Dealers. Long story short: large diameter rims, by nature, are prone to wander due to the larger amounts of stress they transmit to the vehicle they're attached to.

Some autos handle this well. For example, cars with flexible chassis may flex to the point that they absorb the additional strain. Other vehicles that are extraordinarily stiff, such as Ferraris and Porsches are specifically designed around such large diameter wheels and have suspension components that are strong enough to keep the vehicle on track. I'd wager to bet the X5 was specifically engineered to handle 19" wheels, with 20" wheels being the limit for M varieties. 21" and 22" wheels are great for marketing, and were probably introduced by the marketing department, but from an engineering standpoint, again, I believe that 21"s are pushing what the X5 was designed to handle. I'm not insinuating that there's any danger, whatsoever, but an aftermarket steering dampener might go a LONG way in solving the tracking problem. They're easy to install, and will eliminate a large percentage of the issues that have been described in this thread.

21" rims are massive, and are still VERY, VERY, new to the automotive industry. In 10 years, I'm sure we might see 24" or even 25" rims with little sidewall surface, but without some major strengthening of the X5's suspension, chassis, and lowering of the steering ratio, I can't envision a 21" equipped SAV tracking as true as one equipped with 18 or 19" wheels. It's just not going to happen.

Unfortunately there's give and take with looks balanced by performance.

Lastly, when having your vehicle aligned, make sure to verify that the alignment machine your dealer is using is also aligned! Ask if it's a self-calibrating machine, and if not, when it was last aligned. High performance vehicles, of which I consider the X5 to be, are easily upset by errors in their alignment. Make absolutely sure that the equipment your dealer is using is flawless. If they're using a 15 year old alignment machine, go elsewhere. They should be using a self-aligning computerized alignment table that gives you a complete print out of your cars specs.

If it's been months since their equipment was calibrated or they can't give you an answer, go to an alignment shop that specializes in high-performance vehicles. They're easier to find than you think. Paying $150 sucks, when something should be covered by warranty, but continually having to take your SAV to the dealer for the same issue and having the frustration of having to continually correct the course of your truck is not fun either.

Good luck.