BMW 8 Electric Steering Column Fix: Solutions Needed

Hey there! I had a similar issue with my 2016 BMW 6 Series diesel last year (I'd say I have some car repair experience, mainly basic maintenance stuff). The electric steering column adjustment stopped working on mine too. After taking it to my regular workshop, they found it was just a loose connection in the wiring harness near the steering column. They had to remove some panels to access it, but it was basically just reconnecting and securing the cables properly. Cost me around 95 Euro for the fix, including labor. Before jumping to conclusions though, could you share what specific error codes you're getting? Also, are you noticing any other electrical issues? This could help determine if you're dealing with the same problem I had. For reference, I also own a BMW 5 Series and these electrical gremlins can sometimes be model-specific, so more details would help me give better advice.

Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm actually seeing error code E64 at the moment. My ride has 194070 KM on the clock and had its last major service about 4 months ago. Haven't noticed any other electrical issues so far, everything else seems to work fine. It's a bit reassuring to hear yours was just a wiring issue, definitely less scary than having to replace the whole steering column! I'll check with my mechanic about the wiring harness first. Did your steering adjustment start working immediately after the fix, or did they have to do any system resets?

Yeah, glad I can help out again! Actually, when I had that E64 error code on my 6 Series, they did need to do a system reset after fixing the wiring. The interesting thing is, even though the physical connection was fixed, the car's computer needed to be told everything was okay again, kind of like how your phone sometimes needs a restart after acting up. In my case, after they secured the loose connection and did the reset, the steering adjustment started working right away. No problems since then, and it's been over a year now. With your mileage being similar to what mine was when I had the issue (I was at around 180,000 KM), it's pretty likely you're dealing with the same thing. Just a heads up though, make sure your mechanic checks the entire wiring harness in that area, not just the obvious bits. Mine found some slight wear on other nearby cables too, so they secured those as a preventive measure. Better safe than sorry, right? It didn't add much to the cost and probably saved me from future headaches. Let me know how it goes when you get it checked out. Always curious to hear if others have the same fix work for them!

Thanks so much for all that detailed info! Really helpful to know about the system reset being needed too, I'll definitely mention that to my mechanic when I take it in. Good tip about checking the whole wiring harness while they're in there. Makes total sense to prevent future issues, especially given the mileage. I've booked it in for next week, so I'll let you know how it goes. Fingers crossed it's just the wiring like yours was! I'll probably go ahead and have them check the surrounding cables too, rather spend a bit more now than deal with another electrical issue down the road. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with this!