BMW i8 Electric Steering Column Failure, Solutions Needed

Hey there! I've got some experience with hybrid cars and had a similar issue with my 2015 BMW i3. The electric steering adjustment completely died on me last year, and I had that exact same error message pop up. Pretty frustrating! Took it to my regular workshop, and it turned out to be a loose connection in the wiring harness at the steering column. They found a damaged cable that was causing intermittent connections. The fix wasn't too complicated, they replaced the faulty wiring and connector assembly. Cost me around 95 Euro and it's been working perfectly since then. Before jumping into more specifics, could you tell me if you're getting any particular warning lights on the dash? And does your steering wheel make any noise when you try to adjust it? This info would help me share more relevant details from my experience. By the way, if your i8 has similar wiring setup to my i3, it might be the same issue, but let's confirm those symptoms first.

Thanks for sharing your experience! I've done 134474 KM in my i8, and had the last service done just 2 months ago. When I try to adjust the steering, there's actually no noise at all, it's completely dead silent. No clicking or humming sounds like it used to make. The only warning I'm getting is a small yellow steering wheel symbol on the dash display. Your wiring harness issue sounds similar to what I might be experiencing. Did your mechanic mention how long the repair took? I'm trying to figure out if I need to leave it at the shop for a full day or if it's a quick fix.

Hey again! Yes, that dead silence you're describing is exactly what I experienced with my car. When my steering adjustment stopped working, it was that same eerie silence, no mechanical sounds at all. And yep, I got that same yellow steering wheel symbol too! The repair on my car actually took about 3 hours total. Most of that time was spent accessing the wiring harness since there's quite a bit of dismantling needed to get to it properly. My mechanic had to remove some trim pieces and part of the steering column cover to properly access everything. I'm even more convinced now that you're dealing with the same wiring issue I had, especially since you mentioned having similar symptoms. With your mileage being close to what mine was when it happened (I was at around 128000 km), it's a pretty common wear point for these models. Quick tip from my experience, while they're in there working on it, ask them to check all the nearby connections too. After my repair, my mechanic mentioned he found a couple other wires that were starting to show wear, but hadn't failed yet. Got those sorted at the same time, which probably saved me another trip to the shop down the line. Let me know how it goes once you get it checked out! Always curious to hear if others have the same fix work for them.

I'd like to respond back with: Thanks a lot for all those details! It's really helpful knowing that the repair took about 3 hours. I'll definitely mention checking the nearby connections when I take it in, that's a great tip about preventive maintenance. I've scheduled an appointment with my regular mechanic for next week. The symptoms being so similar to what you experienced gives me some confidence that it might not be anything too major. I was worried it might be something more serious with the electrical system. I'll post an update here once I get it fixed to let everyone know what they found and if it was indeed the same wiring harness issue. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience in such detail! Fingers crossed it's a straightforward fix like yours was.