BMW M4 Steering Column Motor Failure Solutions Needed

Hey there! I had a pretty similar issue with my 2017 BMW M3 last year. I have some experience working on cars, mostly basic maintenance stuff, but electrical issues like this I leave to the pros. The symptoms were exactly the same, steering column adjustment completely dead. Took it to my regular workshop and turned out it was just a loose connection in the wiring harness to the steering column motor. They had to partially disassemble the steering column to access and fix the damaged cable connector. Total bill came to 95 Euro for the repair, not too bad considering I was worried it might be the whole motor assembly! Before I can give you more specific advice, could you share if you're getting any warning lights on the dash or if it just stopped working suddenly? Also, do you hear any noise when trying to adjust it? This might help narrow down if you're dealing with the same issue I had.

Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm also at 16363 KM and just had my latest service done. I'm not getting any warning lights on the dash, it just suddenly stopped working one morning. When I try to adjust it, there's absolutely no noise or response from the controls. Seems similar to your situation, which gives me some hope it might just be a wiring issue. Did your mechanic need to order any special parts, or was it purely a repair job? I'd rather know what to expect before taking it in.

Hey again! Yes, based on what you're describing, it sounds exactly like what I experienced. Same symptoms, no warning lights, completely dead controls, no noise at all. In my case, the mechanic didn't need to order any parts since it was just that damaged connector in the wiring harness. Just to give you some peace of mind, when my M3 had this issue, the repair was pretty straightforward once they identified the problem. The most time-consuming part was actually accessing the wiring, not fixing it. My car was in the shop for about 4 hours total. Since your mileage is pretty similar to what mine was when this happened (I was around 17000 KM), and given the identical symptoms, I'm pretty confident you're dealing with the same issue. The connection probably just worked itself loose over time, these things happen with normal use. One thing I'd mention though, make sure your workshop has experience with BMW electrical systems. Mine needed some special diagnostic tools to properly pinpoint the issue. But overall, it shouldn't be a major repair if it's the same problem I had. Let us know how it turns out when you get it checked. Always good to have these experiences documented for other owners who might run into the same issue!

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I feel much more confident about taking it to the shop now. Just scheduled an appointment for next week with a BMW-certified workshop that specializes in electrical issues. Really relieved to hear it might just be a wiring connection problem rather than needing a full motor replacement. I did a bit more testing over the weekend, still completely dead, no noise, no response. I'll make sure to tell them about the similar case with your M3 and ask them to check the wiring harness first. It makes sense given how the problem showed up suddenly without any warning signs. Will definitely update here once I get it sorted. These kinds of real-world experiences are so valuable when dealing with specific issues like this. Thanks again for all the detailed information about what to expect with the repair process!