Strange noise while turning steering wheel

[DL335D]

Hey team,

My steering wheel makes a strange noise while cold (approx. 45F and below). After about 30 min of driving the noise goes away.

Is this something I should worry about?

[DL335D]

Nobody's experienced this type of steering noise?

[white_4door]

in my experience i would be checking the strut top mounts in the front. i have taken the caps off and put grease in but will eventually come back. other than that would recommend using a drive on lift so someone can be underneath to pin point if its a control arm/ ball joint

[Redd]

Last time I had that sound, one of my front arms had a loose bolt. Check those.

[bvrider1]

What was the last mod you did to your car?

[DL335D]

Originally Posted by bvrider1

What was the last mod you did to your car?

Yes. I had a shop instal my eibach springs after I failed.

[bvrider1]

The noise was present before the springs were installed?

Originally Posted by DL335D

I had a shop instal my eibach springs after I failed.

[Macpsi]

*Subscribed* mine is doing the same thing on cold mornings then goes away. Would like to know what fixes yours.

[DL335D]

Originally Posted by bvrider1

The noise was present before the springs were installed?

No noise before or after the springs were installed. The noise started when the temps here fell below 45F. This is my first winter with the car.

[BP709]

That's a strange noise. I used to see a lot of e9x vehicles with a squeaking/rubbing noise when turning the steering wheel. It was actually pretty common. Hard to tell from you're video but the fix was to lubricate the small plastic bearing that is in the boot at the firewall that the steering shaft goes through. Take off the panel above you're pedals and you can see it where the steering shaft goes into the boot. Silicone spray lube works well. Worth a try and won't cost you anything.

[DL335D]

The shop told me that my upper strut mounts are badly worn and that's what's causing the steering noise. Car has 50k miles, seems like they should last longer.

[Nazty Naze One!]

I had this issue a while back. It seems that the steering rack gets dried up in the cold and so I put a bit of grease on it. You can try doing it from under the kick panel or from under the car.

I ended up having the bushing replaced by BMW but it was under warranty

[DL335D]

So it was the upper strut mounts. The tech said they were cracked and the bearing were in really bad shape. The front suspension feels so much better now. Before it would crash over large bumps, but now it's smooth as silk...well sort of.