[cap_konnius]

I had this problem and finally solved it on my 2019 540i Touring.

Disclaimer - apparently most BMW dealers are well aware of the issue but will misguide you into thinking it is the wheels and hope you will leave after rebalancing. They only have to keep you away until the end of warranty not to have to deal with the whole shitshow.

Long story short, one year and 4 service shops later, after a near-lawsuit, a dealer in Dachau, Germany, that I purchased the car from, fixed my problem.
The car had to go to BMW München R&D for a month for major rework to be done.

From what they tell me, apparently this is a design issue. They installed a balanced driveshaft and special oil-filled mounts of the rear axle to fix the problem. The mounts needed to be drilled in so my question about serviceability (in case of an accident, for example) remains unanswered to this day.

Fun fact - what I wrote about BMW dealers being aware - only after somebody else fixed the issue, as I got several 5s as replacement cars during regular services, my current dealer in Prague, Czech Republic, casually admitted one they gave me had the vibration issue while another one didn't, when I brought up the topic (I noticed).

Hopefully this helps you. The key is perseverance and not willing to take the car back until the problem is solved - provided the car is still in warranty.

If any of you need proof to battle the dealers' bullshit feel free to shoot me a message at mishkonn@gmail.com (PMs disabled for now, new member), I can send you the long e-mail communication where everything I've written is confirmed.

As a long time fan of the brand it pains to say this will be the last BMW for me.

[Frenchstar-57]

Originally Posted by cap_konnius

I had this problem and finally solved it on my 2019 540i Touring.

Disclaimer - apparently most BMW dealers are well aware of the issue but will misguide you into thinking it is the wheels and hope you will leave after rebalancing. They only have to keep you away until the end of warranty not to have to deal with the whole shitshow.

Long story short, one year and 4 service shops later, after a near-lawsuit, a dealer in Dachau, Germany, that I purchased the car from, fixed my problem.
The car had to go to BMW München R&D for a month for major rework to be done.

From what they tell me, apparently this is a design issue. They installed a balanced driveshaft and special oil-filled mounts of the rear axle to fix the problem. The mounts needed to be drilled in so my question about serviceability (in case of an accident, for example) remains unanswered to this day.

Fun fact - what I wrote about BMW dealers being aware - only after somebody else fixed the issue, as I got several 5s as replacement cars during regular services, my current dealer in Prague, Czech Republic, casually admitted one they gave me had the vibration issue while another one didn't, when I brought up the topic (I noticed).

Hopefully this helps you. The key is perseverance and not willing to take the car back until the problem is solved - provided the car is still in warranty.

If any of you need proof to battle the dealers' bullshit feel free to shoot me a message at mishkonn@gmail.com (PMs disabled for now, new member), I can send you the long e-mail communication where everything I've written is confirmed.

As a long time fan of the brand it pains to say this will be the last BMW for me.

Thank you for your feedback, it's very interesting, i think that they replaced the rear axle mount with the 7 series model (for example) that are hydraulic rear axle mounts instead of the 5 series that are rubber mount. and finally theses new mount could absorb the vibrations.

[CnSky]

Can you please provide more info? what mount was changed? Was it the transmission mounts or the rear subframe mounts, there isn't an actual axle mount in the manual.

[Frenchstar-57]

Originally Posted by CnSky

Can you please provide more info? what mount was changed? Was it the transmission mounts or the rear subframe mounts, there isn't an actual axle mount in the manual.

i think this is the rear subframe axle support, it is the second time that i read that the rear rubber subframe support were adapted and changed by hydraulic supports.

[CnSky]

FrenchStar no offence but I would prefer to hear what happened from Cap koonius.

Cap konnius can you tell us more please.

[CnSky]

CapKonnius I sent you and email.

[BMW012]

he literally only posted once, let everyone know he found a solution and then disappeared

[CnSky]

BMW probably had him taken out😂

[JohnB45]

Hi All,
I have been following this thread with some interest for a while now and thought I would post my experience.
I bought a 2018 G30 520D with 35k earlier this year from a BMW Dealer. After a few days I took it on the motorway and there was a very annoying vibration at 120 to 130 km/hr.
3 wheel balances later it still remained. Took it back to the dealer and they diagnosed badly refurbished wheels, so replaced 2 wheels with new ones. Vibrating remained.
Took it back again and dealer performed 4 wheel alignment. Vibration remained....
Took it back again and they replaced Dunlop RFT with Pirelli P Zero RFT. Vibrating remained...
Took it to ROADFORCE centre in Dublin, but vibration remained....
Took it too a Wheel specialist where they found that the 2 other wheels that were not replaced for new were bent, so had them straightened. Vibration remained.....
Took it back to dealer and told them they have one last chance or car will be rejected. They replaced the rear Brake Discs and Pads. Vibration now gone!
I am an ex mechanic turned engineer, so I would like to think I have some understanding of what is going on and I have come to the conclusion that G30's are hugely sensitive to any imbalances anywhere in the drivetrain. Possibly due to a combination of suspension set up to accommodate RFT resulting in exposure to harmonic vibrations at motorway speeds. Add to this the huge rotating mass RFT's that amplifies any drivetrain imbalance to considerable amplitude. Also BMW have cheaped out on their Alloy wheel quality with softer material resulting in contributing to harmonic imbalance. The perfect storm for a crap ride on the motorway unless everything is perfect....
I did notice that the wheel studs are M14 and the stud hole in the wheel is 16mm, so there is potential to introduce imbalance every time a wheel is taken off and put back on, so those BMW alignment shafts and friction discs make perfect sense to me to use.
Although the vibration is gone, the ride quality on a motorway is still not great to be honest, so I have actually ordered the BMW alignment shafts and friction discs to see if I can get this car to where I want it to be in terms of ride quality. I will report back here in a few weeks.
The annoying thing for me is that I had an Audi A6 before this, and the motorway ride was sublime even with slightly bent rims and 20g imbalance on tyres....before that I had a Honda Accord 8th gen Type S ADAS which put Audi and BMW to shame in terms of ride quality, I miss that car!!
Anyway, my next move is to align the wheels when I get the alignment kit and install the friction discs to keep the wheels in the right position post alignment. Failing that I might ditch the RFT"s for standard GO Flats as it makes sense to me that by reducing the huge RFT rotating mass (these RFT things are over a 1/3 heavier than GO Flats) it should reduce overall vibration amplitude.
Failing that I will get rid of the car...
What do you think?

[BMW012]

Originally Posted by johnb45

hi all,
i have been following this thread with some interest for a while now and thought i would post my experience.
I bought a 2018 g30 520d with 35k earlier this year from a bmw dealer. After a few days i took it on the motorway and there was a very annoying vibration at 120 to 130 km/hr.
3 wheel balances later it still remained. Took it back to the dealer and they diagnosed badly refurbished wheels, so replaced 2 wheels with new ones. Vibrating remained.
Took it back again and dealer performed 4 wheel alignment. Vibration remained....
Took it back again and they replaced dunlop rft with pirelli p zero rft. Vibrating remained...
Took it to roadforce centre in dublin, but vibration remained....
Took it too a wheel specialist where they found that the 2 other wheels that were not replaced for new were bent, so had them straightened. Vibration remained.....
Took it back to dealer and told them they have one last chance or car will be rejected. They replaced the rear brake discs and pads. Vibration now gone!
I am an ex mechanic turned engineer, so i would like to think i have some understanding of what is going on and i have come to the conclusion that g30's are hugely sensitive to any imbalances anywhere in the drivetrain. Possibly due to a combination of suspension set up to accommodate rft resulting in exposure to harmonic vibrations at motorway speeds. Add to this the huge rotating mass rft's that amplifies any drivetrain imbalance to considerable amplitude. Also bmw have cheaped out on their alloy wheel quality with softer material resulting in contributing to harmonic imbalance. The perfect storm for a crap ride on the motorway unless everything is perfect....
I did notice that the wheel studs are m14 and the stud hole in the wheel is 16mm, so there is potential to introduce imbalance every time a wheel is taken off and put back on, so those bmw alignment shafts and friction discs make perfect sense to me to use.
Although the vibration is gone, the ride quality on a motorway is still not great to be honest, so i have actually ordered the bmw alignment shafts and friction discs to see if i can get this car to where i want it to be in terms of ride quality. I will report back here in a few weeks.
The annoying thing for me is that i had an audi a6 before this, and the motorway ride was sublime even with slightly bent rims and 20g imbalance on tyres....before that i had a honda accord 8th gen type s adas which put audi and bmw to shame in terms of ride quality, i miss that car!!
Anyway, my next move is to align the wheels when i get the alignment kit and install the friction discs to keep the wheels in the right position post alignment. Failing that i might ditch the rft"s for standard go flats as it makes sense to me that by reducing the huge rft rotating mass (these rft things are over a 1/3 heavier than go flats) it should reduce overall vibration amplitude.
Failing that i will get rid of the car...
What do you think?

lets do it !!!

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by JohnB45

Took it back to dealer and told them they have one last chance or car will be rejected. They replaced the rear Brake Discs and Pads. Vibration now gone!
I am an ex mechanic turned engineer, so I would like to think I have some understanding of what is going on and I have come to the conclusion that G30's are hugely sensitive to any imbalances anywhere in the drivetrain. Possibly due to a combination of suspension set up to accommodate RFT resulting in exposure to harmonic vibrations at motorway speeds. Add to this the huge rotating mass RFT's that amplifies any drivetrain imbalance to considerable amplitude. Also BMW have cheaped out on their Alloy wheel quality with softer material resulting in contributing to harmonic imbalance. The perfect storm for a crap ride on the motorway unless everything is perfect....

I did notice that the wheel studs are M14 and the stud hole in the wheel is 16mm, so there is potential to introduce imbalance every time a wheel is taken off and put back on, so those BMW alignment shafts and friction discs make perfect sense to me to use.

What do you think?

So what are new discs telling you as an engineer? For me, it indicates there is the possibility of a poor original hub to wheel mount. I wonder if there was axial run-out on the disc bell/hat face ahead of fitting new discs.

Remember BMW wheels are hub-centric, the bolt holes should not have any part in accurately mounting wheels. I'm still interested in the actual hub spigot to wheel centre clearance, it should only be 0.1 - 0.15mm. Any chance you can check your setup?

I see how the wheel alignment pins and friction discs help an accurate wheel mounting, but something changed in the mounting of your rear wheels, when the discs were changed.... was it simply just a better mounting, or did the hub run to a tighter tolerance (zero axial run-out) with new discs?

[JohnB45]

Could be anything you mentioned there, or could be due to the clumps of rust built up inside the inner part of the discs..not sure really but I think my theory above makes sense I.e. anything the slightest bit off in the drivetrain will be amplified by RFT and crap wheels.
I manually checked the hub flange and the centre hole on the wheel, there is some play felt so they are not completely hub centric.
When I get the alignment kit I will check with a feeler gauge.
The kit is made by BMW, so there is obviously a known issue with Wheel mounting

[dubb13]

Has this issue been resolved in the 2021 530i I have a lease and was thinking of buying it out but if this is going to be an issue later on then I won't keep It

[BMW012]

Originally Posted by dubb13

Has this issue been resolved in the 2021 530i I have a lease and was thinking of buying it out but if this is going to be an issue later on then I won't keep It

its more like if you have it now, you would have noticed it for sure lol

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by JohnB45

I manually checked the hub flange and the centre hole on the wheel, there is some play felt so they are not completely hub centric.
When I get the alignment kit I will check with a feeler gauge.
The kit is made by BMW, so there is obviously a known issue with Wheel mounting

Will be interesting to see what you find. I suspect tolerances may be too wide, and allows for some mounting error. Why tape around the hub spigot, to get a more accurate hub-centric mount, is reducing vibrations.

If to spec', the maximum radial run-out seems so small to cause the amount of vibration experienced. But you can't rule anything out with this problem.

[CnSky]

My advice is fit a set of small spacers, the OEM wheels are not in tolerance but with spacers it solves the issue.

Even 5mm spacers will help.

I find the wheel falls off the hub without them when bolts removed but with them the wheels are properly held in centre and tight.

[Haradrim]

Originally Posted by CnSky

My advice is fit a set of small spacers, the OEM wheels are not in tolerance but with spacers it solves the issue.

Even 5mm spacers will help.

I find the wheel falls off the hub without them when bolts removed but with them the wheels are properly held in centre and tight.

I also saw this issue when my tyres are change. I have seen many of my cars tyre demounting. All of them almost remove the tyres with hammer after bolts removed. But my g30 tyres instantly fell after bolts removed.

My uncle who is ex worker at BMW mechanic, said that, wheel hubs are too short. wheel covering the hubs barely..

Here by the photo of my hubs while i apply tape.

[dubb13]

Originally Posted by BMW012

its more like if you have it now, you would have noticed it for sure lol

Well the car only has 7k miles on it and it doesn't have the his issue right now

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by dubb13

Well the car only has 7k miles on it and it doesn't have the his issue right now

If this issue is wheel and mounting related, (as it seems to be), there is no reason to see it 'just' developing. Wheel/tire changes are where it could appear.

In my experience of over 50+ years, it is often when changing brakes, wheels, tires, when vibration issues develop. Poor wheel balance, lack of brake disc precision when fitting, lack of wheel mounting precision.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by CnSky

My advice is fit a set of small spacers, the OEM wheels are not in tolerance but with spacers it solves the issue.

Even 5mm spacers will help.

I find the wheel falls off the hub without them when bolts removed but with them the wheels are properly held in centre and tight.

Not following how a 5mm spacer helps the precision mounting. Typically a 5mm spacer doesn't allow the wheel centre to sit on the hub spigot.

Are you also using wheel spigot rings?

[CnSky]

By using spacers they have much deeper mounting rings and tighter fit to the hub.

They centre the wheel perfectly and hold them tight if they are a well manufactured brand.

You don't need the mounting kit mentioned in the thread with them.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by CnSky

By using spacers they have much deeper mounting rings and tighter fit to the hub.

They centre the wheel perfectly and hold them tight if they are a well manufactured brand.

You don't need the mounting kit mentioned in the thread with them.

Still not seeing how a 5mm spacer with a 66.5mm bore can work on a spigot of 66.5mm, which is over 8mm long.

Understand thicker spacers working, where a spigot is machined on the face, but not the 5mm.