Steering Wheel won't go up or down

[Googone20]

Before you replace it try this. As you start pressing the telescoping in button punch the steering wheel with the heel of your hand hard. Mine seemed jammed and dead in the water. I tried this a couple times and it came back to life. Lubricate the piss out of it, and code out the easy access and you should be golden for a long time. Mine is going on a year after this happened and no issues.

[Reign2016]

same thing happened to me a few days ago. wheel will not go up or down, but otherwise moves in and out. i made an appointment with the dealer in 2 weeks. All of sudden, today when i started the car it worked fine.... wondering if i should keep the appointment anyway

[espresso]

Had the non-working up and down steering wheel adjustment problem. Since the car was was out of warranty, I delayed having it checked out - didnt want to deal with the expense of a replacement part. Finally brought it to an independent shop that specializes in BMW-MB-Audi when it needed an oil service. They opened up the steering column and, as far as I know, freed up the motor/mechanism.
Cost less than a 100 usd in labor (labor is cheap in my part of the world).

[Goby]

My steering wheel in my 2015 X5 stopped going up and down a few days ago for the second time. The wheel was stuck in the lowest position, and the in and out function still worked. I held the button to move the wheel up and I hit the top of the wheel with my hand. After hitting it, the wheel started to work again. I had the same issue about a 1-1/2 years ago, but it started working on its own in about a day.

[shimmy23]

Read through this thread... where exactly are we "hitting" the wheel and how hard? like death blow or slap wife's butt range?