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      07-13-2018, 10:15 AM   #1
Cabrio330
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Suspension/Alignment (?) Troubleshooting Question

Any advice is greatly appreciated! I have a 2015 X5 xDrive35i with M Sport Package (337) and Adaptiv M Suspension (2VF), with 56,xxx miles. I purchased this car one year ago with 42,xxx miles.

Often times when driving over the lousy bumpy roads here in Dallas, TX, the car seems to shimmy from side to side horizontally, especially (only?) at the rear. The sensation stands out because I expect up/down movement throughout the entire car, not the side to side movement. It is almost as if the rear of the car is being pushed side to side while the front stays planted.

Does this sound like a suspension issue, or maybe a wheel alignment problem? I am woefully ignorant on these matters.

I will be taking this car in for a check before a long upcoming road trip, I would like to be able to point the mechanic to the potential causes of this issue, rather than merely trusting them 100%.

Hope this makes sense, thanks for any tips or help!
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      07-14-2018, 11:25 PM   #2
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Sounds like your wheels are tracking in pavement grooves. Does it do this on very smooth asphalt?
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      07-15-2018, 01:53 AM   #3
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Tramlining.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramlining
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      07-16-2018, 08:04 PM   #4
Cabrio330
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Thanks for the responses. It isn't tramlining, which I am familiar with, since it is a temporary phenomenon (1-2 seconds) when driving over bumps. It is hard to describe.

Thanks again!

Last edited by Cabrio330; 07-16-2018 at 08:11 PM..
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      07-17-2018, 11:49 AM   #5
boyce89976
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cabrio330 View Post
Any advice is greatly appreciated! I have a 2015 X5 xDrive35i with M Sport Package (337) and Adaptiv M Suspension (2VF), with 56,xxx miles. I purchased this car one year ago with 42,xxx miles.

Often times when driving over the lousy bumpy roads here in Dallas, TX, the car seems to shimmy from side to side horizontally, especially (only?) at the rear. The sensation stands out because I expect up/down movement throughout the entire car, not the side to side movement. It is almost as if the rear of the car is being pushed side to side while the front stays planted.

Does this sound like a suspension issue, or maybe a wheel alignment problem? I am woefully ignorant on these matters.

I will be taking this car in for a check before a long upcoming road trip, I would like to be able to point the mechanic to the potential causes of this issue, rather than merely trusting them 100%.

Hope this makes sense, thanks for any tips or help!
I had a 335 that did the same thing. While cornering over bumps, as the rear suspension rebounds, it feels like the rear end, but not the rear tires, shifts slightly toward the outside of the corner? Almost like the the car is moving laterally on the suspension.

Do you have run flats installed, or regular tires? I never had it checked, but my theory is that since the suspension compliance is designed for run flats, with regular tires, the sidewalls flexing laterally under rebound is what we're feeling.

That's a pure guess, though.
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      07-18-2018, 08:40 PM   #6
Cabrio330
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boyce89976 View Post
I had a 335 that did the same thing. While cornering over bumps, as the rear suspension rebounds, it feels like the rear end, but not the rear tires, shifts slightly toward the outside of the corner? Almost like the the car is moving laterally on the suspension.

Do you have run flats installed, or regular tires? I never had it checked, but my theory is that since the suspension compliance is designed for run flats, with regular tires, the sidewalls flexing laterally under rebound is what we're feeling.

That's a pure guess, though.
That's a good description but with a key difference: this happens to me when traveling over bumps in a straight line! Odd, huh? Which is why I'm thinking it is suspension or alignment related.

I have replaced the tires with non-runflats, so your theory could be correct.

Soon I'll take the car to the dealer or indy for diagnosis. I'm naturally skeptical that they truly know how to assess these issues so keeep the ideas and theories coming!
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      07-18-2018, 09:46 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cabrio330 View Post
Any advice is greatly appreciated! I have a 2015 X5 xDrive35i with M Sport Package (337) and Adaptiv M Suspension (2VF), with 56,xxx miles. I purchased this car one year ago with 42,xxx miles.

Often times when driving over the lousy bumpy roads here in Dallas, TX, the car seems to shimmy from side to side horizontally, especially (only?) at the rear. The sensation stands out because I expect up/down movement throughout the entire car, not the side to side movement. It is almost as if the rear of the car is being pushed side to side while the front stays planted.

Does this sound like a suspension issue, or maybe a wheel alignment problem? I am woefully ignorant on these matters.

I will be taking this car in for a check before a long upcoming road trip, I would like to be able to point the mechanic to the potential causes of this issue, rather than merely trusting them 100%.

Hope this makes sense, thanks for any tips or help!
EXACT same issue i've experienced since brand new, the rear end seems to shift horizontally when one would expect vertical movement going over bumps in a straight line... ive also experienced this very similar issue in multiple other cars, mainly european brands, and specifically running a wide staggered rear tire. i've chalked it up as the staggered wheel set up causing this issue. my 335 with oem 225/255 tires did this, a SLK i rode in with 235/275 did this, and it was the worst one i felt.
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