2006 M35 rack and pinion issue not allowing cruise control

[jellycow]

Hi everyone. Happy New Year.

I had issues with my 2006 M35's Adaptive Cruise Control not working. Pressing the button for 5+ seconds to activate the normal cruise doesn't work either. It just beeps and shows cruise warning light. I pulled the error code with whatever reader I have and it seemed to say that the laser is misaligned.

I took the car to the dealer to deal with the accelerator sensor recall and they did the full inspection. They are saying that there is nothing wrong with my cruise control but because my rack and pinion is leaking (I think I've seen some oil spots in my garage) and out of alignment, cruise control will not engage. So I went into deal with one issue and ended up with two surprises...

So I'm asking for your opinions:

1. I'm not having any issues with the steering. No groaning noises when I turn. It's not tight. Is this something urgent? At almost $2,000 I'm thinking I'm just better off topping off the fluid all the time?

2. Have you heard of the cruise control deactivating itself because it thinks the steering is out of alignment? My car drives very normal with no steering wheel play. It seems centered well enough. Car shakes a bit when breaking during high speed but I'm assuming that's to do with my brake rotor needing a resurface or my wheels being out of alignment...

3. Can rack and pinion issues affect wheel alignment?

[svard75]

Hi Jelly

Check the FSM in my signature click on the acs.pdf ACS-13 for how to adjust the laser yourself. Try that first.

[jellycow]

Thanks for pointing me to the FSM. From a quick glimpse, it doesn't seem like I can align the laser myself without their CONSULT tool. I guess I can at least fiddle with the alignment bolt and see if it helps.

Thank you.

[avenger1976]

Can you check if the SNOW button is on (just in front of the arm rest, between the seat heating switches) ? I faced the same issue when I was test driving an 2006 M35X. Turning on the SNOW button does not allow you to use Cruise. The ACC on the dash only flashes and does not let you turn on cruise.

Of course, I am a newbie to the M world and maybe totally wrong on this one.

[The00Dustin]

Avenger, thank you for trying to help, but FYI, only the X models had a SNOW button in 2006. I'm not sure if that changed on future models or not, but the OP doesn't say he is driving an X, so presumably he has no SNOW button.

[jellycow]

Yup. No snow button for me. Thanks for the help though.

I talked to the dealer again and they assure me that when the rack and pinion is fixed and it's aligned correctly, the cruise control will work again. I'm going to take it into a shop to get it fixed soon (not the dealer though...definitely not for $2,000 -- even the service manager at the dealer was like, "yeah man...there are lot of places that can do this for you cheaper with rebuilt parts...not sure if it's worth it doing it here.") so we'll see if that fixes it or not. I'm not holding my breath though.