Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you found it useful and clear to follow! Yes I think that sometimes, even if the encoder disc looks clean to the naked eye, it may still have a slight film that refracts the light from the sensor led causing issues (maybe the very early beginnings of what mine looked like before the coating begins to crack). So I always recommend cleaning the disc even if it looks clean. Just to be sure it doesn't cause future problems. Thanks for sharing that link to the airbag removal for the non sports wheels as well. I will also add it to the description and pin your comment so others can see it. Cheers!

Awesome news bro, glad it worked out! 👍

No problem! I'm glad this video was able to help you fix the issue. Happy driving! 👍

Thank you so much! Glad it helped!

Thank you for the comment man! No problem, I'm glad the video helped you. Yes I've noticed that too. Sometimes the disc will look like it's already clean, but it's always worth giving it a wipe down anyway, as sometimes there's residue or something on the disc that we can't see and it's interrupting the ir laser. I'm glad it fixed your errors though! Mine has been solid, and is still error free 2 years after doing this video. Fingers crossed you experience the same 😁👍

Yes I know your pain. Was exactly the same experience in my car. Sometimes it would be fine for several miles like you say, 20 mins of driving or more with no errors. Then suddenly the horrible BMW alert chime and the steering angle, dsc, dtc errors appearing in the dash and idrive. Put up with it for several weeks before I'd had enough and had to do something about it. Thank you for the kind words and you're welcome! I hope it worked out well for you!!

Thank you man! As things break or get upgraded on my car I will try and document it all. The 'problem' is she's running really good at the moment and doesn't need any work right now haha 😂

No worries mate, hopefully it stays fixed long term for you! Mine's still going good with no issues over 3yrs later 😊👍

No worries! I hope it fixes your issues as good as it did for me!

My e90 were T20 bits 👍

Yeah it should be pretty much the same for most german cars from this era and later I would think. That's a good idea, you should! I'm sure there would be just as many Mercedes owners starting to run into similar issues, that would appreciate a video like this one for their platform as well. That's what convinced me to make this video in the first place too. Just a lack of clear videos showing the whole process in an easy to understand way when I was looking myself. I also found a lot of the forums with good breakdowns were now missing the photos or they were blurred out since shutterstock changed their terms and no longer allowed free accounts or something. So yeah, figured I may as well film my fixing of the issue, as there was bound to be a ton of other people frustrated with looking for clear instructions just as I was haha Thanks for the feedback and kind words man. Best of luck with your cls!

Do you have a link to where you sourced the repair kit & disc? Thank you.

Thank you so much for watching and the kind words. Yes exactly man, I wanted to make an in depth video that broke down the process from start to finish and was simple enough that anyone could follow along. I know a lot of videos brush over things, and can leave people stuck mid fix trying to figure out the rest on their own. In the future I may need to break the tutorials into multiple parts though, as this video is already 45 mins long, and I cut out as much footage as I could without cutting out vital steps to try bring the video length down haha. interrupt

Just did this fix, took me an hour and a half. After calibrating the steering wheel all the lights went away! I can't explain how happy I am. Thanks a million for this video man, you're the fucking man!

@@mrtpsoroush Sorry for such a late reply. No worries! Thanks for the kind words. I'm just glad it was a help to you and that you can enjoy your car without the issues again 🤙

Thank you mate! 🙌 Oh I'm glad my accent is easy to understand. I'm actually a Kiwi/New Zealander but pretty close! I do purposely try to talk a little clearer than normal, and not talk too fast in videos just so it's easier for others to understand haha 😁

Glad I could help! Gotta love when it's an easy fix like that! 😃👍

No worries man, glad it helped! 👍

No worries bro. Glad it's helping people get it sorted! 👍

No worries man. Yeah they quoted me around $1400NZD when I took mine in last year for a service. Glad it worked for you :)

Did it work?

Are you decided problem with angle sensor or only clean ?

@@andreyzozulya1181 It wasn't just the angle sensor, it was the whole unit. with the stalks, clock spring, etc. Replaced it and the problem went away.

@shaazy thanks for answer!

@@andreyzozulya1181 No prob. Remember though, you have to "initialize" the steering angle sensor after replacement using a scanner or laptop.

Good luck mate. Hope it worked out well for you!

@@_AfterDarkGarage_ unfortunately I still have the error but now I have LIM and airbag error lol. Perhaps I need to start again and wait longer with the battery coming off. Or to replace the squib (latest alternative to your angle sensor you have there)

Did you solve the problem screwinthetuna?

Did you solved the problem?

Hey man, to be honest I really can't be sure as I don't know how much xdrive changes things. Just from the errors you're getting though, it seems like it could possibly be the same thing seeing as it's tripped out so many systems.

Hi there! Yes it seems to be a common issue on this generation of cars as they get older. My car is also from E90 generation being an E92/Coupe. Car is coming up on 14 years old now. 9 months after this fix though and the errors have not returned for me! Car is running well and not had any error lights or warning since making this video. Cheers, and best of luck with the fix!

No you should not need to reprogram the computer/battery or reboot the ECU if you are just disconnecting the negative terminal. You only need to reprogram the battery if you are replacing the battery with a new one. The only thing that may need readjusting would be the clock in your cluster or idrive. The ECU will 'reset' if you leave the battery disconnected for longer than around 5 hours or overnight. But there's nothing wrong with this and nothing has to be done on your part. Basically this just resets the ECU to default (clears all the adaptions). A lot of people actually do this on purpose when installing intake or exhaust mods so that the ECU is cleared and starts 'learning' and adapting to your mods and driving style from fresh start instead of waiting for it to adapt without a reset, which typically takes longer. Something I've seen mentioned on the forums, is that it's good practice to turn your headlight switch to the on position and put your key in before reconnecting the battery. This is supposed to stop the ECU from getting hit with the full power of your battery when reconnecting the negative terminal and possibly frying it. I don't know how much truth there is in it or if it's just a bunch of bogus, but it can't hurt to do it just to be safe. Main thing is... DO NOT attempt to remove the airbag without disconnecting the battery first. If the airbag is still connected to power/the battery while you're trying to remove it then there is the possibility that it could go off in your face. This can be fatal under certain conditions. For example if it hits your head at the wrong angle, or say if you were holding a screwdriver or even your hands in front of the airbag. The airbag can propel the screwdriver or your hands/arms (which are made of bone) into your face, basically like a grenade. This is why in the video I let the car sit for a few minutes with the light switch set to on after disconnecting the battery, to ensure that all residual power should have drained before I started working. Some tips when disconnecting: - Only remove the negative terminal. Do not attempt to remove the red/positive terminal. - Once removed, place a rag or similar between the terminal and post so that it does not reconnect while you're working. Make sure it covers the post really well. - Once removed make sure you do NOT close the trunk. Some modern BMW's do not have a physical keyhole on the trunklid which makes it a pain in the ass to get it open with no power. - Before working, set the headlight switch to on and wait a few mins to ensure all residual power has drained. Turn back to off once you're ready to start - Before reconnecting the battery, put your key in and turn the headlight switch to on to stop the ECU from possibly being fried. - When reconnecting I make sure no one is sitting in the drivers seat, just to be safe incase an airbag gets confused and goes off on reconnect. - When reconnecting the terminal you may get sparks. Don't be alarmed, this is normal. Just slowly and carefully reconnect the terminal and tighten everything back down. - You may have some errors in the dash or idrive after reconnecting. This should all go away by taking car for a short drive. And that's about it! Sorry for the long wall of text. Hopefully this doesn't come across as condescending or trying to scare you away from working on your own car, that's not the intention. I'm just always very careful when it comes to working with airbags and want to make sure others are aware also of the dangers involved. So long as you're aware of these dangers though and how to avoid them, then you should have no problems! Good luck with your car!

Hey, sorry for the late reply. Have been enjoying the Christmas and New Years holidays out in the pool and catching up on video games haha. I have not had the errors or lights come back on at all since doing this almost 8 months ago. The car has been great and no other issues for me so far. All other systems such as traction control, abs, auto brake holding on hills and active steering etc. that were originally throwing errors because of the steering sensor, have been functioning like normal again and produced no fault messages or dash lights. Cheers, and Happy New Year! 🙂

Hey mate, sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you. Did you still clean the disc even though it looked all clean? Also did you do the reset (turn the wheel lock to lock for a few secs either side) and drive the car a short distance to check that it cleared the lights? If you already did all that then yeah, it could just be that your szl module or steering angle sensor is defective and needs replacing. And sadly yeah they are a bit expensive. I'm not sure if you can replace with a used part, as the module does have to be coded to your car and told what steering wheel features you have etc. You might need to try get your car in to BMW or someone else with a scan tool and see if they can figure out exactly what is tripping your errors before moving forward. It sounds like the typical signs of steering angle sensor/szl module. But I have heard others getting similar issues and it turned out to be a wheel speed sensor or other module in the car. Good luck man, sorry couldn't be more help

@@_AfterDarkGarage_ Hi thanks for your answer. Yes, I did all this including the cleaning. Now I bought an Ancel BM700 ODB Diagnosis Tool which is able to recalibrate the steering angle sensor. This was the trick! The calibration by turning left and right didn't work. I needed this ODB Tool. Now it is working! I am so happy.

@@powermod6772 Hey that's awesome! Glad you got it figured out and the issue is fixed, I know that must have been a huge relief haha. Thank you for your comments, and for coming back to share your fix here for others to see as well 👍

Many of the systems in our cars such as the traction control, stability control, abs, cruise control etc. all talk to eachother in a sense, and rely on info from the steering angle sensor and wheel speed sensors to operate as fully intended. When one of these key modules registers a significant fault like this, the car seems to strip itself back to just the most basic functions as a sort of default safety mode. In my car for example, when these errors would show up, it would also disable the dsc and dtc so that the car couldn't get confused and interfere, possibly causing itself to lose control. Seeing as these cars also have an e-diff this makes sense. As the car could get a bad reading from the steering angle sensor and apply braking force to the wrong wheel. Taking this into account I can see why the cruise control would be disabled also for safety. As you'd be relying on a car which has confirmed faulty modules, to maintain a safe speed, and in the case of models optioned with active cruise control, a safe distance from the car in front. Also this way if you get into a crash while these errors are present, it can't be attributed to a faulty module/driving aid interfering incorrectly and causing you to lose control of the vehicle. As they would all be disabled when the errors are first identified.

Hey man, I'm not sure if this would fix it. Could be a lot of different reasons why horn is not working. Could be a loose cable, bad connector etc. There's quite a few discussions on the forums I think talking about a lot of possible fixes for broken horn.

Sorry on the late reply mate. I'm not too sure about replacing the module with a used part as I haven't had to do this myself yet. I think I remember reading somewhere on the forums a guy that replaced his and that it did require coding with INPA after installation (regardless of new or used part, he was using a used module I believe).

Hey man. Yeah I have a big air compressor for cleaning off dust or loose fragments. However the imperfections on the disk in this case were stuck on and would not likely have come off with air. I know in the video the silver flecks look like loose fragments, but it's actually like a sticky clear protective layer that has crystallized and cracked over time. Those silver flecks are actually the small cracks in the protective layer. Compressed air shouldn't damage anything so long as you're not using an insanely high amount of pressure. Another thing to keep in mind if you're using actual disposable cans of compressed air... sometimes you can get moisture or water build up if you hold for too long in one spot. Which of course you don't really want around these circuit boards and other electrical components.

AfterDark Drivers Club about to clean mine today thanks you for the reply!

It could just be that your disc is extremely dirty. My issue was intermittent at first. But the longer I left it, the more constant it became. After a few weeks it was at the point where the lights would all come on as soon as I started the car and stay on for almost the entire drive. It's hard to say though, it could just be a faulty module in your case. You could always try this fix first and see if it works (keep in mind, I am assuming your vehicle is outside of any extended warranties or mechanical coverage). If it doesn't resolve the issue then you can always take it to a bmw dealership or independent shop after and see if they can sort it out for you. It's not like you lose anything but time by attempting the fix yourself first. Also note that it's not guaranteed to be the exact same issue I had either. These lights and warning messages can also be triggered by a few other modules, such as the ABS wheel speed sensors or some other fault. However, in my experience the most likely cause is the steering angle sensor/szl module issue that I show here. Hope this helps. If you do attempt the fix yourself, just make sure you take the necessary precautions to disconnect the battery, try not to break any of the plastic clips on connectors, and torque your steering wheel to the correct spec when you're done. All in all it's a pretty easy and quick job. So long as you're careful you should be fine. Good luck! :)

@@_AfterDarkGarage_ thanks for your reply bro

Awesome bro! Glad it worked well for you, hope it stays fixed for you for a long time!! Mine's still going good 3 years later!

Yes bro. Just over a month since I did this and still no lights on my dash. Car is great! 👍

For me it did not require recalibration after doing this fix. I simply drove a few hundred meters up the road and all was good. However if you do need to recalibrate it after, any indy bmw shop or dealership should be able to do it for you. You can also diy using INPA. Apps like Protool MIGHT be able to do it as well but I'm not sure as I haven't needed to use them yet 👍

@@_AfterDarkGarage_ thank you much appreciated

@@Lu-e No worries my dude, good luck with the fix.

Yeah man, just cleaned the disc. Didn't even have to clean the sensor itself like I thought I would. Doesn't even require any code clearing with carly/protool. The lights don't go away straight away when everything is put back together. Well they didn't in my case anyway. But as soon as I took the car for a short drive, the lights cleared themselves about 1km up the road and haven't come back since 👍

Okay I've done this today and it´s super easy and problem solved! Thx man!

@@MartyBlaha100 No worries bro! Glad it worked out for you. Yeah I hear ya, I was a little nervous removing the airbag my first time as well 😅

AfterDark Drivers Club Well, the issue came back today 🤷‍♂️there must be another problem somewhere 🤦‍♂️

@@MartyBlaha100 Oh sorry to hear that man 😭 What was the problem you were having with it? Similar to what I had listed in the description?

The replacement part will just develop the same problem over time. Pretty much $1400 just to be guaranteed to get the same problem again later down the road haha. It's just that crystallized buildup on the encoder disc blocking the sensor from reading the led. Mine is still functioning perfect after this fix 4months later. And I've seen others are up to 2yrs + from doing this and still going good. If it does eventually come back then I can just re-clean the disc, or order a new disc or szl module to replace it if the cleaning doesn't fix it the second time round. Was a nice quick easy fix though as I had to take the car in for a new wof the next day 😂

@@_AfterDarkGarage_ Your wrong, control units have a 10 year problem free life span! any add years is a bonus! Thats a longtime, usually the customer buys a new car or has sold that one! The control units usually fail around 14 years! My clients are busy people, they dont have the time for the back and forth thing! So we just replace them, also there's alot of other components in that assembly that fails also! So to avoid comebacks we just replace the unit and be done with it! BMW are high end european imports if you cant afford to properly maintain one , then you shouldnt be driving one, its as simple as that!

@@dwayneevans683 I hear you man, and for a newer 2012 onwards BMW and/or owners that aren't interested in working on their cars themselves I agree. This video isn't really intended for those kinds of owners/your kind of customer though I feel. The kind of busy person that needs the car back on the road asap and just wants it fixed and doesn't care how, is not even going to be looking for this video in the first place. This is more for the guys that are using the e90 platform as a project or wanting to work on their own cars to begin with. DIY BMW owners. Take me for example. This car isn't a daily. So it doesn't matter if it's out of commission a little while at times. It's a 14yr old car. I bought it with the expectation that things are going to break eventually, and likely sooner than later. But that it will be a really fun weekend car to hit the back roads and work on myself as a project. I realise that yes, the module can just go bad again or something else in it like the stalks or circuit board could develop a fault. In which case as I said, I will just order new parts at that time to replace it. It will cost me the same either way. But it's a waste to throw away a perfectly good working module that simply needed cleaning the disc, when it can probably last another 2 years or more. I could have just had it done at the dealership, in fact I did consider that. But that would kill the whole point of why I got it in the first place. For me and my group of friends, working on our own cars is an interest and hobby 🙂 I'm not saying this fix is somehow better than replacing the whole unit or that it's going to work for everyone. As I said in the video, for some people it may just be easier to get their dealership or independent shop to fix it. But in my case this worked out great. Other thing to consider is these cars are getting old now and are plentiful. E90 and e60 series can be had for so cheap now, and a lot of younger people are getting into them as project cars or first cars, just as the e36 and e46 before that. Some examples going for as little as $4500. Many of those people aren't likely going to drop almost a quarter of what they paid for the whole car, just to fix a steering angle fault in a beat up old 320i. Some may even just scrap the whole car all together and get something else rather than fix it, which is sad considering it's as simple as wiping down with a cloth and some isopropyl in a lot of cases. If this video saves a few cars from rusting/dying in a scrap yard and instead get driven, as they were intended, then that sounds worth to me! 😊👍 Thank you for your comments and insight though! You do make very good points. Just directed at a different kind of audience I feel. Awesome discussion nonetheless.