I had that happen on my 3 about 6 months in. One day, the steering wheel just stopped telescoping. You could hear the motor attempt to move (very brief hum - maybe for 0.1 seconds), but no actual movement. The radio and HVAC fan would need to be pretty quiet to hear the motor. Mine failed while fully retracted, so while waiting for a repair, it felt like I had T-Rex arms. Had to adjust my profile forward to make the fixed steering wheel location comfortable to drive with.
Fixed by a mobile technician who replaced a motor and gear in the steering column. Sounded like he had seen this a couple times already. He brought a whole steering column, but just swapped a couple parts between it and my car.
One thing to check is the noise you get when tapping on the plastic cover on the bottom of the steering column with your knuckles (both before and after the work). Mine has a subtle rattle that I need to get addressed at some point. Almost like a washer or spacer was left out and that cover is a little loose. I can hear it rattle on a couple road surfaces, but usually it’s silent.
Concern: Customer: steering column does not adjust properly
Corrections: Steering Column
removed steering column motor that is binding and attempted to unbind but was not successful. replaced steering column motor/worm gear with new parts, updated firmware, and verified correct operation
Parts Replaced or Added
Part Quantity
ELECTRIC STEERING COLUMN, LHD 1 (1044811-99-E)
Pay Type: Warranty
Edit; after the repair, I adjusted my Easy Entry profile to just raise/lower the column instead of also telescoping. I’m sure that wasn’t necessary, but it did make me feel good to do that. I intend to keep the vehicle past the full warranty period.
