I have a 2004 X5 with ongoing transmission problems I had a lurch whilst doing 60km per hour with the vehicle changing between 5th and 6th and back to 5th again every 45 seconds. After a reset of the gearbox computer it lost the lurch and developed the 'shunt' where the gearbox thumps into 1st gear when coming to a halt (feels like getting rear ended by the car behind). I had the software upgraded the fluid changed and the shunting has gone BUT the lurch has returned :-(

They sent the data from the car to BMW Australia and they said the gearbox needs replacing. I said after researching X5 world posts that it is temperature related and they didnt believe me because it only starts to happen after about 30 minutes of driving.

On Saturday 17th April I brought the car in for a 'Pit Stop' where they checked the oil etc. On the way home the Transmission overheated after getting stuck in traffic. Every alarm in the car came on Transmission overheating, 4X4 failure, ABS failure, software program failure, coolant warning, hand brake warning!!!!! I drove straight back to the dealer and the engine is running cool but the transmission radiator is too hot to touch!!! they have determined that the heater valve is blocked starving the transmission of cooling fluid in the heat exchanger. $400 ex germany. I will see if this resolves the problem.

The annoying thing is that I had them check this valve 2 times already with a coolant system flush and change of the transmission fluid! They told me the valves are fine and no need to replace them.

The thing is here DONT RELY ON THE DEALER, use X5 world to research the problem yourself!!!

Cheers

Ian