New Transmission.... already?

[slix2]

I purchased a 2007 X3 about 7 weeks ago. Its got a little over 3,000 miles on it now. Yesterday morning, the auto-transmission warning light comes on. The car starts shifting really badly -- sort of like when someone is learning how to drive a stick. Needless to say, I called up my service department and they told me to come over immediately.

When I get there, they hook it up, and although its producing a transmission fault code, they can't find anything wrong with it. so they reset it, and tell me to come back if it happens again. On my way home, it comes on again, and the same shifting problems are there. So I take it back over to the dealer, and basically say "Fix it" (only a bit more angrily). They give me a loaner and say they'll look at it.

Today i called them up to see if they found whats wrong, and they say, basically, "well, we can't find anything, so we want to replace your transmission..." Now i've had this car for 7 weeks and only have 3,000mi on it. How on earth could the transmission be shot?

I don't really think i want to keep the car now that its already gone through a transmission. I don't know what else may go wrong with it further down the road (yea, i know its covered, but a 45 minute drive to the dealer each way doesn't tickle my fancy) I can't go through Lemon Law yet, because i only got the same problem twice. Should i ask BMW to buy the car back? (i financed it, not leased)


Is anyone else having this problem or even ever heard of it? Any thoughts, opinions, or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

[ncx]

Welcome to X5world. You've had one problem with the car which will be fixed under warranty, and you want to get rid of it or call it a lemon? Don't you think that is over reacting a little? Good luck and let us know how it goes after the repair.

[White05X3]

Calm down!!! The dealership is doing a really poor job here and they are the problem, not the car. What you report them saying is they don't know what's wrong so they are going to replace the transmission. That does NOT mean the transmission is bad, it just means that they are not doing a good job diagnosing the problem.

Relax...this tells you nothing about the car itself.

[xx3]

Take the new transmission and run. There is obviously something mechanically wrong with the current one, and the software resets the dealer is doing obviously aren't cutting it.

Either way, make sure you keep all your service records, if more problems happen down the line...

[Wagner]

xx3 is right, have them put a new transmission in. And the car is not a lemon, at least not yet. BMW would have zero responsibility to buy the car back with a transmission issue. Now if the trans, engine and drive train all stopped working, maybe.....and I mean maybe...they would consider taking it back.

[[email protected]]

Did they try changing the Transmission computer?? If not then maybe thats what happens when you Mix GM parts with BMW parts--It rejects them. I found that the 6sp auto on my '07 is not the smoothest shifting and sometimes shifts to 3rd and 4th with quite a jolt..hope it is just adapting!

[Rick in Prescott]

Settle down Clarence. It's why you have a warranty. Just because the tranny went south doesn't mean the whole car is a pos. I had a 00 328, bought new in 00. The first 3 years the poor thing spent 8 weeks in the service bay. In the first 45k miles, it went like this
2 tranny's (the GM variety)
1 head
1 window regulator
1 rear end
1 computer
1 final stage resistor
1 set of power steering hoses
I paid NOTHING for any of it.
At 45,000 miles the car settled down and never saw a shop again. We sold it with 95,000 miles on it. BMW took 150% good care of us. We never left the dealer with out a new BMW loaner. It's just a car and cars break sometimes.

[slix2]

Thanks for the replies. I guess i may just be jumpting to conclusions with the car because of this lingering buyer's remorse. I traded in my 01 M3 Cabrio on it because that was having too many probelms. It spent over 7 weeks at the dealer during the nicest part of the summer because of what was found out to be a few sensors and a valve adjustment. (And then UPS lost my wheels and tires, which didn't let me drive it for 1.5months after that- at which point i traded it in) Since i've gotten rid of the M3, i've been missing it alot. Living in North East PA, AWD and/or Snow tires are pretty much a necesity, so i thought that getting the x3 would be great. However, there has not been any snow this year yet!! Thats not helping me really appreciate this car.

Anyway, they're going to call me on tuesday; I'll keep you guys updated.

[White05X3]

Originally Posted by slix2

Thanks for the replies. I guess i may just be jumpting to conclusions with the car because of this lingering buyer's remorse.

Anyway, they're going to call me on tuesday; I'll keep you guys updated.

I figured something like that was at play here...You will always miss a special car like the M3! There is just something magical about BMW //M products.

Instead of lamenting what you miss about the M3, focus on the great aspects of the X3! It is a great ride that, in time, you will grow to appreciate. While not as fast as an M3, it is plenty fast enough to humiliate some high performance cars. It offers you far more space and utility. The X3 is a wonderful driving experience but you need to let go of the M3. There can always be another one in your future so for now, just enjoy the X3!

[The Cleaner]

Let the dealer repair it, there are hundreds if not thousands of parts in a modern transmission. Any one of which could cause a failure. The dealer has probably already called the factory to get more information, it's a new rig with a new set of problems for the dealer to learn about. I had a complete engine replaced on a Toyota once, drove the thing for 8 more years and 120k and never visited the dealer again.