72k And Blew Trans. !!!

[CanadianX5]

The FailSafe is happening even less and less now so im not to worried.(probably just a soaked sensor)
The independent mechanic did give me a 2 year warranty on the tranny though.
And I have replaced the tranny fluid.

Im looking at it as the cost for driving a great car.
My boss had a ferrari 355f1 and his repair bills would have made me nosedive of a bridge. So when I have to do repairs, I think of that and I keep a smile.

So JerkinJohn , think of me and you'll feel better.

[drs]

Thompson is a great dealership. I purchased my X from West German and they are extremely difficult to deal with. I took the X to Thompson when the check engine light came on. They fixed my car, washed it and gave me a nice clean X3 loaner. Considering I didn’t purchase my X there I was impressed. Never had service like that from WG.
drs

[PC_X5_Oz]

I have Feb 04 Build X5 3.0D (Aus) and ever since new it has occasionally reported Trans FailSafe. I have always reported this to the dealer and they have always said "no worries mate" Now at 3 years old and 53,000 Klm I notice transmission fluid pooling under it when I park it for a few day.

Great huh? It is going in for a major service next week and I will be certain to bring it to their attention and any resulting costs I will refer to my frequent and noted complaints anout Trans Failsafe message over the last few years.

BMW Australia have always been quite reasonable with me on out of warranty claims, often paying up to 70-80% of the cost, I hope they are still in that frame of mind!

[lacuadra]

Originally Posted by CanadianX5

I have a 2001 4.4 and my alternator went 1st week. ($1100)
About a month later had to replace rotors and pads. ($1600)
5 months after that tranny rebuild (112000 kms)by independant cause
I couldnt afford dealer to do it. ($5200)
And a week and a half ago there was flooding in my city and to get to my house I had to drive through standing water about 2-3 feet deep. Ever since I drove through the tranny goes into FailSafe every other day.

Count your blessings, your covered.
I am not.

But I will continue dumping money into my X because it is a dream to drive. Good luck

Just to ask:
Who changed your transmission and how much was the charge?

My X5 is 60K and I have no EXT Warranty. It is paid off and I am planning to keep for and extra 12~18 months.

[CanadianX5]

Originally Posted by lacuadra

Just to ask:
Who changed your transmission and how much was the charge?

My X5 is 60K and I have no EXT Warranty. It is paid off and I am planning to keep for and extra 12~18 months.

It was 5200 cnd for the rebuild and it was done by a friend who owns a small repair place and he let me pay in installments.

The dealer wanted 7500ish up front.

Same warranty from both.

[jerkinjohn]

The work on my X is'nt done yet but i stoped by Thompson BMW today to check on it and ask a few questions. Turn's out that I will have a 39 month warranty on the new trans. I have about 15 months left on my cpo and then a 2 year warranty after that on the trans. Good thing to cause if I had to pay out of pocket my X would have been collecting dust for a long time! Anyway I think for now I'll stick with this dealership and hope if anything else is going to take a crap on me it happens with in the next 30k. Thanks for everyones input and I'll keep ya's posted.

[CanadianX5]

So after 4 weeks of "Failsafe" I brought it to my mechanic. Turns out the tranny computer got fried from going through that flood water.
Another 1600 invested.
1300 for the computer
300 for the reprogramming

On the brightside.....it drives wonderful now.
Just like new.

[Sudesh]

Its not prone to a particular year. My dads 4.6 has now had 3 new gearboxes!! His X is a december 2003, with 55k, the original box went bad at 50k, his X has BMW warranty so he was lucky. Anyway BMW put a new box into his at 50K, then at 52k he felt that the vehicle wasnt going right and shifting correctly; a BMW tech was called out to test it and he agreed, so the 2nd NEW gear box was installed, now his X has 55k and the problem is back and as before its back in the dealers again for another new gearbox!
Its a scary thought, and as soon as my 4.6 reaches 20k I'm going to do a gearbox oil change and filter change etc, and if I still have it when it reaches 40k, it will get another oil chage.

[NOVAX5]

DINAN kills the trans quicker. Dont ever mod the engine if you are not into racing stuff. Seems like those with Dinan engine mode have more problems than the ones that dont.

[igosal]

Well, i also had my transmission blew out on me at 70K miles. It's a 2002-4.4i. Mine was not even under warranty but BMW replaced it under Goodwill warranty and yes, with a rebuilt one.