Transmission Problems

[JustinR]

Did you ever run your Expedition at the track?

Originally Posted by 2002Silver4.6is

I am the second owner of my X5. The first owner was an a middle aged female so I wouldn't think she beat on it. It was in decent shape all in all. I have had my X for 10,000 miles now. Sports mode and driven "hard" 1% of the time. 99% of the time nice easy driving.

I had a 2000 Expedition. I had a supercharger on it for about two years. That vehicle I drove hard. I went through 3 sets of brakes in 60,000 miles. No broblems with the front CV joints, driveline or transmission. It was putting out over 500hp. There is no reason the X5 transmissions should be failing at under 100,000 miles!!

[thubeav]

transfer case error code. What's this about?

My service guy is telling me the same thing today.
Would love to have some insight.

[MHKitchen]

Sorry, can't help with the xfer case code info? Maybe someone else can.

[chilliwilli]

Originally Posted by 2002Silver4.6is

For me it was a whining niose that was an indication there was something wrong. After a while the X would do severe down shifts from 2nd to 1st at about 15 to 20 mph.

Aparently BMW does not repair transmissions, they just replace them.

Well...i'm also hearing an odd whining sound coming from the engine bay. I assume it's a faulty refurbished alternator that was recently installed. It's not causing any driving issues, just an annoying sound. Could possibly be the torque converter or tranny. She's going back to the dealer that installed the alternator, this morning. Will circle back with their findings...or lack thereof

[chilliwilli]

Went to the dealer a few days ago for pick-up, drove the X with a technician and couldn't duplicate the sound. I believe it needs to be driven for a short period before the "sound" appears. They said all is working just fine but it's soon due for it's inspection II...perhaps the inspection service may remedy the sound

On another note, I found a competent Euro-indy in NYC and spoke with the owner and head-tech. Owner is a bimmer-fan and the head tech owns an X5 with Dinan S2, they're also a Dinan rep. No more stealers for me

[cavx5]

Hey guys - i have '05 4.4i with 17k miles and this happens to me also like mc330i as posted above
From Cold start place car in drive and ease on the accelerator - X will buck slightly as you accelerate..if i ease up it stops and i increase pressure on gas it smooths out..as you increase in rpms car will shift HARD into second gear. This only occurs from cold start and goes away as the transmission warms up. i also hear a slight bang from 1st to 2nd only and when warm works ok...any opinions...thanks rob

[chilliwilli]

Originally Posted by cavx5

Hey guys - i have '05 4.4i with 17k miles and this happens to me also like mc330i as posted above
From Cold start place car in drive and ease on the accelerator - X will buck slightly as you accelerate..if i ease up it stops and i increase pressure on gas it smooths out..as you increase in rpms car will shift HARD into second gear. This only occurs from cold start and goes away as the transmission warms up. i also hear a slight bang from 1st to 2nd only and when warm works ok...any opinions...thanks rob

Has she been diagnosed?

Edit: Bump

[JBW 2002 X5 4.4i]

The "service engine soon" light came on. I have 51000 well maintained miles on my 2002 X5. A couple of days later as I was driving to the dealer, the engine started to whine quietly in low gear (automatic transmission) and the whining noise disappeared once I got up to 20 mph. The dealer told me that the diagnostics showed excessive slippage in the transmission and that they would need to replace the transmission at a cost of $7410.45 (without tax), but that I was "lucky" since they had one in stock. Needless to say, I had the X5 towed to an independent BMW mechanic. He diagnosed that the slippage was coming from the torque converter and replaced the bearing ($2400), but told me that my transmission fluid, supposedly a "lifetime" fluid was black. He ran the X5 for a couple of days hearing the whining noise after the repair was completed and indicated that the noise is diminishing as he runs it. He suggested that I drive the X5 for awhile and if the noise continues, he will replace the transmission with a rebuilt one and credit me what I paid for the torque converter repair. Obviously my X5 is out of warranty since it is 7 years old. I am going to contact BMWNA about this issue. How can the transmission go in a vehicle with 51000 miles?????

[JBW 2002 X5 4.4i]

I have entered a post regarding my transmission problems under JBW 2002 X5 4.4i. Here is what I stated:The "service engine soon" light came on. I have 51000 well maintained miles on my 2002 X5. A couple of days later as I was driving to the dealer, the engine started to whine quietly in low gear (automatic transmission) and the whining noise disappeared once I got up to 20 mph. The dealer told me that the diagnostics showed excessive slippage in the transmission and that they would need to replace the transmission at a cost of $7410.45 (without tax), but that I was "lucky" since they had one in stock. Needless to say, I had the X5 towed to an independent BMW mechanic. He diagnosed that the slippage was coming from the torque converter and replaced the bearing ($2400), but told me that my transmission fluid, supposedly a "lifetime" fluid was black. He ran the X5 for a couple of days hearing the whining noise after the repair was completed and indicated that the noise is diminishing as he runs it. He suggested that I drive the X5 for awhile and if the noise continues, he will replace the transmission with a rebuilt one and credit me what I paid for the torque converter repair. Obviously my X5 is out of warranty since it is 7 years old. I am going to contact BMWNA about this issue. How can the transmission go in a vehicle with 51000 miles?????

[MHKitchen]

JBW - Sounds like you may have the dreaded ZF transmission failure coming on. Good luck getting BMW to do anything. Once its out of warranty they only want to sell you a new tranny. My suggestion is find an authorized ZF transmission rebuilder/parts provider to properly diagnose it. BMW dealers DO NOT repair tranny's, they just replace them. A rebuild will run around $3K. When mine was going out, I got the whine, several fault code incidents, and then the dreaded THUNK when starting from a stop. As I've written elsewhere, the failure mode is a cracked clutch housing inside the tranny. It starts slowly BUT CAN LEAD TO CATASTROPHIC FAILURE, that could endanger your life (pulling out into traffic and it fails, or the tranny coming apart at speed and dumping fluid under your wheels). I do not recommend you keep driving the vehicle. Get it to a knowledgeable shop immediately, AND if you have the problem, REPORT IT to NHTSA at Home | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) | U.S. Department of Transportation. If they get enough of these reports before someone is killed or injured, MAYBE BMW will figure out they have some liability here and step up and do the right thing and FIX these. Keep us posted what happens.