Auto Trans needs replacing

[x5fromOz]

Sent a post a week or so ago about hunting transmission in 5th gear...well at 97000klms my tranny is stuffed according to the dealer...The Bill $10000 ozzy dollars (about 8000US). Not Happy. My car has been serviced by BMW all the way through, never towed anything, but upon inspection of the oil it was sludgy and contained metal particles.
Has any body here experianced trans issues??

[vinuneuro]

Originally Posted by x5fromOz

Sent a post a week or so ago about hunting transmission in 5th gear...well at 97000klms my tranny is stuffed according to the dealer...The Bill $10000 ozzy dollars (about 8000US). Not Happy. My car has been serviced by BMW all the way through, never towed anything, but upon inspection of the oil it was sludgy and contained metal particles.
Has any body here experianced trans issues??

That's not good to hear. Sorry it happend to you, but I know someone else with a 4.4i on here has also had to replace the transmission. You should really ask your dealer to dp something for you in good faith because, this part isn't something that should have failed this soon. See if you can find a used transmission from a salvage yard instead of buying new. That should lower the price considerably. Good luck, let us know how it works out.

[UCrewX5]

Failed transmissions don't seem to be a common problem, but it can happen. Sorry to hear that it happened on yours. As was referenced, an alternative to putting in a new one is to have yours rebuilt or put in a used one. Not sure what the shipping costs to AU would be, but here's one on eBay - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-...spagenameZWDVW

(note, that seller's feedback isn't perfect and the details don't indicate if that's from a 3.0i or a 4.4i - so do your homework)

[vinuneuro]

Originally Posted by UCrewX5

Failed transmissions don't seem to be a common problem, but it can happen. Sorry to hear that it happened on yours. As was referenced, an alternative to putting in a new one is to have yours rebuilt or put in a used one. Not sure what the shipping costs to AU would be, but here's one on eBay - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-...spagenameZWDVW

(note, that seller's feedback isn't perfect and the details don't indicate if that's from a 3.0i or a 4.4i - so do your homework)

92% for feedback is horrible. I would stay away from that seller. This is one site that is a BMW recycler: www.bmrparts.com

Here is a link for X5 transmission on their site:

http://www.data.bmrparts.com/bmwpart...70189765U.html (3.0i)

http://www.data.bmrparts.com/bmwpart...70049809U.html (4.4i)

They seem like a really good place to buy parts from. They have a dedicated shipping department, and do ship globally .

[withidl]

I have a 2001 4.4i with 72,000 miles on it, 25,000 of which have pulled an 8,300 pound GVWR 31 foot travel trailer. UNRELATED TO THE TOWING, the "torque converter radial seal" began leaking at 62,000 miles. BMW warranted the $1,300 repair which was non-invasive to the transmission. I had the fluid changed at my expense during their warranty work (Read my thread of several months ago titled "100 Ata-Boys"). The fluid was still serviceable, so the number of miles on the fluid/transmission and severity of service is not necessarily indicative of failure

Your statement that several weeks ago your transmission was "hunting in 5th gear" and now that the oil "was sludgy and contained metal particles" indicates that your 5th gear clutch was "making & breaking" (hunting) either due to its mechanical failure or to a computer programming error causing the clutch to unnecessarily "make & break". The continual "making & breaking" generates tremendous heat which will degrade (oxidize) the oil. With the heat and degraded oil the 5th gear clutch has evidently catastrophically failed throwing wear metal throughout the transmission which would, as the dealer says, necessitate replacement (or overhaul) of the transmission.

Hindsight being 20-20 vision, you should have had the “hunting” problem corrected when it first manifested to mitigate transmission damage since if it was caused by a computer error it would be much less expensive to R&R the computer than the transmission.

I’d query BMW to see if they have a KNOWN problem with their transmissions failing in this way. No transmission should fail at 97000klms unless it’s been seriously abused.

[vinuneuro]

Originally Posted by x5fromOz

Sent a post a week or so ago about hunting transmission in 5th gear...well at 97000klms my tranny is stuffed according to the dealer...The Bill $10000 ozzy dollars (about 8000US). Not Happy. My car has been serviced by BMW all the way through, never towed anything, but upon inspection of the oil it was sludgy and contained metal particles.
Has any body here experianced trans issues??

Which engine do you have? I know that here in the US, we have BMW specific salvage yards, you might want to check for one where you are. Paying $8000USD for a new tanny is crazy.

[somewhereinla]

You should talk to BMW, I once had a clutch that failed at 70-80k/miles(that was well over 10 years ago), my car was out of warranty, but to my biggest surprise, when I came to pick up my car, the service advisor told me that BMW was picking up the bill ( that was a very expensive repair since they had to remove the engine to get to the clutch). The advisor told me that BMW considered that a clutch shouldn't fell at 70k/miles and offer to replace it for free. Of course at the time they were a much smaller company, so they may have tried harder then.

[x5fromOz]

Thanks for the great feedback guys...I have since spoken with the dealer and BMW say they will assist to the tune of 50% (AUD$5000). I'm thinking that this is a reasonable deal, however, I agree that the tranny should not fail at this mileage and would really like to know why it has. My problem though maybe that I have only owned this vehicle for less than a year and bought it (Not from a BMW Dealer...yes I know!!!)when it had 70K on it. All my previous BMW purchases have been from a dealer and all had warranty and I have never had a previous claim? Unlucky I guess. If I can get the bill down to around AUD$4000 ($US2500), do you guys think this is acceptable???
Looking forward to your response.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by x5fromOz

I have since spoken with the dealer and BMW say they will assist to the tune of 50% (AUD$5000). I'm thinking that this is a reasonable deal....My problem though may be that I have only owned this vehicle for less than a year and bought it when it had 70K on it. If I can get the bill down to around AUD$4000 ($US2500), do you guys think this is acceptable???

A split at 50% of retail is reasonable. It is likely being split between the dealer and BMW themselves to some extent. I would take it. Anything better than a 50% contribution would be great, but don't count on it. A tact to try is that you could note that at 50% they are making a profit on 50% of the total cost, so perhaps they would like to reduce your net cost to 50% of the (estimated) actual cost. Another tact is, if you know the parts/labour split, ask if BMW will supply the parts at cost and you cover the dealer's labour. All this depends on what the breakdown of costs is.

As to why it happened, withidl had a very good hypothesis. It is likely consequential damage from the failure of a related component. A failure is not the same as wearing out. The transmission does not appear to be worn out, ie simply from driving too far, it appears to have suffered from excessive heat caused by something else.

While it is fair to say that it shouldn't wear out at that mileage, you do not have a lifetime warranty. BMW is simply agreeing to share the pain with you in the interest of future business. Neither BMW or the dealer have any obligation to pay anything, they are simply investing in improving their perception in the marketplace. That investment should be paid back with you promoting how well they treated you, otherwise it won't be much of an investment for them.

A key question that BMW want to know (and they may or may not ask directly), is if the settlement will satisfy you. Although it sounds very harsh, if it won't satisfy you then they are better off not paying anything. They need to know that you appreciate their contribution.

You also note that you have not owned the vehicle from new, so you really don't know how it was treated before you bought it.

Good luck.

[vinuneuro]

Includes labor? $2000 USD for a transmission change is not shabby. The labor involved I'm sure is a lot.