Is there enough transmission data available for a class action suit.

[mywidebody02]

had mine replaced at 70,000 miles under the CPO. If i dint have the CPO i would be F<>?n pissed.

[Laurence]

Originally Posted by JCL

I don't think there is one problem, I think there are a number of problems.

JCL has hit the nail on the head.

BMW treats the gearbox as a unit and will not try to repair the fault – as far as they are concerned, it is a sealed unit. Whilst there have been specific faults reported with certain types of gearbox (for example BMW had some failures of ZF gearboxes losing reverse due to premature failure of mechanical parts) a Trans Fail Mode can be caused by any number of things. If, for example, something as simple as an electronic solenoid failed, it would cause a Trans Fail Mode and render the whole gearbox as faulty and the car un-drivable. The BMW answer is to swap out the whole thing – where the solenoid itself could cost less than $100 to replace.
This is analogues to replacing an engine because a single sensor failed.

However, auto transmissions do wear out – it’s a fact of life. They have friction plates and by default these will wear and at some point will need replacing. The rate of wear will be determined by driving style.


A transmission shop that services and warrants a gearbox will (should!) replace everything that can/will wear, its time consuming and that’s why replacements are expensive.

I’m sure as the X5’s get older (and worth less!) more DIY capable people may be inclined to investigate the cause of their auto transmission failure. I would suspect that a greater number of the (low mileage < 100,000) failures are caused by electronic faults than mechanical ones.
And remember, all the electronics can be accessed from the bottom of the gearbox without removing it, indeed the whole valve body assembley can be removed with the gearbox in situ. I for one will be looking there first if/when my gearbox "dies"!

[X5Sport]

I suspect a class action will be difficult unless the actual failure mode is common. In the UK we do have a law that makes the Supplier liable for any 'premature' failures for 6 years from the point of sale but there's a catch. After 6 months of ownership it is down to the owner to prove that the fault existed at manufacture - and that means having a tear down and full engineering report at your own expense with little chance of getting that money back. BMW's attitude to my premature failure at <42k miles surprised both me, the dealers concerned and the warranty company. All of us expected goodwill, but BMW GB turned the request down as I had a warranty from someone else.

Part of the problem is actually finding out what the real failure mose is. Because BMW do not allow any maintenance/repair of the units, just replace the whole thing the failed unit disappears into a repair shop and we never find out what broke. In the US you have a Freedom of Information Action with wider powers that in the UK where the FOI Act is limited in its scope and it is probably unlikely that BMW would provide details of what failed, why, at how many miles and on what vehicle. I only know what has happened to mine becuase the warranty company refused to accept that a complete new box was required and that it could not be repaired. The specialist gearbox repairer has told me it was the TC and that led to consequential damage downstream of the AT oil pump. But mine may be the only one that has ever had this failure mode - I don't know, and BMW aren't going to say!! THe repairer has not seen may ZF 6 speeds yet as they are still relatively new in terms service life. They had not see this particular failure before but had seen mechatronics modules and lock up clutches go early.

Believe you me I'm p!ssed about BMW's Customer Service (and we have problems on a 3-series all of which are well known but again BMW GB isn't bothered), and I would love to have them accept that the chances are it was a manufacturing fault, but that just won't happen and they've walked away. This same box is used on a number of other vehicles which I am lead to believe includes possibly LandRover and Jaguar, and they too have failures. I'm not a lawyer (there may be members here who are) but I suspect that as much as I would want to sue BMW for use of a bad transmission design, they in turn would probably have to sue ZF (or GM) so any action could take years, and no matter how mad we all might be unless everyone stopped buying BMW because of bad transmissions I don't think they care - certainly not in my experience with them anyway. If the press managed to carry out an investigation then that might reveal a much wider problem with auto's in general but that still doesn't make it BMW's fault. They bought a standard off the shelf product and warranted it for three years, after that it's not their problem - same with anything else you buy in this day and age. I wish it was different.

And even if there is a problem with the ZF box - what is it going to be replaced with? I would get involved in a Class Action, but the burden of proof against BMW and ZF could be very hard to get. I'm as frustrated as any other owner who's been hit by this. As an owner and also as an engineer I want to know 'why'? I just wish I knew what the right answer was and had the clout with BMW in Germany to go and ask them to explain all of this and what they might do about it in support of all of us who have had faults on supposed luxury cars.

EDITED 21/05/2010 - new information
I have just got my X back again after a month off the road. The tranny rebuild did not clear the fault and I still had very bad shifting in 2nd/3rd/4th and it was subsequently discovered that the Mechatronics module had also failed - or may have failed at the start and caused the lock-up clutch breakage by sending a wrongly timed pulse into the system which destroyed the box in December 2009.

A replacement from ZF has been fitted and programmed, but comes with a 'health warning' about the shifting taking about 2 weeks to settle down properly. Hopefully this will finally clear all the issues up. So the current scorecard reads - Mechatronics Module, Major Overhaul Kit, Oil Pump, Torque converter, Oil Filter, Fluids & Gaskets all replaced (and 10 weeks off the road!!)

[X5Dawg]

Class action suits only make money for the lawyers filing them...

[2002Silver4.6is]

Why should a transmission on a $75,000 car last more than 50,000 miles? What you want 60k, maybe 80k out of a transmision??? Keep dreaming.....

(mine blew up at 55,000 miles..)

[Werewolf]

Originally Posted by 2002Silver4.6is

Why should a transmission on a $75,000 car last more than 50,000 miles? What you want 60k, maybe 80k out of a transmision??? Keep dreaming.....

(mine blew up at 55,000 miles..)

Short answer: b/c the car costs 75k...lol

Another possible one: b/c one bitter owner can cost 10's of sales.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by Laurence

JCL has hit the nail on the head.

BMW treats the gearbox as a unit and will not try to repair the fault – as far as they are concerned, it is a sealed unit. Whilst there have been specific faults reported with certain types of gearbox (for example BMW had some failures of ZF gearboxes losing reverse due to premature failure of mechanical parts) a Trans Fail Mode can be caused by any number of things. If, for example, something as simple as an electronic solenoid failed, it would cause a Trans Fail Mode and render the whole gearbox as faulty and the car un-drivable. The BMW answer is to swap out the whole thing – where the solenoid itself could cost less than $100 to replace.
This is analogues to replacing an engine because a single sensor failed.

However, auto transmissions do wear out – it’s a fact of life. They have friction plates and by default these will wear and at some point will need replacing. The rate of wear will be determined by driving style.


A transmission shop that services and warrants a gearbox will (should!) replace everything that can/will wear, its time consuming and that’s why replacements are expensive.

I’m sure as the X5’s get older (and worth less!) more DIY capable people may be inclined to investigate the cause of their auto transmission failure. I would suspect that a greater number of the (low mileage < 100,000) failures are caused by electronic faults than mechanical ones.
And remember, all the electronics can be accessed from the bottom of the gearbox without removing it, indeed the whole valve body assembley can be removed with the gearbox in situ. I for one will be looking there first if/when my gearbox &quot;dies&quot;!

BMW Reverse Transmission Problems - based on the fact that BMW's cost sometimes 2-3 as much as some other makes of cars, yet their transmissions last 1/3 the life is appauling. Something needs to change.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by Werewolf

I think it depends on your view on expected life of a tranny.

If you're ok with an avg BMW x5 auto tranny 'failing' every 100-150k miles for 4-5k in repairs, then I think the modern transmissions are up to snuff

If you're looking for 150-200K+ miles, then you will disappointed.

Modern cars are designed for early obsolescence. Most new car owners don't keep their cars for more than 6 years. Car companies and parts makers recognize this and look to capitalize on it by making long-term ownership more painful (encouraging you to trade-in and up)

Most car companies are racing to the bottom in this regard whether it be window regulators, trannies or other components.

Maybe a longer powertrain warranty is in order but I'm guessing BMW is able to skin the cat more closely by doing the business the way it is. Some complain, some never buy a BMW again but enough come back for another to make it worth their while.

I would love BMW to make its cars lighter with less electronic gizmos but I know that is not the common buyer viewpoint anymore.

Very true statements...cars aren't made to last anymore because it hurts the bottom line and shareholder value. Sad but true. Seeing their resale values, BMW's are turning into throwaway cars.