Auto gearbox failure? Advice needed.

[k22102]

Hi everyone, sorry my first post is one where i'm searching for help but i'm fairly new to the X5 world and i was really enjoying it up until yesterday.

My car is a 2002 3.0D Sport model with 70,000 miles on the clock.

Yesterday without any warning at all the dreaded 'trans failsafe prog' message appeared on the dash yet the car was still driving fine. Switching the car off then restarting cleared the message and the car drove fine again until travelling at low speeds which seemed to confuse the car with it going into lower gears and not changing until 3700 rpm.

I drove the car to my local indy garage where the codes were cleared, codes PO732 & PO734 were stored, i took the car out last night and it was driving normally for 5 miles then the warning on dash again.

Today i took the car out again, covered 3 miles then without any warning it lost all drive, no 'trans failsafe prog' message on dash this time but car will not drive in any gear, tiptronic will only allow selection of gears 1, 2 & 3 but car doesn't drive anyways

I'm expecting the worst and the need for a new auto box but can anyone shed any light on what is likely to have happened? There was no noises through transmission prior to or during the loss of drive that would have indicated component failure within the gearbox.

My car has the A5S390R GM box in it, a box i see many other BMW models also use, could an equivilent box from a rear drive Bmw be used in the X5? Is the transfer box bolted to the box and interchangable?

Sorry for all the questions

Regards, Keith.

[mywidebody02]

If the fluid is ok it could be the module.

[jst2878]

first, check your battery voltage and make sure that both the battery and alternator aree in good working order. once the voltage drops let the games begin

[k22102]

Thanks for replies

I did check the oil level in the box a couple of months back and it was up to the level though what oil that ran out was quite dirty looking. I hadn't done anything about replacing the fluid due to all the conflicting advice regarding the pro's and con's of a fluid change.

Battery voltage with car switched off is 12.1v, with car at idle it read 14.2v which i thought was ok

I'm going to take a closer look tonight for anything obvious.

[k22102]

Originally Posted by mywidebody02

If the fluid is ok it could be the module.

Is there any means of testing the module? Where is the module located on the car?

Thanks!!

[porka]

I think checking everything else for a cure is just wishful thinking unfortunately.

My friend who owns a 2002 530d with the same gm box suffered the same simptoms as you and then it just refused to go anywhere.

Diagnosis at a gearbox specialist was worn friction plates at a cost of £1600 to recondition the whole thing. They also advised not to touch the fluid ! Another interesting thing was that he said they get at least two bmw's with the gm box every month !

You would have thought that these american boxes would be bullet proof what with all their experience with high torque v8s, but it seems like bmw chose too small and weak a box to handle the diesel's torque.

Topic of interest:

forum.bmw5.co.uk • View topic - 525d/530d autobox warning

[k22102]

I think that its going to be a replacement box that's needed. Checked the oil level tonight with engine running and oil was pouring out when i removed the plug, not sure if it's supposed to do that or if it has been overfilled

Oil that did come out was dirty too though didn't smell burnt?

Still no drive from car in any forward or reverse gears and a very faint rattle from box even when in 'Park' or 'Neutral' position?

Guess i'll just need to bite the bullet and get it mobile again though i think there will be some 'For Sale' signs being made up as soon as it moves under its own steam again

Thanks for the replies so far

[JCL]

Originally Posted by porka

You would have thought that these American boxes would be bullet proof what with all their experience with high torque v8s, but it seems like BMW chose too small and weak a box to handle the diesel's torque.

Topic of interest:

forum.bmw5.co.uk • View topic - 525d/530d autobox warning

Not sure if this will make you feel any better, but it isn't American, it is French.

The box is reputedly rated up to 340 NM / 250 ft/lbs torque. Seems like a 3.0d would be pushing it.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by k22102

I think that its going to be a replacement box that's needed. Checked the oil level tonight with engine running and oil was pouring out when i removed the plug, not sure if it's supposed to do that or if it has been overfilled

Oil that did come out was dirty too though didn't smell burnt?

Still no drive from car in any forward or reverse gears and a very faint rattle from box even when in 'Park' or 'Neutral' position?

First you need a proper diagnosis. The fact that the fluid doesn't smell burnt suggests that it may not be the clutch plates. The colour of the fluid has no bearing on its condition. The problem is likely to be electrical (solenoid, wiring, or control unit) or an actuator in the transmission. Both require proper diagnosis, and repair can involve removing the transmission. You need someone familiar with these transmission to do such a repair, as BMW have been known to prevent their dealers from working on them, prefering to replace them with remanufactured units. That saves them training their dealer techs, and stocking all the GM and ZF parts, and it improves quality of the repaired transmissions. It doesn't help lower repair costs to owners outside of warranty, however.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by k22102

My car has the A5S390R GM box in it, a box I see many other BMW models also use, could an equivilent box from a rear drive BMW be used in the X5? Is the transfer box bolted to the box and interchangable?

You can't use a transmission from a rear-drive BMW, you need the AWD version of the transmission (which is designed to accomodate the transfer case).

The same transmission is used in Holdens, Cadillacs, smaller BMWs, and many other vehicles, but not necessarily in its AWD configuration.