p0720 output speed sensor error..

[turquise1]

Hey guys,

My car was having some shaking and engine dying issues for a while especially under load (driving) coming down to lower rpms. I blamed the intake and changed almost every part of it including the MAF. The car was not smooth shifting down to low gears, it would either shake or recover almost dying off. Well, it gave me the P0720 error yesterday and we are on TRANS FAIL SAFE mode now.

From what I read this usually is a sensor issue (hopefully not the whole transmission since its not that old, this is my second transmission at it only has 40k miles on it).

What do you guys think, is there DIY for this?

Thanks for all the help..

Oz

X5 2001 4.4 (at 160k miles)

[turquise1]

Difficult question? Anybody? Nobody had this problem before?

Any help would be really appreciated..

Ozzie

[RRPhil]

In my experience with the 5HP24 transmission speed sensor errors are indicative of deeper issues but the sensors (output speed sensor in your case) are relatively cheap and simple to replace so you might want to try that first? The BMW part no. is 24341218551. You just need to drain the fluid & drop the sump pan – the sensor is held in by a single Torx T27 screw & bracket.




If you measure the resistance across the terminals it should read between 285 & 365 ohms.



Phil

[turquise1]

Thanks for the great info. What kind of issues did you have to deal with? I have a feeling that I am doomed to go for my 3rd transmission and if thats the case my X5 will be a trade in for a new one..

Thanks again,

Ozzie

[RRPhil]

Was the torque converter replaced both times when you had your transmission changed? The symptoms you describe sound similar to what you would expect to feel if the torque converter lock up clutch were failing to disengage properly.

Phil

[turquise1]

Hey Phil,

I am not sure if the torque converter was changed. What's happening right now is the Reverse gear is actually working (which wasnt two days ago) and no movement when I put on forward, I step on the gas a little, the car jumps forwards then the error 0720 pops and TRANS FAIL SAFE mode of course.

I will drive the car in that mode to my mechanic tomorrow to see what they are going to say..

Thanks again,

Ozzie

[m5james]

My problem is that i get the P0720, 1746, and 0715 codes like clockwork after heavy rains. Any other times its completely fine, shifts good, everything. Any chance the computer for the trans is just getting wet? It's happening to me as we speak AFTER the car has sat outside in the rain after working for 8hrs this evening. Problem is...I STILL havent tried to find the computer to see if thats the issue.

[Nik]

Yeah, Mine started with Failsafe in rainy days. Afterwords, it got failsafe from the start and a big slam into 5th gear from the start.(sometimes Manual would work) afterwords, Driveshaft or something like that was detected broken. had to rebuild.