Clearing/Reading Transmission codes

[CraigP]

So i've been having some trouble with my 2004 X5 4.4i with 148k, I know the transmission is getting up there so problems have been expected.

I am stuck on the opposite side of the country without any of my tools and no shop within a 2 hour radius that can even read BMW transmission codes apparently and transmission decides to go into a failsafe mode and is stuck in 2nd gear. There are no OBD codes on the dash saying anything that it is in failsafe mode and obviously no check engine lights, it's just stuck in second gear and when I try to put it into S mode it just stays in D. Maybe similar to this thread... http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/x5-e53-forum/84031-transmission-failsafe-mode-p1743-error-code.html

This is the 3rd time it has happened now (Unfortunately I had no choice but to drive it across the country but didn't realize there isn't even a shop that can't touch the car). The first time it happened I managed to just pull off to the side of the road and turn the car off and turn it back on, Problem Fixed. The second time I had no such luck and on my way back to my house where I used to live I stopped at a transmission shop. He pulled out a little red reader thing he got from advanced auto and the problem was fixed. Now I don't know if he reset it with this or the computer just reset itself at the same time. Fast-forward a month and now while I have been trying to research on how to fix in the problem is back again and I have been unable to clear it.

What I was told from the transmission shop is that the code was the 2-3 shift solenoid. He said sometimes tiny particles the size of the tip of a pencil will get in there and cause the transmission to go into these modes and that they can clear the particles out by building up pressure and blowing them out or just cleaning them. His recommendation for the meantime was to keep an eye on it and if it keeps coming back to go ahead and try to replace the solenoid. However, I don't even have an address or a way to get the parts yet so I need to put another band aid on this until I am able to get a new solenoid (and probably a wiring harness as well while I’m in there) to fix this.

My question for now is does anyone know how to clear the computer or know of a code reader than I can use to reset them? Or any other advice would be appreciated.