Transmission Failsafe Program, 2003 3.0i automatic

[mferek]

Hi All,

I'm a new member here, have been lurking for a few months now, and first wanted to say thanks to everyone for the useful info on this forum. You've been very helpful so far! On to the issue...

So I bought my x5 in July 2013. As the title says, it's a 2003 with the 3.0i engine and auto transmission. It had 128k miles when I bought it, and is not too much higher than that at this point. When I got it, it needed a new front right outer CV boot, so I haven't been driving it very much. I don't know what happens when a CV joint fails, but I'm assuming it is bad. I don't really want to find out. For the past couple of weeks, it's been sitting in the garage waiting for a new CV boot and the time for me to install it. I was going to take it to the grocery store the other day just to run for a bit, and when I started it up, it gave me the Trans Failsafe Prog (TFP) error and the Service Engine Soon (SES) light came on. I didn't drive it at that time and haven't driven it since. (It's been 2 weeks now since I've driven it.) Prior to the error, it drove just fine and shifted well. The only existing oddity was that the truck would hesitate when shifting into drive for the first time. It would take 3-5 seconds to actually get in gear and start moving forward. That only ever happened the first time I would shift into drive and only after the car had been sitting for at least a few (5 or so) minutes. There are no other error lights besides TFP and SES, and no other gauges are acting abnormally. Like I said, I haven't driven it so I don't know if there would be any obvious issues. I will say that about a week ago, I decided to see if anything had changed (it hadn't) but while i was sitting in the garage with the car running, I figured I'd see if there was any chance I'd be able to drive it. I put it in reverse and the truck shifted rather roughly. I rolled back about a foot, stopped, and put it in drive. It shifted rather roughly again, I went forward about a foot, and I decided I didn't want to risk it so I parked and shut it off.

I read some other threads on the TFP error, and some people suggested that it could be due to a failing battery. I checked the battery's voltage and it was at 12V. Kind of low, so I thought I'd check to see how old it was and if it needed to be replaced. It had a 2012 sticker on it, so I don't suspect it's dying. I thought the error might be due just to the low voltage so I ran the car for about 15 minutes to let the battery charge up some. In the process, i checked the alternator's output voltage and it was at 13.3V. This is at or below the minimum charging voltage for a healthy alternator, so that's potentially suspect. That said, it still charged the battery to about 12.3V after the 15 minutes of idling. I turned the truck off and back on, only to have the TFP error still present. I've also read that the error can possibly be due to low or bad transmission fluid, or loose electrical connections in the steering column. I messed around with different steering wheel positions and none of them helped. I haven't checked the fluid yet, but I'm planning on doing that when I jack the truck up to change the CV boot.

That's the extent of what I've done so far to diagnose the problem. I have an OBD scanner on the way, but it doesn't get here until Monday the 26th. I'm hoping there will be a code present that will point me in the right direction, but i'm not overly optimistic. My issue is odd because it came up after the vehicle was just sitting around. That leads me to believe that the transmission itself is fine and the error is being caused by a sensor or something. If anyone has any thoughts on what might be causing the TFP or things to check for, I'm all ears.

Also, I'll post any new info I have as I get it.

Thanks in advance