New member, just picked up a 4.8is, already having transmission issues.

[phntmpwr]

Hey all, great forum over here. Looking forward to being a part of it. I have owned a few Bimmers, and just last week I bought a 2005 4.8is for DD duty. 112K miles. I have been a longtime member of m5board and I know the rules, but there are so many trans threads and I cannot pinpoint ALL of my symptoms, so I am tossing this in my intro thread in the hopes that you will overlook the fact that this is really yet another trans thread...

I checked the car out pretty thoroughly when I bought it, did not do a PPI as I learned from PPIs on the other e53s i had looked at what I needed to look for. It has a bit of smoke, so I know the valve seals are inevitable, but I am ok with that as I intend to use the AGA kit. A couple small hose leaks up front, needs two new CV axles up front.

Perhaps not doing a PPI was a bad idea. I pulled the codes with my Peake and there was nothing of concern. What I did not realize at the time was that the Peake does not pull trans codes. Oops. On the test drives, the car shifted well. It was a bit firm in the shifting, but from my reading I was expecting that a little based on the nature of the 4.8is. That and I suppose I had limited frame of reference to understand any warning signs.

I know I need the trans codes, but with the expenses on the horizon, I want to get an idea which path I need to look at the most. Don't want to replicate costs along the way.

Anyway, after a week of ownership, I have the following issues:

Hard shifting: seems to 'hang' between gears sometimes, then kick pretty hard into the next cog. Worse in sport mode.

2 to 1 lurch: especially in sport mode

Slippage: at first I was unsure of this, but after you see the next symptom, it is clear that it is occurring. 3-4 k rpm mostly

Will not shift our of first gear: This is what I cannot find info on. If I pin it from a stop, whether in sport or comfort, it will spin to redline and not shift to second (that is IF it does not failsafe first - next point). If I get out of it and the RPMs drop it will shift when i get back on gently. It will also not upshift from first in the event of a 3-1 or 2-1 kickdown.

Trans Failsafe: Especially in sport mode, if I am to stand on it (70%+ throttle) it feels like it slips a little around 3-4k and immediately goes into failsafe. I feel as if sport mode is unusable at surface street speeds because i run the risk of downshifting into these gears if I stand on it to move quickly for any reason. This does not inspire confidence.

Furthermore, I was testing it in a parking lot tonight. In manual sport mode, set to 1st or 2nd gear, it will spool and kick into failsafe. When I do this in 2nd gear from a stop, it spins to 4K, HANGS LIKE IT IS SLIPPING and goes failsafe. Otherwise manual mode seems to work ok as long as I am not heavy on the throttle in 1st or 2nd. It shifts pretty cleanly when asked to.

In every case where there is a failsafe, it is reset with a restart of the car.

Now, when I am driving casually in comfort, it behaves pretty well with some occasional stiff gear changes. At highway speeds on a 2 gear kickdown to merge or pass, I feel like it has been slipping a little in the 3-4K rpm range there too. I wasn't initially sure, but tonight I definitely saw slippage in the parking lot in 2nd gear, so I think it is safe to conclude I was right about feeling it at highway speed when I downshift hard enough....

Note, I have done the trans adaptation reset (key in position 2, floor pedal 30 sec, etc) and it *seemed* to improve a little for a couple days only. I understand this is not the same as a tech doing the reset.

I am unsure if the vehicle has ever had the software update I have read about.

So after much research, I am looking at the following:

Fluid: I have no idea if it is low or old. I need to get under it tomorrow and see if there is anything coming out of the fill hole when it is around operating temp. It *almost* feels like my old wagoneer does when the trans is leaking and the torque converter has to deal with low fluid (solving that with a LS motor swap, but that is another story). I say it almost feels the same because the x is locking up pretty well under normal load as far as I can tell.... Obviously if it is low, I will add to see how it behaves when full.

Should it prove to be full or close to, I am considering a full flush at my indy. Not just a drain and fill but a flush to clear the TC and trans of all fluid and fill with new. They told me that they had an e60 in there last week with similar problems (stiff changes, wouldn't get out of first) and it was night and day after the flush. This procedure will include pulling the codes.

Solenoids: Not sure that this is the case. Hard to conclude a solenoid swap is going to fix this. A VF specialist shop told me that a solenoid failure will result in a failsafe that WILL NOT reset with a vehicle restart. I have since heard that is not true, so I do not know what to believe.

Valve Body: I am worried this is the issue. I hear the piston seas in the VB will wear and let oil pass when it should not, resulting in low pressure situations. I have heard that as VF does not sell parts for the valve body, so any fix requires a total machatronic replacement. The 'rebuilt' VBs are essentially repaired in such a way that they use non-VF replacement part solutions and will inevitably fail again. Can anyone confirm this on the rebuilt valve body? Have any of you used one?

New trans: A rebuilt unit or one from a wrecked x. Expensive and a roll of the dice on reliability anyway....

So there I am. Guess this is my initiation. I am trying to stay positive but it seems that most of the options here are bleak....


Thanks all, Looking forward to the collective outpost wisdom.

[THE VEIN]

reasons like this is why I'm so worried to get a v8

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by THE VEIN

reasons like this is why I'm so worried to get a v8

Reason like this I'm worried to get a car with a ZF 5HP24 trans.

Check out the Jaguar forums and the Land Rover forums. Much better DIY info on the ZF 5HP24 trans then on this forum.

[Jungerishere]

Doesn't the OP have ZF 6HP26? Start with fluid and filter change. Reset trans adaptation with DIS. I don't think stomping on gas paddle for 30 seconds thing works... Also check transfer case as some of the symptoms can be associated to that instead. Change fluid and reset with DIS.

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by Jungerishere

Doesn't the OP have ZF 6HP26? Start with fluid and filter change. Reset trans adaptation with DIS. I don't think stomping on gas paddle for 30 seconds thing works... Also check transfer case as some of the symptoms can be associated to that instead. Change fluid and reset with DIS.

Correct, it's not the 5HP 24.

I'm over 190k miles with the 5HP 24 with a fluid/filter swap at 100k. Even with over 12k miles towing a 6k lb trailer the trans has held up. Pulled a 7500 lb boat/trailer (with 4 passengers and cargo) from northern PA to southern NJ without issue. Over max load for sure.

[axgordon]

My 2005 4.4 experienced similar problems when I picked it up at 113k miles. Our cars have same ZF 6HP-26 transmission. Honestly I did not expected transmission to survive, but it runs very well now. It is over 120k on the odometer now and transmission performs great . This is what I did -
Drain and refill transmission using Valvoline DexMerc fluid. I know that Ligeguard6 is the preferred choice, but I didn't feel like spending $$$ not knowing if fluid is the problem. The customer support tech at Valvoline confirmed that DexMerc will be the perfect substitute for original ZF. I am sure that time will tell
Updated DME / EGS software to the latest version at the local dealership - $160.
Changed transfer case fluid with original BMW fluid and reset adaptations with DIS.
1000 miles later - took transmission pan down, removed valve body and replaced gasket and 4 rubber sleeves between valve body and trans housing. Same time replaced wiring connector sleeve and of course filter and the pan gasket. Refilled with fresh DexMerc fluid twice.
These steps worked great for me. PM me if you need any more specifics or help.

[sunny5280]

A few of my personal thoughts:

• Transmission reset is unlikely to address the problem. Doesn't hurt to try but don't put a lot of weight into it.
• Same goes for fluid change. Again it doesn't hurt to change but IMO it's unlikely to have any affect.
• Software update. Same thing unless you're experiencing the problem the new software is intended to address.
• Valve body - I had to replace this in my 2000 4.4 and my indy was able to source it locally here in Colorado for a significant discount ($550 versus thousands from BMW) from the distributor. It ended up solving my problem (which was the infamous bucking on the 2 to 1 down shift)

Good luck!

[electricalserv x5]

to bad ,there is a silver 06 4.8is with 82k on her ,$16k one owner car in Costa Mesa...........clean and well maintain carfax and all................should of done your homework.

[edogg]

Originally Posted by Jungerishere

Doesn't the OP have ZF 6HP26? Start with fluid and filter change. Reset trans adaptation with DIS. I don't think stomping on gas paddle for 30 seconds thing works... Also check transfer case as some of the symptoms can be associated to that instead. Change fluid and reset with DIS.

This is what I would do.

I was just thinking today that my X has been shifting more smoothly since I had the fluid drained and refilled along with a filter change. I'm not sure whether the shop reset the adaptation or not.

Mine had a hard thunk between 1st and 2nd gears both up and down, especially when cold. Not anymore.

Also, since I had the new alternator put in about 6 months ago, it hasn't gone into Trans Failsafe Prog (aka "limp mode"). Seems to have just been an electrical issue rather than a transmission issue.

[edogg]

Originally Posted by THE VEIN

reasons like this is why I'm so worried to get a v8

But the V8 rumble and endless power band is soooooo worth it.