Please tell me my trans isn't F'd

[E70Noob]

Hi all,

I've done a lot of searching and reading transmission problem posts but have yet to find one from someone experiencing the same issues...

Long story short, my X5 doesn't want to stay in drive (wants to shift back into park) and I don't seem to have reverse.

This morning I hopped into my cold '07 3.0si and popped it into drive. Being parked on a slight down slope usually I would just need to lift off the brake and it would roll/idle forward. This time though, it felt like the e brake was still on. I pressed the e-brake button down a few times, no difference. I gave it a touch of gas and it seemed to 'break' free. Drove it 15 mins or so without issue to my next destination.

When I was leaving my next stop, I hopped in and tried putting it into drive. This time it didn't seem to engage and after a couple seconds shifted itself back into park. I tried a few more times, every time it shifted back to park. Reverse did the same... Only after shutting the truck off and staring it back up did it let me stay in drive. I got a brief msg on my display though saying something to the effect of "malfunction in transmission P" . Again it would not roll until i gave it a touch of gas and broke free.

When I got it home and tried backing into my driveway, again it would not stay in gear (reverse or drive). When I restarted the truck, i was able to go into reverse but the vehicle would not actually reverse. Drive works.

I'm likely going to take this in to my indy Monday but was wondering if anyone had any ideas in the meanwhile.

[Baby Unicorn Taco]

Originally Posted by E70Noob

Hi all,



I've done a lot of searching and reading transmission problem posts but have yet to find one from someone experiencing the same issues...



Long story short, my X5 doesn't want to stay in drive (wants to shift back into park) and I don't seem to have reverse.



This morning I hopped into my cold '07 3.0si and popped it into drive. Being parked on a slight down slope usually I would just need to lift off the brake and it would roll/idle forward. This time though, it felt like the e brake was still on. I pressed the e-brake button down a few times, no difference. I gave it a touch of gas and it seemed to 'break' free. Drove it 15 mins or so without issue to my next destination.



When I was leaving my next stop, I hopped in and tried putting it into drive. This time it didn't seem to engage and after a couple seconds shifted itself back into park. I tried a few more times, every time it shifted back to park. Reverse did the same... Only after shutting the truck off and staring it back up did it let me stay in drive. I got a brief msg on my display though saying something to the effect of "malfunction in transmission P" . Again it would not roll until i gave it a touch of gas and broke free.



When I got it home and tried backing into my driveway, again it would not stay in gear (reverse or drive). When I restarted the truck, i was able to go into reverse but the vehicle would not actually reverse. Drive works.



I'm likely going to take this in to my indy Monday but was wondering if anyone had any ideas in the meanwhile.

You must have some fault codes. You need a BMW scanner to get the BMW codes. Not a generic one. Are you leaking trans fluid? Any symptoms leading up to this issue? How long has this been happening? What’s your mileage and has the trans ever been serviced? You might be dropping the transmission pan and looking for metal shavings.


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[shooterf16]

Could it be your shifter? I just replaced the shifter on our 2011 x5. Out girls bumped the shifter and broke a small plastic piece that keeps the handle centered. Without it, it would wobble and shift to park randomly. We had to hold the lever in the desired gear to be “driveable”. I replaced the whole mechanism and now it’s as good as new.


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[ard]

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh....php?t=1353265

Ditto.


Miles and service history?


IMO taking it to an indy - unless they are that magical 1 in 1000 that actually WORKS on BMW transmissions- may be a challenging process. Make sure you dont just get 'their recommendations'...you want as much diagnostic data as you can, so you can get info here AND you can shop with other indies.


Im going to guess there are multiple trans codes- clutch pressure issues, etc etc.


Of course BMW dealers and thereby many BMW-trained mechanics are taught "any transmission issue, replace with rebuilt"...but over the years some have learned that you can SOMETIMES replace solenoids...or seals..or even the whole valve body, and avoid the trans replacement. But it takes someone who knows a bit more that the BMW party line. FWIW.

[E70Noob]

Thanks for the replies.

The vehicle has approx 165,000 miles on it. A tranny flush was performed about a year and a half ago at around 145,000 miles by a well respected local BMW indy. This specific issue only surfaced of the first time yesterday though. No visible oil leaks from the transmission.

I should note that on rare occasion these last couple months when I put it in drive and let off the brake, I've been getting the "secure vehicle from rolling" msg as it kicked it back into park. I haven't had it pop up super recently though...

I own a Foxwell NT510 but the damn thing crapped out a little while back. I did throw my generic OBD2 reader but to no surprise it didn't give me anything useful. I'm ordering a new NT510 or 520 today and will see what it tells me, before bringing it into a shop.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Sounds like it might be your solenoids or th Mechatronics seals (assuming you have a ZF6HP). It's not a bad job to replace the solenoids and seals, parts will be around 500, including the new pan and oil

[crystalworks]

I'm about to do the above but I am opting to have it (the valve body) rebuilt for me by a company a fellow outposter has used. They use sonnex parts. Total cost with trans pan, mech sleeve, and fluid is about $1000. Not as economical as doing it yourself, but I don't want to mess with the valve body and screw something up.

[ard]

Crystal and redneck...

How does one ‘make the call’ that it *IS* only seals or solenoids of valve body, and not worse.

Or that it is only seals- and not the rest. Or that it is seals and solenoids?

My point is that the Trans threads are still a bit of a black box and guesswork for us, no?

IMO looking at error codes from the tranny computer can give you some hints, but I am not sure past that. Surely using those codes in google, see if there are pattern matches to what others have found.....

Thoughts?

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by ard

Crystal and redneck...

How does one ‘make the call’ that it *IS* only seals or solenoids of valve body, and not worse.

Or that it is only seals- and not the rest. Or that it is seals and solenoids?

My point is that the Trans threads are still a bit of a black box and guesswork for us, no?

IMO looking at error codes from the tranny computer can give you some hints, but I am not sure past that. Surely using those codes in google, see if there are pattern matches to what others have found.....

Thoughts?

You are exactly right. They ARE a bit of a black box still. You don't know exactly what has failed in most cases, until you open it up and have a look at it.

Given the code I have, 4f85 e clutch ratio monitoring, it can be a few things. The bridge seal, sleeve seals, solenoids, valve body separator plate, etc. The most likely culprit, as warned by the company doing my valve body rebuild, is the e clutch bearing/bushing is worn. I am opting to do everything else ahead of that repair. If doing all the other stuff that is accessible with the trans in the car does not work, then I'll drop the trans and have it serviced.

I am not complaining as the x5 has 166,000 miles on it now. Probably never had a trans fluid change. And hell, parts wear out, this is a heavy, torquey vehicle. Is what it is. Still cheaper than buying a new or CPO vehicle.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by ard

Crystal and redneck...

How does one ‘make the call’ that it *IS* only seals or solenoids of valve body, and not worse.

Or that it is only seals- and not the rest. Or that it is seals and solenoids?

My point is that the Trans threads are still a bit of a black box and guesswork for us, no?

IMO looking at error codes from the tranny computer can give you some hints, but I am not sure past that. Surely using those codes in google, see if there are pattern matches to what others have found.....

Thoughts?

Crystal summed it up nicely, it unfortunately is a process of elimination, Doing the Mechatronic seals, valve body, solenoids, is pretty much all you can do without dropping the transmission and doing a complete rebuild.

IMHO, any transmission over 150K and is more then 5 years old is going to be highly susceptible for solenoid failure. Its one of the first things I would replace, if anything for preventative maintenance once your past 150K.

So start with seals/solenoids/valve body that and if it doesnt fix it, its not wasted money, all of those parts would have to have been replaced anyway for the rebuild.

IF you have never torn apart a valve body before, having a shop do it like Crystal is doing is the way to go. It will cost a bit more but worth it.

If you want to try new solenoids before having the valve body rebuilt, you can replace them without taking apart the valvebody. Check out youtube as there are videos up on doing it.

And if you are a true do-it-yourselfer, Sonnax makes ZIP kits for the ZF's. It refreshes the valve body, it is not for everybody however. You really need near clean-room conditions if you take apart the valve body. I recommend getting the ATSG service manual first if you do, just in case you misplace a checkball or valve. Oh and take lots of pictures for reference.