BMW e53 3.0i auto question
 

Hello everyone. I’m new here so sorry if I do something wrong.

I just after abit of advice really

I have a 2002 X5 3.0i auto. Drives perfect no running problems at all
I brought it 6 months ago full service history. Also a receipt for a gearbox service

But since day one. When I start the car ‘trans failsafe’ pops up and will go off on its own after about 30 seconds or as soon as I pull off all gears work perfect (auto manual sports etc) with no issues to drive. The last owner said it’s been there since the gearbox service (2years ago) because the garage didn’t have a scanner to reset it because it’s ment to be ‘lifetime’ oil

This is my 3rd X5 (second petrol) 1st petty got wrote off my diesel one was perfect but the same message above came on and stayed on then 2 days later gears started slipping (like clutch slip in manual car) then low and behold about 5 days later gearbox went completely so sold off as parts.


Any advice on this would be most welcome the light shows up and goes off on it’s own (when pull off or about 30/40 seconds) but drives 100%

I'm almost certain this is an aftermarket transmission filter issue. I had the slipping issue in the cold morning after a transmission filter/fluid change. Swapped out the aftermarket filter with an OE filter and problem solved. 60K miles later after the OE filter swap (140K miles on the clock currently) and still no slipping.

I've done ATF and filter changes on my 2001 3.0i. Replaced filter on 2 of the 3 changes (first ones done on this car between about 169k and 174k, shortly after I bought it). No problems with that. I used Meisterstatz or something like that, and Elring maybe. Definitely did not pay for the Roundel. No problems for me.

And I never did anything to reset anything electrically anywhere.

Do you have any detectable AT problems in driving, other than the warning?

Most times, that warning is actually caused by an unrelated electrical fluctuation somewhere else in the car. E.g., alternator glitch. Others (e.g., AnrewWynn) have found problems with the electrical connector down at the AT getting messed up.

Also, Birmingham ... England or Alabama?

Hi. Thank you for your reply’s.
My X5 don’t slip or anything. (I was just comparing it to an old situation from an old X5 I had)

Every time I start the car (first start or any start) I get a beep an the message. But if I pull off it goes away and stays off while driving. And only comes back if the car gets turned off and started again.

Do you think it needs a service again. Or do you think it’s on it’s way out. Or could it possibly (fingers crossed tightly) be something todo with faulty outside temp saying -40?

Thank you

And Birmingham uk 🇬🇧
Also can you manually move steering wheel because electric not working ?

That -40 is another important clue, that points to an electrical problem. I once got that when the battery was low (just needed to be recharged, in my case). And yeah, here where I live it probably has not been -40 since the last ice age.

So putting these together, I'd say it's pointing to an electrical problem somewhere, and that the ATF, filter, gears, etc. in your AT are fine.

i got the -40 one time after unhooking the battery or doing some kind of coding. can’t remember. i drove it for about an hour and it gradually ticked up to correct ambient and have never had an issue since.

never got the trans failsafe or any other lights though.

this might help?

https://youtu.be/Wsms8PiCIjE

Thank you for the replys. I’ll give it ago over the weekend is the temp sensor located in that box in drivers wheel arch? Hopefully it’s a simple as changing the sensor as (touchwood) this is the best out the 3 I’ve owned (even being the oldest with the mostest miles lol)

I’ll update once I’ve had a look/mess around

Ps. Because you lot are clever here... is there anyway to raise the steering wheel when the electric tilt don’t work? I think I need a module r something because the memory seat dot work nor the pass wing mirror dipping to see the kerb but I can adjust my seat

On the -40F and the sensor, etc., to be clear, in my case, I had that, and there was absolutely nothing at all wrong with the car, other than that my son had left something on that drained the battery overnight. There was no problem at all with the sensor.

BTW, I'll see if I can find my thread when that problem popped up - the forum here was split between whether my son had done some urban off-road driving to shear off the sensor or that my battery was toast. Luckily my cautious skeptical patience easily led me to the correct answer in my case.

Here it is: https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...wing-40-f.html
And there's a good pic in there of the sensor - it's on the lower right side behind the bumper.

Similarly, my guess on the AT is that there is nothing at all wrong with the AT. Just that there is some voltage fluctuation somewhere in the car (battery, alternator, relay, connector, ...) that is giving the TRANS FAILSAFE PROG.

So, for example, maybe the thing that is causing your steering wheel / seat issues is the problem, and these -40F and TRANS... are confusing side effects.

I would work on the thing that you know you've got a problem with first. Put your battery on a charger, check that connections are clean and tight, etc.