Warning message
 

I have a 05' x5 4.4i. I was driving at slow speeds (below 5mph) when I tried to accelerate. The engine speed went up then suddenly the car (SAV?) lurched forward as though I had been hit from the rear. I took my foot off the gas and tried again. Same thing happened. Then a warning message came up on the dash. It read " trans failsafe mode". I parked, restarted the car and the message was gone. I have had no problems since (2 days). The dealer wants the car overnight to check it out - says its a programming problem. Whats the deal?

If the dealer will check it out for free, there's no harm in that.

However, my personal action would just be forget that it ever happened, just log down when it happened and what happened so if it happens again, then I'd go take it to the dealer.

German cars seem to have flukes all the time.

The throttle/tranny acceleration/surge/lag issue is not uncommon on MY '04+ 4.4's. The dealer will most likely reprogram the DME.

I never went into trans. failsafe mode, but did experience lurching, throttle lag, and surge. My service advisor was quite familiar with the problem, which was rectified when the DME was reprogrammed. Sorry, I can't provide you with a TSB or any other technical info.

Good luck getting that resolved.

My '02 did this a couple of times. Turned out to be a bad switch in the gear selector. Dealer replaced it, and it was fine after that.

Covered by the dealer, you're good. If you decide to leave it for two days tell them you want a loaner for two days...no big deal.