Trans failsafe.!!!!!
 

Hi all. I,ve got this little message come up on the dash, now the good bit.
When i go out in the X5 it is fine ,changes gear correctly nice and smooth, but only for about 2-3 miles. It then sounds like the clutch is slipping( if it was a manual) and the mesage appears. If i leave the car for a hour or 2 and go out again the same thing happens.
Is the gearbox ready for the scrap heap or am i missing something.
I.ve been quoted £2700 for a replacement gearbox and its money i don't have at the moment.

Any Ideas??????????

Sounds like a classic case of a toasted tranny. Its done..You need a new one or a refurbished one...Good Luck.

Sounds like a bashing for the credit card then.:(

Sorry to hear that Masons! CON - It does sound like a clutch pack gone bad. PRO - You can do it yourself and rebuild your transmission for about $261CAD or roughly 130GBP for parts.

I went through a similar experience around christmas time, and you can read all about it here.

Let me know if there are any other questions I can answer.

Thanks for that.^

Its really annoying. I was thinking that it couldn't be that bad as i works for awhile before going into failsafe mode. So the gearbox must be ok , something is wrong i know but surley it can,t be that bad as to needing to be replaced.

Sould have said the car is the 4.4 sport 2001 and its done 93K miles.

it sounds more like electronic issue , possible power spike , you need to have diagnostic check at dealer or independant to check fault codes , could be electronics on gearbox or even other source causing spike , good luck .

Agree'd now that I think about it, there could be an issue with the presuure regulator solenoid, or any solenoid for that matter. Like amacman said pull the codes before you do anything else.

I'll have to get recovered to the indy tommorrow then. And try that.
Like i said everything works 100% for the first 2-3 miles before it starts playing up.

I,ve just been under it and cheaked the fluid level had to top up nearly a litre! Went out in it again and same again. Is there a reset if this could could be my problem.??

Masons ! what are you up to ? transmission fluid needs to be checked by specialist with car on ramp - engine running - temp monitoring , taking out filler plug and adding fluid is not reccomended . get yersel service manual from www.bentleypublishers.com get isbn number from website and order from your local bookstore .:yikes:

Engine was running and warmed up. toped up with oem fluid.

Many of you responded to my post about my service engine soon light that was on and the dealer told me it was either my torque converter of the transmission. I haven't done anything about it yet, I mostly drive another car, however, I have driven it about 300 miles since the light has come on and it's not flashing and nothing has happened and I don't feel gears slipping or any of the problems that I just read about. I'm going to go buy one of the sensor things that give you the code and see what it states. Do you guys think its bizzare that they told me it was the transmission and I have driven it that much and nothing has changed as far as shifting ect.?

Two weekends ago I replaced the thermostat, water pump, belts, and some hoses. When I reassembled I forgot to reconnect a couple of sensors. When I first started up the vehicle I had the "TRANS FAIL SAFE" error. Turned the car off and searched around under the hood. I found the sensor that connects to the resevoir was not re-attached. It's really tight in there and the female port is hidden from view - (a man should be familiar with navigating the female port blind by hand) LOL! I re-attached it. Started again and the code had cleared. Could be a simple problem like that.

I have a 2000 X-5, its been parked up for about 3 months with the same problem..."Trans Fail Mode". Luckily I have another car to drive. Its weird, when I start the truck, I'll drive for about 3-4 miles and then it pop's up TFM on the dash, the X seems like it switches to 2nd or 3rd gear when Im pulling off from a red light, but when in motion (gets going) It runs good. I had the Stealer look at it, They ended up changing sensors, changing trans oil, and other things that cost me nearly $3000 and the problem still exsist. I started the X last night to run the engine for a little while, and now my cluster looks like it has christmas lights. Brake, Abs, Ses, trans fail mode etc. Everything is on. I dont know what to do. I want to get it fixed right but its seems like every where I take it, someone has another opinion. I need to find a reliable shop close to Baltimore MD, any help/suggestions?

Just booked the x5 in for a trans rebuild. £1500 . Best I've been quoted.