Tranmission died
 

well, after 95k+ miles, my transmission died. my wife felt the tranny slipping when the SES light was on. took it to my SA and they confirmed it.

while I still would love to keep my X5, no way am i paying $7k to replace the tranny. maybe an indy would charge around $5k, but thats still too much to pay IMO when the KBB value is probably around $10-12k (if that much).

DIY isnt an option, as fluid changes and brake jobs are about the extent of my mechanical skills.

obviously, I can try to sell it since everything else is in great working order, however, i'm not sure who would buy it with a bad tranny. what have others done?

Ugh. Sorry to hear that, Paul. :saad:

:goodluck:

Not sure how much an indie would charge, but here is a 4.4 for ~ 3300.00 with a unlimited mileage 3 year warranty.

EverDrive Guaranteed Used Auto Parts

If everything else is great on your car and depending on financial situation it may be better off then new car payments.

Sorry to hear about the transmission... :(

Buy a junk yard tranny and sell it you will take a smaller lose.

Did you ever change the fluid and filter? or was everything OEM "lifetime" ?

PSETO, Sorry to hear about you transmission, how much would you ask for your X5? send a PM with price and pictures.

fluids and filters have all been changed, didnt really matter I guess.

here's some crappy cell phone pics:

Paul, Sorry to read of your trans' demise...
fwiw, my bro-in-law owns an Aamco shop in
north Jersey and does X5 transmissions regularly.
He even has a dlr that sends some work his way.

He does rebuilds, "cores with new parts", etc.
And, those aren't $5G jobs.

Not pitching him, and it may be all anecdotal and not
cogent to your situ, but if you want to keep it, it may
be worth a call to a trans specialist in your area.
GL,mD

I agree. I would have the trans looked at by a professional before scrapping it. I never understood BMW's stance on simply replacing them.

Sorry to hear but replacing the tranny with a used one and keeping or selling it sounds like the better options.

Your X looks great - 87s, hitch, looks like a few mods too. Most people will pay more for a complete running vechicle.

Parting it out would be too much a hassle and you're not guaranteed to get as much.

Again, sorry and good luck!

Sounds like a project at the next NCCBMWCCA DIY Day! :stickpoke

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...omes-time.html

anyone know of a transmission tech in the DC/MD area?

I can give you the shop that did our ML430. I can check but I'm pretty sure they do BMWs too. We bought a used tranny ($2K w/2yr unlimited miles warranty from a website) and they installed it for $800.

Just let me know

- Jose

Because they re-build them and sell them to us again .. have you ever noticed the "RMFD" code before the part description? it means re-manufactured ... and that's why there is a core charge to send them the old tranny back.

I have re-built my transmission recently and it is not an easy task. It is almost like a surgery, if a small rubber piece went wrong the tranny will not work.

I would change the fluid and filter first...mine was slipping between 1st and 2nd gears and changing the fluid helped to solve it.
Just my 2¢

that was already done and it didnt help

sure, shoot me the info in PM. thx

Done. Say hi to Gus for me and good luck! :thumbup:

Let us know how you make out. Good luck!

Good luck - if Jose's contact for the trans doesn't workout I'd be happy to check around via some of my buddies with shops.

Paul: PM with opins, sent.

Buy a rebuild kit then put an add on craigslist.

Somebody once told me that when repairs exceed 25% of the car's value (assuming not a 1k junker), it is time to think long and hard about the repairs vs replacing the vehicle.

My thoughts
1) Be diligent on the cheap fixes / other causes (seems lot like a lot of people here have good suggestions)
2) is the x5 4.4 still the right car for you, if so figure out the cheapest / best way to repair the tranny vs getting another x5
3) if the x5 is not the right car for you, now is a good time to switch before sinking more money in the car

GL

I've cooked two X5 transmissions. The first was my 2001 3.0. BMW's solution was of course to replace it for $8000 CAD. In desperation to save money, I went through every semi reputable transmission shop in town and found only one that would even consider rebuilding it. (Dots Transmission in Edmonton, Alberta). They had never done an X5, but they were confident they could. The estimate was $1500 to $2500CAD. I decided to go with this, and quickly entered a nightmare. The particular transmission in my 3.0 was very rare, and was discontinued half way through the model year. It was actually a variation of a GM transmission. Parts were extremely hard to source and the two week, $1500 to $2500 job turned into a two month, close to $5000 CAD job. The work they did was shit, the transmission shifted poorly and going into reverse, something would hold the vehicle and you would have to rev it up to get it to move. This was a horrible experience, and I recommend either getting a used or rebuilt trans which will take some searching, as there are many transmission-hungry X5 owners out there, or getting a shop that has successfully done SEVERAL X5 rebuilds. Get them to verify the exact transmission in your vehicle, and that there are parts available for it. If slipping is the only problem (mine blew up) and money is an issue, you could try a transmission additive like Lucas Oil Products that supposedly stop slipping, and run it through an auction. Awful situation to be in, wish you the best.

Sorry to hear bud. As most said, you would be better off buying a used tranny and finding a shop to do if DIY is not an option. You X looks to nice to let it go :( .

Good luck to you and keep us posted on the route you are taking with this awful issue.

Nice looking X. Its a shame the value of these cars dropped so dramatically.

Running through ebay every so often, I see these damaged X5's being sold for parts cars only. They have extensive damage from the accident the car was involved in. People are asking $7995-$12000 for a WRECKED e53.

Considering the condition of yours, if you were to sell it off as is you should ask for the market value of the car minus the approx. cost of a transmission swap. That car is a beauty. I do wish you the best in finding a fix or the best alternative for your X.

Subscribed to see the results.

Sorry to hear, beautiful looking X5... If the cost is about $4k-5k and it will make your ownership of this car last 2+ more years, that is like $200/month... kinda sorta worth it if you consider the lease monthly payments on these.

Also, from the posts above, I can't figure out if the fluid/filter change was done before the transmission stopped working, or after, or both. I personally am of the opinion that a fluid change CAN cause more problems than it may supposedly prevent... I changed the fluid/filter on my previous MB C240 at about 75k miles (MB also said fluid is lifetime and no need to change)... and the transmission in my car started to act up when cold in the morning and some other stop/go situations and such. Needless to say, I won't be changing any transmission fluids when the manufacturer doesn't require it, but it would be nice to know about your scenario regardless.

the fluid/filter was changed AFTER the tranny started to slip. once we saw the SES light we started to feel it slipping, so thats when we went to have it diagnosed. they figured a dying transmission and said that possibly changing the fluid/filter may help or it may not. well, obviously it didnt help.

It is a beautiful X you have here. I would not hesitate to get the transmission replaced. Take your time and look around. You should be able to get a rebuilt transmission mounted for around 4k or even less.
Selling it or keeping it after that it all depends what you have done and replaced on it so far. 95k is that mileage when you start (or already have started) having to replace all sort of things and it may add up quickly. If the rest of the X has been maintained as good as its look then I would keep it, but that is just me. Good luck with the repair and keep us posted.

Paul: your X5 car looks nice, i like the color and mine is similar (but it's 3.0i engine - 2004). Sorry to hear about your tranny, If you live in MD/DC area, try to contacts several local BMW mechanic stores and tell them your tranny status. I am sure they will give you best solution. Browse to this website, and roll down to the bottom, there are other 3 BMW mechanics information that may help:
http://www.currysauto.com/services.htm
Keep it up.

Thanks for the clarification. Again, sorry to hear and hope things work out for you.