big delay when putting in reverse
 

When i shift my car into reverse i get a big delay..almost like it is in neutral..it'll take a good 2 seconds before the gears shift into place. For instance when i'm on a hill and shift it into reverse, my car will roll down the hill before it catches..

is this just a programming issue or a real transmission issue?
i still have CPO but my dealer always just shrugs this problem off

Take it to another dealer! From reading other posts over the years this is usually the start of the tranny going south.
Check with Weasel he should know.

i guess at this point i'm hoping for my trans to crap on me before my warranty is up!

I would seek advice and make sure it dies under CPO!! ;);)

It could be as simple as programming and/or resetting adaptations, could be hydrolic pressure dropping at idle causing slow reaction, could be slow moving valves/solenoids, etc. etc. etc.

It would take bringing it in to the dealer under CPO for it again, and saying you've brought it in for that a few times and no one really spent much time diagnosing it yet. Maybe have the shop forman get in it with you and show him personality what it's doing to make sure it isn't blown off and get the ball rolling.

will do... thanks:2thumbs:

transmission is gone- mine just did not give any heads up - one day when I went to take it out of the garage the reverse did not engage at all - at least you are getting some kind of message before it goes bad

dealership says theres nothing wrong. i even talked to the shop manager..

i just hope it goes before cpo is up.. maybe i'll bust on my tranny haha

This is how mine went - 1 day a 2 second delay the next no reverse

so i really better get on it then...they really are just shruggin it off...

theres no way to convince them theres something wrong..how do i approach this again?

check out these sites

Consumer complaints about BMW Transmission Problems

BMW Reverse Transmission Problems

I proposed that you have a strategy on how to communicate this tot he dealer - Since my experience with the local dealer NIELLO the rep (15 years at the dealer) was totally an A** he totally lied in my face saying that he has NEVER heard of BMW having transmission trouble. He was a total A** wipe

hey guys i wanna bump this thread up. No failure yet, but since i have only driven 5k miles.

my warranty runs up sept 30 of this year and i really need this fixed before then

any ideas?

You might want to check-out this site:

BMW Reverse Transmission Problems

And this one:

Atlanta BMW Transmission | Mechanical Problems | Roswell Decatur - Atlanta Auto Repair Center | ASE Mechanics

May be useful for background information on transmissions in general, but the No Reverse site is focused on the E46 323, which is a different transmission than the X5 uses.

The Atlanta BMW site is focused solely on the ZF 5HP19, also a transmission not used in the X5 (which uses the 5HP24, a larger transmission).

The problem with these web sites is that consumers think that the diagnosis applies to them, when often it doesn't. There are X5 owners posting on the No Reverse site, blithely unaware that their transmissions share little except that they are both installed in vehicles made by BMW.

Is there anything i can say to the dealer? or is there anything i can have them do to test for the problem. Because there is a problem that is NOT normal, and that should be fixed under warranty..right? i mean it covers major mechanical problems, a delay putting into reverse is a mechanical problem..

Do a search on Mechatronics Module Failure on the forum (i believe that is how it is written). If you are having issues on the 5th to 6th gear doing 35mph steady and your transmission feels like it is trying to upshift but can not...

You gotta get that transmission fixed asap before your warranty runs out. The cost is around 4K to fix it.

Had same issue on my 2002, Dealer sent ECU to BMWNA for reprograming, for some reason would not accept update on dealer system, has been fine for 3 years

Re: big delay when putting in reverse
 

Could it really be as simple as reprogramming the ECU? The 2002 and 2004 are different trannys, I wonder if they could both have the ECU problem. Hmmm

Odd, the Atlanta BMW site said it was used in the X5.

Experience same once with my X5 but when it engaged almost after a second and half it kinda "jumped", the following day it never did, thats almost a week now just crossed my fingers, I had similar issue with Lexus (Automatic) - it was 'delaying' into reverse after 3 days it just couldnt go into reverse!.

After assessment it was noticed that trans oil was too little and affected clutch! Thats why I said I crossed my fingers with my X - these machines can really make one pay thru the nose!

if your parked on a hill you better make sure your ebrake is engaged before you put your x into park. so many people neglect this e brake and when they have no reverse this could be the culprit.

What is "eBrake"! Damn did my dog eat my homework!

Everytime your about to park, put your x in nuetral. If your x starts rolling your probably on an incline. Keep the x in nuetral with your foot on the brake. Pull up your emergency brake lever then take your foot off the brake. This will transfer the weight of the x to the rear drum brake instead of this little piece of metal in your transmission which in the longrun could snap. This might not be every tranny problem but it is preventative maintenance.

eBrake = Emergency Brake = Hand Brake

That was my point, that you can't necessarily trust things that you just read on the internet. The Atlanta site contradicted itself in the opening paragraphs (my emphasis in red):

The fact that they are presenting themselves as experts, and then listing vehicles that don't even use the transmission they are discussing, is a warning sign. It may be a little harsh, but sometimes independent = in-dumb-pendent.

I don't agree that this is preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance would be replacing it before it broke. You are just proposing not using it as it was designed.

Applying the park brake first may feel good, and doesn't hurt, especially on a steep hill, but the parking pawl (the little piece of metal that holds the vehicle on an incline) is designed to do just that, for the life of the vehicle. It won't break in normal use. It will potentially break if you let the vehicle start rolling forward or back and then put it into park, effectively shock loading it.

I have seen drivers rely on a parking brake instead of the parking pawl, because they are trying to 'save it'. Some of them have forgotten to put the vehicle in park at all, and when the vehicle rolled away we got to go out with the tow truck and recover the vehicle. In those cases it would have been better if they just used park, as the vehicle was designed for.

Try resetting the trans by doing the gas pedal trick, otherwise I'd say you start driving it more to make it fail sooner if it's in fact going out. Got a trailer you can tow for the hell of it?

i did the trans reset that was in one of the threads here, it inovled holding the gas pedal and i forget what else, i have it written down somewhere. it did not work. Sadly i dont have a trailer, nor do i have a tow hitch on my car so i'm not sure how that would work. I'm currently in the process of talking to a couple dealerships to see what we can work out. before my family went on a selling spree, we serviced 6 BMWs at the same time with these dealerships (5 of them NOT under warranty) and spent thousands with them. and yet they still treat this problem like dirt. What ever happened to customer loyalty? :(

Loyalty costs money on the dealerships, so unless they're going to make money on it (aka your wallet, not warranty), then you've gotta find the needle in the haystack.

100% true, but you'd figure taht when they are repairing 5/6 cars WITHOUT a warranty for my family that they'd cut some slack for the one still under CPO.

Jerks

AFAIK they charge different rates for warranty work, then that have to wait to get reimbursed from BMWNA for the difference. It's more of a headache as opposed to someone who comes in and empties their wallet. If you had something obvious going on like all the head problems people have, they've at least admitted to the fault and are fixing them. Transmissions are still something they're tight lipped about, why I assume is why there are whole wesbites dedicated to bring the tranny issues to light and hoping BMW will come around and/or fix the problem.

Thought of "Electronic Brake"!...:D, Though still wonder why call it EMERGENCY when the foot can reach the pedal faster than the hand to the hand brake!

Thanks buddy!

RE: Post #17. I had this issue and finally got my mechatronic replaced in November 2009 -$4,100. Now my car has some metal on metal noise developing around 25 to 30 mph; no fault codes and the dealer states they can't hear it (shrug).

It has delay into reverse as well. It's also been jumpy until fully warmed up...that is I can be at a stop light and take off and lets say the car in front of you slows for some reason then speeds up - so I take foot off the gas for a few seconds and then back on and the car can't figure out what gear to be in and it just lurches forward. Also when it's cold and I drive out of my driveway I'll be going pretty slow but suddenly the car just takes off, changes to a higher gear then bogs down. My 2001 X5 with the 3.0 it never did this and I know that's a completely different transmission; just added for comparison.

Cold performance of this car has not impressed me. Once warmed up it's a blast!

Since the mechatronic repair I had about 3 to 4 weeks of really smooth driving and now it's going all down hill. I have 2 1/2 years of warranty left which is my only saving grace (and it's paid for). Otherwise I would have dumped it. Love the X but not the constant worry about the transmission...

Just wanted to thank all of you for your input, i have taken all of it into consideration!

So i have an appointment for next thursday at Paul Miller BMW. Its a very very good dealership in the area, i really hope they prove themselves well!


I will definitely keep you guys updated. Any further advice?

Fortunately I have a lifetime warranty on my transmission, the catch is that I have to have the vehicle serviced @ an authorized shop, but since BMW technically says that it needs no servicing, I have the option of just letting it die. I'm still going to flush the fluid though as I don't want all the headaches that occur between waiting for it to finally take a crap.

Dates back to the old days when the Emergency brake was mechanically operated with a cable independent of the hydraulic system, i.e., in an emergency when the normal hydraulic brakes failed, due to a leak in the system, low brake fluid, failed master cylinder, etc, then the emergency brake would still work.

Just wonderful! it makes sense.:iagree:, Thanks

Mine has been doing this on and off since I've owned it (3 years and 90k miles). It will also wind way out in 1st if I'm just starting up again after a long, high speed run. Usually a trip to the dealer for reprogramming solves the issue for a few months.

But do we need taking it for re-programming and re-re-programming!:rolleyes:.. So basically its a manufacturing issue?. As I said mine happened only twice and my worry is that when it finally decided "to engage" it made some sound like I just hit something behind! That was last month it has not repeated, since.

Definitely. Just like the bumpers on the rear hatch. They seem to wear out every year or so and then the hatch starts making noise. Or the radiator/expansion tank on the V-8s. They fail like clockwork every 70k miles on some cars. BMW knows and doesn't seem to care.

But havent you noticed BMW "is prone" to part replacement more often than some other cars/Makes? Is it kind of a gimmick!!? We pay so hard thru our a$$es for these cars, but we even pay more replacing parts as long as we hang on to the Logo!

There are alot of Classic cars out there and owners have only been changing engine oil since 1972! BMW that long, you would have even replaced the logo itself at least 4 times!:dunno:

True, the only thing I ever had to do on my 1969 F250 pickup in over 8 years other than oil changes was spark plugs and wires once and points and condensor once...

spent less in overall maintenance in 8 years than the BMW in 1 or 2 years. But it wasn't a BMW.

We do it to ourselves, oh well.

For the most part the driving experience and safety make up for the expenses... And that I never have to pay for labor and get parts at my cost! :D

At least we're in the same boat :)

guys when you park down the hill park it in reverse and pull the hand brake before putting it in the park so you dont put any presure on the tranny ,your tranny is gonna last longer

What's a hill??? :dunno:

Flat as a pool table here. But your point is well taken.

Why? That makes no sense. When you put it in park, the vehicle is held by the parking pawl, a small ratchet. It has nothing to do with the internal hydraulic workings of the transmission, or shifting, as it is a purely mechanical lock. It doesn't come into play at all when you are driving.

UPDATE GUYS.


Paul Miller says that they are replacing the shifter. I am supposed to pick up the car tomorrow. hopefully that does the trick

Keepin the fingers crossed.