Automatic Transmission
 

1) How much does this usually cost to replace? I want to save up for it because I know it's going to happen. I have 120k now on a 2001 3.0

2) Anyone know of any good shops in Northern VA?

Just preparing for the worst.. and I have not changed my transmission fluid. I see people do it and their transmission fails anyways so i'm just going to ride it out.

However, you should take a look at this thread....

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...good-news.html

4-6k?
Why the hell does it cost that much?
Car is only worth 9k

I'm sure someone else can chime in as to why exactly a transmission costs the amount that it does.

I might as well sell the car then while I still can. I was expecting 2-3k.

I've got mine rebuilt for around $ 5000 canadians....I should've bought a rebuilt one and get it installed,because I am not completely satisfied,not all the parts were swapped,sometimes I can feel some shudder ,less but still present.
Tranny is under the warranty,so I am still waiting for it to fail and bring it back to the shop.

Aimster, good question about the tranny (cost) as I have a 2003 3.0 with the GM tranny in it. i live in Upstate NY and can't find anyone who will rebuild. mine is fine but as you stated i am trying to get an idea so i can save as well. i did find on the web these guys and they gave the below quote

"We can remanufacture your exiting transmission in the 2003 BMW.
Your cost is 5L40 cost to you is $1604.00. would be best to build your core to ensure compatibility. Let me know if you would like to proceed and I can get a freight quote. This unit will have a 12 month warranty and be dyno tested before leaving the factory."


They are drivetrain.com

i do not anything about them. I have not proceeded as mine still works but with a $100 shipping cost and the local Indy shop saying its about 8-10 hours to drop and reinstall at a cost of about $600 - $800, I am looking at ~$2600 to get mine rebuilt. post if find any other places that rebuild on the web.

Mine was $4200 rebuilt at 132K miles a few years ago. Ended up having it rebuilt again a year later under shop's warranty - this was about 8 months after being rear-ended pretty hard so not sure if that caused issues with the new tranny. Still didn't get it right after a few tries, so they started from scratch and thus far it seems to be doing ok.

I justified the cost of the tranny by (1) I love the vehicle and (2) its paid for, so I am not making monthly payments on it.

Aimster...its not going to be cheap..So if 4 -5k isn't going to work for you. I say sell it now before its too late..

So, would you (and anyone "in the know" on here) plan in the same way for a 2005 X5, 4.4 with 97k miles on it? As I near 100k, as much as I enjoy my X, I am seriously debating selling it, and going back to a 2003-2004 Toyota Land Cruiser. The X's only other problems til now have been the oil valve part and hoses leaking (being fixed tomorrow). I just don't want to save or spend $4-5k on a transmission when that money could be applied to the tank-like (albeit less agile - understatement, more reliable) Land Cruiser.

The 4.4i has a different tranny (ZF vs. GM) - you might want to do some research to see if it is susceptible to the same issues.

willgabriel..X5dawg is correct the 4.4 tranny is different it is a ZF tranny. That being said the ZF tranny's have been known to fail also as you can see from above..

Will, the thing is both tranny's have been known to fail at around the 100k miles mark give or take..So really its up to you if you wanna save $ for this eventual problem, or if you wanna cut your losses now and get back to the Landcruiser..

Primetime and X5dawg, thanks for your helpful replies. The transmission seems to be somewhat of a crapshoot. I am fortunate to be good friends with a Master BMW mechanic who owns his own shop. He hasn't seen anything unusual in my X5 as far as the transmission is concerned, but he suggested I consider a fluid drain and refill. Of course, this does not guarantee anything, and in fact, some think the fluid drain/swap actually increasing the likelihood of a failure. As such, I opted against doing that, and would just save the money for a transmission swap/rebuild if I ever need one - if I keep the X.

Otherwise, the NADA value of my X5 is higher now than it was 4 months ago (24.8k retail, and 20k trade-in). After having the hoses changed tomorrow there should be no more drips according to my friend, and the X is in very good shape all around otherwise. It may be a good time to trade and either upgrade to a newer, under warranty X (can't beat their handling), or go for the Land Cruiser (I've had two in the past).

From many posts concerning tranny failure, many of the times it comes out of nowhere and the X didn't give any prior warning before failing. This whole crap shoot made me too wary to keep the X.

I agree. This is a shame, too. The X5 (E53) is such a great driving SAV in the BMW tradition. The "nickel and dime" issues (more like "Franklin and Cleveland" issues) truly keep many otherwise devoted BMW enthusiasts from owning an X5.

Well - these same transmissions are used in other BMW's of the same era, so the issue is not unique to the X5. Nor is it unique to BMW. Pretty much all of the luxury Euro brands experience a high % of AT trans failures. Or you could drive a Lexus and save yourself that expense. Personally, I think the BMW is worth it over driving a Japanese car / SUV. Chances are you are going to buy one AT trans if you attempt to own a BMW for 200K+ miles - pretty much any AT equipped BMW. And you also might get lucky and it won't happen.

come on, don't exaggerate guys!! @ 100K X5s need a new trans? said who? what is this theory? I know the local market here in lebanon where almost 90% of the X5s are 3.0 imported from the states with around 100K on the clock, and I haven't heard any complaints of failing trans. mind you that here the news travel fast, and many cars are quickly labeled as "to avoid" like the 98-99 ML for example, or RR as a whole maker saying that "they have issues", or the alfa romeo (again, there's a rumor that they brake up a lot)... so even in such a "gossip oriented" society where any weakness in any car is fiercely attacked, I haven't heard that the X5 tend to have a failed trans... so stop the fobia! maybe because of our driving conditions, where the average speed is 20mph on the OBC... so maybe cruising at high speed in the states wears the trans more... anyways, I am approaching the 100K mark, and i hope that it will drive me till 140K (5 more years with my annual average of 7-8k miles)... then i plan to go for an X6 :)

:iagree: I am sitting at 266,301 and still on the original tranny. By no means has it been the weak link in my bimmer. There is no warning or anything that say the tranny will only last 100K or 50k or 300K. I am with XDawg even if the trans fails I will repair it and keep going, because very few SUVs offer the ride and handling of X. I love driving it even if its just a 3.0.

Having just suffered an auto transmission failure at 42k miles - and had BMW offer a complete replacement for approx $10k, I am having it rebuilt for about $2.5k under the care of a Warranty Direct insurance policy. In my case the torque converter failed which took out the AT oil pump and the low pressure on the AT hydraulics did the rest by destroying the clutch packs. There were no warnings at all. BMW GB do not allow their dealers to repair, only replace the boxes and that adds hugely to the cost - there are expert rebuilders and the cost is about 25% of replacement.

I have had a number of conversations with the engineers who are fixing mine and it appears that the number of failures is AT's is high. BMW are not the only ones suffering premature failures with both GM and ZF boxes, nor is it limited to the luxury market alone. I have friends with Citroens, Range Rover, Ford and Merc's who have all recently suffered premature failures - in one case twice!

One mechanic thinks that the new boxes are much smarter electronically, but mechanically still weak as certain components - such as the Torque Converters & Lock Up clutches - are having to work much harder. In the 'good ol days' when AT's were three speed only things were straightforward. We now have 6,7 and even 8 speed ATs which are hugely complex (and VERY expensive) when they fail. I don't expect the overall failure rate in percentage terms is high, but I for one did not want an AT on mine but was told it would be almost unsellable in the future as the UK market for manual X5's is so low.

Yes, I realize the transmission may last upwards of 200k+. Yet, the number of "failed transmission" in my X threads on here, and in general is HIGH compared to other SUV/SAV's. Certainly every vehicle has its weak areas, but the X5 has the transmission, cooling system, oil separator valve and hoses plus the window regulators, etc to monitor/be prepared to fix. That doesn't necessarily mean they are bad vehicles to own, and I certainly enjoy mine. But, at some point (around 100k miles), I think it is wise to ask the question: "Do I want to put another 4-5k in this vehicle (8-10k if the transmission goes) to hopefully get another 50-100k miles out of it, or do I need to get a newer X5 w/ warranty or a Toyota Land Cruiser, etc? My Master BMW mechanic suggests that I sell before 100k if I am not ready to invest the $ for repairs (and I have owned 540's, so I know some repairs go along with the territory).

My personal take is that a BMW or other luxury Euro brand vehicle is rather expensive to own past 100K if you must rely solely on shops for repairs and maint. However, if you can do most repairs and maint yourself, they are really not so bad - but certainly do require more upkeep than Japanese cars for example.

So today I brought my car in for service. I've been experiencing strange behavior from my transmission. While driving up hill anywhere from 10-20 mph I might release some speed from the gas pedal, and as soon as I reapply the speed with the gas pedal the engine revs and the gears make a deep “CLONK” sound. It think this is happening between 3rd, 2nd and 1st gear.

The BMW service department just called me back and said this is a programming issue. This is not covered under my 2 year service plan nor is it covered under the CPO warranty. Kind of a bummer. They said they'll charge me about 1 hour for service.
Any input on this programming issue? Is this really the solution or is this the dealerships attempt to avoid fixing the transmission?

Do a search on RX300 transmission problems and you will see those are also prone to costly repairs in and around 100k miles. I came across this when I was looking into buying one a couple of years ago, and when the owner said 'the transmission has been changed too, so you don't have to worry about it!' ... I was like 'what???'... then went searching and never looked at RX again.

Acura TL's also had lots of transmission problems... engine too strong for the transmission to handle, or so they said.

Yeah, Lexus RX 300 (older model; newer 330 and 350 may be more reliable) could have problematic transmissions at 100k, but they are fairly major-maintenance free otherwise. Anyway, I'd say if you want performance-based AWD and can afford/have time to deal with the maintenance above 100k, get any X5. If you can't afford the maintenance, stick to X5's that have 50k or less miles (warranty). IF you want less road performance, but superior bad weather and off-road function with far superior build quality and reliability, get a Toyota Land Cruiser or 4Runner. NEVER get an Audi though ;).

I dunno - my 05 Audi S4 has 83K miles and has been absolutely bullet-proof.

A little BMW/Audi competition humor. I do hear that Audi repairs (should a person ever need them), are much more expensive than BMW repairs.

both are very similar in my experience. But Audi's have fewer systematic faults like the need to replace the entire cooling system ~100K on most BMW's does not exist with Audi. I have owned a bunch of BMW's and this is my first Audi, but so far it has required far fewer repairs and cheaper maint than any of the BMW's I have owned.

Automatic transmissions are hugely complex mechanisms so it does not come as a huge surprise that they fail with age on any vehicle. Remember, the transmission unit itself costs a few grand but the labour and time needed to install is also substantial.

Just got mine back - and I know I'm in the UK so not technically relevant proce wise for anywhere else, but UK Members may fin of use.

BMW To replace auto transmission - they DO NOT repair them: £6,700 inc labour and Tax. The box is £5,600 on it's own for a remanufactured unit NOT a new one!

ZF Specialist to repair: £2,000 including recovery of vehicle, remove, strip, rebuild, refit and road test - and VAT (sales tax).
Parts changed (less tax):
Torque converter - £240
Master Overhaul kit - £240
New Pump Assembly - £150
New filter Assembly - £30
Fluids - £70
Labour - 18 hours @ £60/hour - that's less than half a main dealer charge/hour

The failure was caused by a plastic part in the torque converter failing and getting into the oil pump which mashed it nicely and spread the bits throughout the rest of the box which did all the other (extensive) damage.

"Plastics." That's about the cost my friend the Master BMW mechanic quoted me for a non-OEM transmission here in the States ($5-6k). An OEM transmission would be $8-9k. He says the problems he is seeing with BMW is too many plastic parts especially in the engine bay. That's why, according to him, when you replace one part such as hoses, you often have to replace several others - the plastic "connections" go bad even though the actual part is fine (see radiator).

OK, seems to me the torque convertor is one of the main culprits here - even one of my indy mechanics stated one time that the TC in the X5 is not designed to tow anything even though we all do it (most). So maybe someone out there can design an aftermarket TC for these vehicles that will make them more dependable??

Personally, I don't think your indy mechanic knows what he is talking about. There aren't a high number of torque converter failures. There are a number of random failures, some of which involve torque converters. These transmissions don't wear out, they simply have a wide variety of failure modes. That is why they happen at such random intervals. If they were wearing out, there would be a grouping of failures at a predictable mileage range.

There are many posts on here by withidl, referencing his extensive towing experiences with a 28' Airstream, at something over 8300 lbs, over many mountain passes. I don't ever recall hearing about him failing a torque converter (or anything in his transmission, for that matter).