FINALLY BMW is replacing my trans
 

Just thought i'd share that after a year and a half of confusion and annoyance, morristown BMW finally did something about it.

My car would have a long delay (full second) before shifting into reverse, my SA just called me with test results from BMWNA, and the entire trans is being replaced!

On the other note, is there anything i should be worried about after my trans is replaced. Sometimes big repairs make the car never the same? :dunno:

I had my trans replaced with a remanufatured unit under CPO due to the "thunk" downshift problem that occurred while accelerating from a slow roll (California stop). No issues after that other than a nice, smooth shifting trans. My service advisor told me to go easy for about 300 miles. Don't know if they just didn't want the trans learning aggressive shift modes or something else (break-in).

I have the same downshift slam from a slow roll problem. Anything on your work orders that can help my dealer confirm the issue? I'm almost at the end of my extended warranty so it's now or never.

Did you ever do the software update? I had that problem on my '05 and once they updated the software it was gone. It was a neck jerker before they fixed it though.

I have the same problem. One day, Driving back to my home with 60~70mph, I encountered school zone so I braked and kept the 30mph speed, then suddenly the big slamming happened a couple of times, it was like driving over bump without braking, at that time my 2004 x5 has 57500miles on it. after then I felt relatively small shock when I drive 50mph, it was as if brake was applied by itself so felt like pulling back. at that time some electronics made mafunctioning, say telephone red light was always on.

Actually the telephone light was more annoying issue to me. you know it should be gone after start up. so after then I start like this, turn my key into 1 position and wait for a few sec, and then position it into 2 and then again wait for a few sec until the telephone light is gone and then start. and start driving very gently and never speed up but always keep below 70mph . and never have had the same problem so far( for 2months). but really worrying about transmission change.

Yes, I had the software update done a while back. The dealer confirmed it recently when I had them look at the problem.

I saw a thread says BMW transmission control unit learns driver style. Is it true?
the slam was happening to me always after I did drive it very harsh and after then always happened below 50mph. or just the transmission sucks? my SA told me not to change Tranny fluid he said it could intensify the problem, though an indy (pretty well known in my area) strongly suggested to change the fluid. but the SA was more knowlegable. so I will keep it for a while. Anway the software update does not seem to be very helpful to me. it was done at 10000miles. 60mph driving saves the day. X5 driving 60mph on 75mph limit freeway -_-

make sure they replace your rear main seal while the tranny is off

Hey Naz can you share any more details of the test results? I have the exact same thing. Put it in reverse and there's a slight delay before it engages. I wonder if this is a sign of worse things to come? I've never had the hard bang when slowing though.

I can't remember if its always been like this since we bought it. I never really thought much about it until I saw your post.

You know when you take your pampered, well maintained car to the dealer to get some small thing inside the cabin repaired or replaced and they end up breaking something else and getting dirt, grease, etc. on your headliner, seats, and so forth and also forget to reinstall a few screws, replace others with ones that either don't match or completely don't belong in those locations for those purposes and on the drive home you keep looking around and repeating to yourself "son of a bitch, or mother-f-er"? Well, now just apply it to a transmission replacement.

Go to church and light a candle to St. BMW. It can only help.

My tele light stays on all the time too. I just bought it a couple of days ago, so I didnt know it wasnt supposed to.

I had my trans replaced last month under CPO too. Dealer told me to give in a couple hundred miles to adapt. When I first got it back, it seemed to shift very lazily, but now it's just the way I like it. Took about a week. Oh, and my dealer told me to keep it in D for the adaptation, putting it in Sport takes it out of the adaptation mode. It was really hard to drive in D for a week, but it slowly adapted.

Only problem I've had since the trans replacement is that now I have a rumble that starts about 78 mph. Sounds like a bad wheel bearing but doesn't change left or right. Also sounds like the old center support shaft bearing of the old 2002 and my 528 when they go bad. I'm just wondering if one of the drive shafts is misaligned now.

Oh, and when the dealer showed me the trans fluid that came out of my trans with just 75K miles on it, boy was it nasty looking. There's absolutely no way this is "lifetime" fluid. The new trans will get a fluid and filter change every 25-30K miles as any trans should.

hi GSX

just try what I did. I am not an expert, but if it is not working you need to replace some electronics unit. surely you can drive as it is, not a big problem. but in my case, side mirror, you know if you set mirror position button to drive side and gear to Reverse, passenger side mirror is supposed to moved up and down to help you to see backward, and then when you position the gear to Drive, it should be back to the original position, but did not work very well with my x5. so always, I position reverse and go to neutral and wait for a few secs and then drive. otherwise side mirror did not go to the original position very well. so always treat my x5 carefuly. slow accelation, slow braking never go to 100mph. nowdays I am thinking trouble free.

I'll call my SA and see if he cam email me some sort of summary on my test results. I'll get back to you on that. But if you're under warranty, definitely go to dealership

They kept the X5 overnight and had it hooked up to BMW NA's computer or something like that. Said they opened up some sort of "case" w/NA or something. Sorry, it's been a while. Next day I get a call telling me they are replacing the transmission.

Good luck. Just keep asking nicely why it is malfunctioning and why they can't/won't fix it. Software and re-adaptation don't work when it is giving you whiplash or making you feel like you got rear-ended. Might also ask if they believe that it is harming any other drivetrain parts and if not, to have them write that on the service paperwork and sign it or something insinuating this. My guys were easy to work with. Only took two trips for the same problem before it was replaced, so I consider that a success.

What kind of driving did the dealer recommend, very "grandma-ish" or what?

Little did the dealer know that this was his grandma.

I have an appointment tomorrow to take the shop foreman for a ride. Hopefully the X5 won't magically decide to behave tomorrow. This will be the 3rd try at having them acknowledge that there is a transmission problem. I just crept over the mileage limit of my extended warranty last week so I'm already in the grace period (I'm hoping there is one!).

You just said the magic words, "over the mileage limit of extended warranty." Even if tomorrow your car drives like it had 2 miles on the odometer straight off the assembly line I guarantee the dude will find a fault with it. And that you will pay. And that it won't be cheap.

just got the call from my SA, my X is done..

Cant wait to pick it up later this evening. i'll update on how it feels

so the trans feels amazing, but of course they broke something else

theres a clunking sound from the front right side of the car, its already back at the dealership. how annoying

Just like I predicted in post 10.

Good news and bad news. The good news is that the shop foreman acknowledge that there was problem. The bad news is that without a fault code they can't/won't do anything about it. My extended warranty certainly won't pay for any transmission work without a fault code. They scanned for codes and reset the adaptation. It's driving better but I suspect that's just temporary. They didn't charge me for that work.

This is very disappointing to hear. I mean, they acknowledge there's a problem but they are basically saying they can't prove it (I assume) to whoever without a fault code?!

The problem is demonstrable, even without a code, to BMW and or the warranty company. So, to me, regardless it should be covered. Is it your fargin fault the vehicle/system doesn't throw a code? Are they implying that all problems are supposed to throw a code?! Because we all know this is not the case. Sorry for sounding frustrated but I'm already worked up from things at work.

Who is it that basically needs the code to show? The dealer, BMW, or warranty co? Problem identifed and demonstrable - should be end of story.

my X5 is in the shop for big delay before the reverse gear engages and intermittent hesitations while shifting.

Second time they have it. First time they blew it off by saying no code and reprogrammed... now I got a call from my SA saying they will replace the tranny.

I am hoping it is a brand new tranny and not remanufactured. and I hope not to have any other issues

MY SA called me this morning saying the tranny is being ordered. I'm still under CPO so it's gonna cost me $50. The only thing I'm disappointed about is that it will not be brand new, rather BMW remanufactured. He did say that all internal parts will be new, only the housing won't be.

Now the car is out of production there probably are no new ones available any longer. A ZF rebuild (assuming it's a 6sp) will normally have all the major working parts replaced with just the case, shafts and gearsets from the original build unless they were damaged or badly worn.

Certainly my rebuild had everything such as valves, gaskets, clutches, hydraulic controls, bearings, torque converter, pumps, filters and fluids done. Even the additionally replaced mechatronics unit was a ZF refurb one (direct from Germany) and had to be 'taught' it was on an X5. I had to have a second rebuilt unit as the first attempt had a problem on the 1st - 3rd gearset (damaged) which was missed first time around so the tranny was completely changed out for a second rebuilt unit and is now absolutely fine.

The only advice I got was to take it easy for 1,000 miles, not to use 'Sport' and avoid high rpm (above 3,500 rpm as mine is a diesel) and kickdown if possible. It goes back at 6,000miles/6 months for a follow up service and fluid change.

yes it's a ZF 6sp because I have the 4.8is. My SA said the one they ordered had everything inside being brand new except the casing. You said fluid change? Does that mean BMW doesn't put its lifetime fluid in the reman transmission?

My "remanufactured" transmission feels great, so GX5NY i wouldnt worry. As X5 Meister said, the most you need to worry about is them screwing something else up.

Ohh, they also screwed up my brakes, the clip was hanging off the caliper and hitting the rotor making a terrible squeeling. Dont you just love BMW?

I read somewhere that there's a TI about the 'lifetime' fluid now being replaced at 60k miles. In my case BMW did not repair/replace the box, a ZF specialist provided by Warranty Direct did the work and they want to make sure all is OK. They always provide a service and oil change as part of their 12 month post replacement warranty process.

BMW GB did not want to know even though the failure was premature (42k miles). If I had not had Warranty Direct they would have replaced the tranny foc (they say), but as I had an extended warranty they walked away refusing a goodwill replacement saying the I had 'not offered them any goodwill by taking up someone elses warranty' - they ignored my comment that they never actually offered me one in the first place!

The ZF specialists aren't at all convinced by 'lifetime' fluids. Given the number of these boxes that they now see from all the car manufacturers that use them, I can understand why. The definition of 'lifetime' seem to be whatever the OEM chooses to interpret it as that suits them - never the owner.

Oddly enough - I do now have a strange rattle from the left rear somewhere which may be a broken exhaust baffle - which was fine before it went in!! Oh, and they scuffed an alloy but are paying to refurb it :confused:

I never wanted to chime in on the ATF change debate but I'll bite. As an electronics/RF engineer, I side with JCL and weasel's side of the argument. Until someone can actually prove that the fluid has actually cause an AT to fail (which from extensive reading and research would mean that all clutch packs are damage) then I will not mess with the ATF.

My son also had a problem that the reverse would give out a "humm" noise when downshifting. Talked to BMW, and got it done. But it did take some time. His went of quite smooth without any issues....so far.. :)

I got my X5 back today and let me tell you, I am impressed. The dealer did one hell of a job and everything looks and feels impeccable. Drove it and honestly, this is the best the X has felt since I bought it, even better I think, she shifts crisply, smoothly and accelerates nicely. I asked my SA if there was a breaking period and he said no. I know a few of you guys have been told to take it easy at first but he told me to drive it as I want.

My car is in the shop due to torque converter failure and they are replacing the transmission and torque converter,I also had the hard downshifting problem before I took it in.

Add another person to the list with the "just got rear ended" feel. I took my '06 4.4L into the dealer at 92k and he reprogrammed the transmission. It seemed to make a slight difference but I knew it wasn't fixed. Soon after, it started to get hard to shift into reverse. It also will always stay in a lower gear than you would expect it to when going up even the slightest hill.

The previous owner bought the 6 yr/100,000 mile warranty which transferred over to me at no charge.

I took it back in to the dealer last Tuesday telling him it was still doing it. I am now at 98,400 miles. I live 3 hours away from my dealer so he let me take the loaner car home since it would take them longer than a day to diagnose the problem. He called the next day to tell me that it was "showing enough fault codes to justify replacing the transmission". Needless to say, I am feeling a bit lucky since I had less than 2,000 miles remaining on the warranty.

They also will drive the 3 hours up to my house to drop off my X and pick up the loaner. It's nice to be able to drive a brand new car for a few days even if it is a bottom of the line 328i.

I can only join in with the "reverse problem". I have 2003 X5 3.0d, and it has as far as I remember, allways been slow to react when put into reverse. Is this a common thing ?