Yes it's true....Another transmission thread
 

Just when I thought I had escaped a faulty tranny, problems are now rearing their ugly heads. The car is a 2005, 4.4, 57K miles with updated tranny software. The symptom is as follows: Driving on flat roads around 30-35 mph at roughly 1000-1200 rpm, the transmission jerks as if it is attempting to shift. The jerk is very quick almost like the motor is missing. As soon as you apply a little throttle it goes away. I haven't completely ruled out the motor but it feels as if it is generated from the middle of the car. Any others have this happen? Any diagnosis? TIA.

Sounds like this thread....

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...n-jerking.html

I had the exact same problem. Tranny replaced at 80k miles and everything is great now.

Did your new trany come with control module??? I'm trying to pin down if it's a hyd block/valve issue or a program/control module issue.

Thanks

This is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. It's only got 57K pampered miles on it.

I'm dealing with the exact same issue, same year, same engine, same speed, same jerking issue. With my X, It doesn't do it in sport shift mode but occasionally when in full auto, it's very annoying.

Does anyone know, when trany is replaced under warrenty if it comes with the tranny control moduel? If it does not... then the only real culprit is the valve block its self. (about $700)

Found here.... ZF RWD Transmissions ZF5HP24 Makco Transmission Parts

If the tranny replacment under warrenty comes with a control maduel also that means it could be the valve block OR the control moduel.

If anyone knows... please share.

just had the adaptations for the tranny reset using GT1. still has the same issue. now i have to figure out if i want to replace the whole unit, get a rebuild (not many people offer this service) or drive it until it blows up. i'm not very happy right now. anybody know of a zf transmission rebuilder in the bay area?

there are many possibly cures for this issue
one culprit could be the shift solenoid controlling whatever gear it is in at the time
the wiring harness inside the transmission could be faulty
the check balls or valves inside tranny may need replaced
it could be any electrical issue
maybe the tranny needs a proper service

I believe pampering is not the best way to drive these cars. I drive the hell out mine and I have almost 300,000 on the tranny.

there you go , wally has it , thrash yer X5 . good call man .

yeah, somewhat agree with that statement. i do stomp on it from time to time but it doesn't see WOT that often. we have different transmissions and through my research the 6spd versions seem to have the majority of the issues at lower mileages.

still curious if anybody knows of a bay area ZF rebuilder?

You also have the 3.0 which has a different transmission. Its the ZF in the V8's that all take a shit.

Its your torque converter as I just dealt with this issue myself. See post 24 in this thread for my story to conclude this as the issue.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-tranny-3.html

Well I really appreciate you helping out, but in the link that you posted brought up a few things that we need to discuss.

1) the whiny sound you talked about, I have that now and again but not too often. I always thought it the engine fan tho.

Can you discribe in detail?

2) Do you feel your symptoms were exactly lke ours?

3) how much did the torque converter cost to put in?

4) Did you ever notice at slight speed variation at like high way speeds?


Thank you for your time to explain this, it's very important!!!!

Redline, I'm not sure we have the same symptoms. I don't have any whining noise and the car is certainly not down on power. In addition, you referenced in post #24 that you had Dinan software and I do not have that. I'm convinced it's either a valve body or module that is causing this issue. Whatever the cause, the transmission will most likely have to be rebuilt or replaced.

My issue was at speeds 35-40 would get a harmonic noise of rotating grinding type noise on flat road, but on slight uphill grade would begin to jerk until I applied more gas. Also felt like the motor was missing, but I had changed the plugs and the week before this started I had replaced all the ignition coils. Also felt like it was generated in the middle of the car.

1) This last issue I had no whining noise. Here is the link to my transmission issue with a video of the sound.

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

Second time the converter failed the whining noise was only in 1st and 2nd and gradually got worse.
Third time started getting the jerk 2 weeks later.

2) My last issue seemed very similar as I posted above.

3) I had the tranny rebuilt along with the converter for $3,300. The last two times have been warranty work so no cost. Shop says its $300 to rebuild converter but this doesn't include R&R.

4) Not sure what you mean here, but if I was traveling an upgrade jerking would happen if I was light on the throttle, normal driving.

As far as a lose of power in my case it is minimal and gradual. Became very evident when the converter was replaced.

Hope this helps.

When I referenced the Dinan software as being part of the issue I meant that it accelerates the wear on the torque converter. Could be the valve body or module I guess, just stating the issue seems similar and what was the cause in my case.

^ we do share some similarities. i'll certainly look into the torque converter as a possibility. thanks for the info.

Thank you very much for your time to answer all of these questions. I do believe that are issues are pretty close. Not exact, but you have the jerking, at the same speed, and you could stop the jerking by adding more throttle. which is what we are experiancing. Yours did have more of a pronounced whine, where mine sounds more like a fan/blowing air then a whine like that. (reminds me of a Isuzu Trooper, they always had a whooshing fan/air sound, instead of a exhaust note).

I believe that I will have the Torque Converter replace a long with the valve body.

Again thank you for your help in this matter

:dunno: why bother replacing anything when you don`t have a serious problem .?

maybe nothing wrong with the transmission , you read Patrick Irish thread about the battery , not the first time I have read a similar story .
If it aint broke don`t fix it .

No....

Ok, looked it up.... I even posted in it. lol.

Amacman.... I want to thank you for keeping me from impulsing and just throwing money at this thing! So thanks for helping me to just slow down and think it through.

Well I read all of the recent post and read about the one that posted a link to a diffrent one. I read that too.

I looked at my battery and sure enough it's not a BMW battery. I don't know yet if it is equivalent to the org. but will look that up now and post some answers. Here is what I have. http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/u...e/13cb49c3.jpg


As I am crossing my fingers.

Ok looked up my battery, and it is what Interstate battery says I should have. It looks some what new and I am again in the dumps as I was hoping it would be the problem.

Ugg, back to high dollar plan?

I am not convinced about replacing the torque converter or valve body as a fix
Hit Redline and others have gone down that route to no avail .
Patrick Irish may , as he says , have reset the computer by having power disconnected for a time , others tell a similar story .
I have no idea , of course , how serious the issue is on your car but think back a week or so to where I said I also have slight hesitation but only when A/C is on .
I think these cars have , for want of a better expression , electronic tantrums sometimes .
maybe it`s bad signals caused by a bad connector .
a buddy of mine had issues with a ZF transmission on a VW going into failsafe mode and no one could find any problem .
I simply asked him some questions about the when and where it happens , turns out he drives through puddles whenever it rains so a clean up and grease up of some connectors and it`s good as new for a while but he won`t stop driving through puddles .
he drives high miles in his job so a few months later the problem is back .
anyhoo , just saying , cool yer jets and look at the simpler solutions before you spend a lot of cash .
good luck .

Dinan E39 - symptoms sound like the mechatronic module. Search for that here. I had mine replaced last fall and it took care of the similar issues I was having.

^ great, thanks for the info.

Your 04 has a completely diffrent trans than our 2000 - 2003 models..... Correct?

Yes, 6spd vs 5spd.

Had the same issue on my 05 4.4 at around 58-60K miles. Had issues recreating the problem with the tech, but they did note it. It got worse and finally the tech was able to feel it. Dealer replaced tranny under good will. Phew that would have cost a lot out of warranty.

^, if I could only make this happen! was the car CPO or did you have an aftermarket warranty?

I got lucky... car is not CPO and no warranty. I complained about it for about 1 year and finally the tech was able to recreate the issue. Decent folks here at Schomp BMW in Denver. They did tell me this was the last good will they will do for me, of course it was a big one. It's the way you go about it to get them to take care of things outside of warranty.

Late entry to this thread, but here's a couple ideas and some things to try.

From the sound of it in the OP it could be either the torque converter circuit or even possibly the transfer case.

Some quick things to try...
If it is in the transfer case you can simply unplug the VTG motor on the case to prevent it operating the internal clutch pack. This will cause the 4x4 and DSC warning lights to come on, but that is just part of diagnosing.

Since it seems to do it under certain circumstances/speeds while driving, get it doing it then shift into sport mode. This changes the speed and parameters for the torque converter lockup clutch operation. If it stops doing it at that speed and you gotta drive faster to get to the same feel then you confirmed that it is in the TC lockup circuit, which is usually cured with the mechatronics replacement. (mechatronics = transmission control module built on to the valve body on 04 and up V8 X5s)

Will this same trick work for my 2002?

You don't have clutch plates in your transfer case (pre x-drive)

Oh, good. One less thing it could be.

Thanks weasel for all the info. I'll give it a shot.

@ dinan e39
does the problem happen only with the A/C on
I have experienced the same old same old on every BMW I have driven
3 , 5 , X3 , X5 , series in various guises , the 3 and 5 `s were new with a few hundred miles on the clock .
diesel or petrol , same old same old .
I reckon it`s a computer blip of sorts .
I don`t let it bother me
if it becomes a problem I shall look to repair it .
my old E38 does it sometimes . it does the lurch sometimes , has been doing stuff for 30,000 miles now and then .
most of the time it`s fine .

Macman,

Thanks for the confidence. These cars are completely governed by computers these days and it would not surprise me if it's exactly what you are describing.