Nice 4.4 good luck with,but with that many miles the tranny might have to be rebuilt.

I do not have an issue pulling the trans and rebuilding it if necessary. I will need help, and I have bookmarked a dozen or more rebuild write-ups.

My issue is that I have also seen quite a few posts about people paying for full trans rebuilds just to have the same issue, and it was something else causing it.

I would like to eliminate as many of those as possible, so that I can confidently pull the trans knowing it needed rebuilt.

Thank you all for your input.

When you pulled the speed sensor, was there any metal shaving at the tip? If there was metal shaving one of the clutch drums have cracked or disintegrated. The other common problem with a ZF 5hp24 is the o-rings that goes bad which will allow leakage of ATF from building up the fluid pressure and the speed sensor will note that the difference in the trans speed versus engine speed and slam the trans to engage to prevent the trans from destroying itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwlDjEVcIx4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpG91-ZzYY8

You are correct. Symptoms can be misleading. I suggest you take it to a well recommended transmission specialist that has experience with BMW transmissions for diagnosis. If there are two in your area I would do both. Dealer only does replacement.

Just in case. The process to refill the transmission is to have the vehicle level, fill to level fluid starts to run out the fill hole. Start it up and go though the gears slowly. Top off as needed. Drive it until fluid gets near operating temperature, check level again and top off as needed. Since you have already driven your X, I would check the level and top off if needed.

I have attached a thread of a partial summary of transmission issues and causes. I haven't seen it challenged but it is not complete.

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

The Output Speed Sensor looked clean, and I could not tell it from the new one, I expect it had been replaced before the auction. I am guessing they were at their wits ends and just ended up giving up and that is why it was taken to the auction.

Thank you for the links to the videos and the troubleshooting posts.

I believe it sounds like the A drum issue, any maybe there are not any shavings because it was flushed before I bought it.

No metal pieces/shavings in the trans at all.

One confusing point is the trans is so clean inside, it even looks to have a new gasket between the trans and I think it was the bell-housing. I can also see scrape marks where a ratchet was recently used on a bell-housing bolt. Like it had recently been pulled and maybe rebuilt...

I pulled it up on ramps, and I had to get a little bit of a running start (controlled) or it would not climb up the ramp. So I will not be taking it anywhere until it is fixed.

It does not make any strange sounds. I did follow the fill procedure, up, level, and then shift through the gears, and then filled until it poured out. I know I needed to verify the temp, I was hoping I could read that through Torque(Android App) and a Bluetooth ODBII reader, but BMW does not supply that info in ODBII. It needs to be about 100 Deg F, well that is close to body temp, I felt the bottom of the pan until it was close to forehead temp, and I knew that was +/- 5 Deg.

If the level was too low, it sounds like I would feel harsh 2-1 downshifts, and I do not feel that.

Hows the battery? Since the only issues you are receiving after you cleaned off that plug and connected it all the way are the message popping up, it could be related to low voltage from a failing battery. Since this came from an auction and was likely sitting for a while in probable cold weather it could be the culprit.

Looks like I need to clarify the symptoms that are occurring at this point.

I did fully charge the battery, no difference, I did that on Saturday before I took it on the first test drive.

I started to write this up, and I decided I needed to go out and drive it again to verify.

Well it seemed to shift just fine! I even stopped and pulled it into M 1 and floored it, I shifted up into M 2 and it was nice and smooth. I put it into D and drove it around for about 10 more min, no issues whatsoever.

About 15 min into the drive I slowed down turned into a subdivision, and as I lightly accelerated again, it went into Transafe mode.

I am going to go do some more research on the solenoid cable with the temp probe failures.

Sounds like it's temp related. When the ATF is cold there's no problem, but once the trans warms up you get the trans failure. Could be the temp sensor that kicks it into trans failure mode, or could be an internal leak because the ATF has thin out once it get hot.

The cheap fix would be the trans temp sensor, and that can be verify with a scan of the EGS module when the trans is hot. The expensive fix will be a complete rebuild.

Anyone know if the Trans Temp can be read with ODBII? I am wondering if it is not showing any value because it is bad, or just not available through that method.

Looks like the 'Transmission Sump Temp Sensor' will throw a code, probably not what my issue is.

BMW X5 Transmission Problems - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums