2012 X5 35i Stuck in Park
 

Hi all. I'm new here, but I've been around other BMW and Porsche-related forums. I've lurked for a while and it seems that this group has some very knowledgeable members. I'm hoping someone can help with this --

Does anyone know how to disengage park on a newer X5 when the shifter is not responding?

My wife's new X5 has about 400 miles on it. On Saturday, the tranny lever stopped responding while we were trying to back into our garage. It moves, but all the lights are out on the lever itself, and it does not engage any gears, or even neutral. The idrive indicated a "shifter malfunction." The dash display indicates that "P" is engaged. We called BMW assist, but the tow guy could not get the car onto his flatbed because the car is locked in park, and it is currently stuck oriented perpendicular to the direction out of of our L-shaped driveway, blocking the entrance to the garage area, with a fence about 3 feet from the front bumper. Apparently BMWs used to have a release on the transmission tunnel, which could be accessed from the inside of the car to get it out of park. We were told newer models like ours do not have the release. So no tow. The dealer is still tying to figure out how to get the car out of our driveway.

If anyone knows how to get the car out of park when the shifter does not respond, please tell me!

As added entertainment . . .

The dealer gave us a new X3 2.8 to use until the X5 is finally removed somehow from our driveway and fixed. We drove the X3 home and parked it. Fast forward to Sunday, when we decide to go for coffee. We try to start the X3, which also happens to have about 400 miles on it, and get an "ignition malfunction." It will not start or even turn over, although all the electrics work and the car apparently "thinks" its running (the idrive says something like "car may not re-start if turned off"). So now we have two basically new BMW SAVs at our house, both of which are totally immobile. What a weekend. The E60 never had an issue, neither did my E46 M3.

I find it hard to believe they took that "feature" out. Have you checked your Owner's Manual carefully, looking in the index under towing or transmission?

If they truly did eliminate the manual override function, then you have to get a tow service that knows what it is doing, i.e., you can jack-up the vehicle one wheel at a time and put a wheel dolly under the vehicle wheels.

I hate to say it, but it doesn't sound like you are dealing with Mensa material here, either at the dealership or the towing service...

Thanks for the reply. It does indeed appear to be true that the release/disengagement feature that used to be accessible on the tranny tunnel itself is gone. Maybe its an anti-theft measure? The tow guy who came out (and left unable to help) removed the access cover under the cupholder and did not see it the release there. The dealer indicated that there is a bolt that can be turned on the transmission itself under the car in order to disengage park, but they have not given me specific-enough guidance to do it myself. (There are a bunch of bolts down there, and I don't even know whether the bolt they are talking about (if it exists) is accessible without removing one of the undertrays.) They will not send a tech to our house to disengage park, supposedly because of insurance issues.

At this point I am more than willing to do this myself if that's what it takes to get this car movable, but I definitely need some instructions. I am somewhat handy, but I have no experience with/knoweldge of working on BMW transmissions.

We're trying to get BMW Assist to send out a truck with wheel dollys. So far they've sent a flatbed (this guy seemed competent but needs the car to roll in order to maneuver and load it) and a regular two-wheel lift (this guy took one look at the situation and said he would damage the car trying to move it). There is yet another truck on the way as I write, but I have no confidence in the guy even bringing the right equipment.

I won't argue the last point. . .

Problem solved.

BMW Assist sent a third truck -- a normal flatbed with two guys who knew what they were doing. They disconnected the battery for two minutes (incidentally they pointed out the negative terminal had a lot of corrosion for a new car) started the car and it went into gear. Then they maneuvered it out of the driveway and just drove it onto their flatbed. The car would not go out of drive. They shut it down on the flatbed and strapped it down well. Now its on the way to the dealer. The tow guys said they would have to disconnect the battery again to get it off the tow truck once they got the car to our dealer, I suppose to get the car into either reverse or neutral.

Hopefully if someone runs into a similar issue in the future, this will help.

Jeeshhh, what a nightmare...and, that loaner also going kaboom in your driveway, must make for less than reassuring brand loyalty. ;>)

Hope the dlr geniuses can fix it, and promise that it won't go splat again, in some even less handy location. One can't make this stuff up...
GL, mD

Thanks for the reply. Yes, we've lost some confidence in BMW from this experience. It's funny -- I think the main reason my wife chose the X5 over her other top alternative (a Land Rover LR4) was the great reliability of her E60 and my E46, in contrast with the horror stories you find on the net about Land Rovers. I even tracked my car -- hard -- and never had to do any work on it other than maintenance. Oh well. Hopefully it will get sorted quickly and we'll have no more issues. . .

I am flabbergasted that BMW would remove the manual release feature. This could be a real disaster if it happens somewhere on a trip in a dangerous place. Imaging being on one of those small gravel mountain pull-offs in Colorado, stopping to take a picture. And the flatbed has to use dollies to pull the vehicle up onto the flatbed?

WOW!

Someone is brain dead at BMW with their cost reductions...

I remember a similar post where the dealer ended up sending a tech out to the guy's house to release the transmission. Relying on an electronic transmission switch with no manual override for an emergency is just nutty.

I remember when I picked up my 2012 I was looking for the manual release tool. My sales person talked to a service advisor and they said the tool's not included anymore because there's no more manual override. So I got the same story too.

Little things like this do add up. My current X5 might be my last BMW, as the way they are doing so many little things in the wrong direction feels like being gnawed to death by geese. Bad Nav, taking away dipsticks, no temperature gauge, etc.

Wondering how other vehicles are doing it with electronic shifters and potential reliability problems. Are there any manufacturers out there doing something similar?

I have an '08 pre-LCI and I've had the issue where I can't shift out of park (into D or R). The fix is to turn the ignition off and back on and it's fine again. Has happened 3 times in 4 years. Electronic gremlin, hopefully, which is usually fixable with "reboots".