Tranny issue!!! - BMW Forum

Dizzyvin · 12-18-2009, 02:43 PM

Hi all, i own a 2004 BMW325ci that has 83,300 miles on her, its an automatic with shift tronic. The problem occured today on the highway shifting into the last gear in auto mode, possibly into fifth, there was a harsh shift sorta like a thump or a kick into gear at 50mph then a light came on (! D) it was an exlamation point right near the drive D on the dash. Note above in pic. it stood on and wouldnt let me use the shift tronic mode. I shut the vehicle off and restarted it and now its gone. Can anyone help me, drove back on the highway to duplicate problem again but nothing happens. I dont want to take it to the dealership if i dont have to. any help is greatly appreciated.

legless-egg · 12-20-2009, 09:19 AM

are there any steering problems with it? sounds odd, but i had a trip-tronic citroen a few years back and the gearbox oil was used to drive the power steering. the gearbox had a problem and it effected the steering long before it would have become evident in the gear change. not sure if bmw use the same type of system but i know other car manufacturers do

marti5 · 12-20-2009, 09:34 AM

Get a diagnostics or the codes read.

Dizzyvin · 12-20-2009, 11:41 AM

Its since then shut off, the !D is now gone once i turned off the vehicle and restarted. Like i said there was a really harsh upshift from the tranny, and then the strange light which would not let me use the manual mode came on! Maybe it was the cold?

Dizzyvin · 12-20-2009, 11:46 AM

When i brought it to the dealership back 15,000 miles ago they told me i have a seep in the high preasure powersteering hose, they quoted me 580.00 which included labor and part. they told me it wasnt bad at all so i refused to have it repaired. Steering seems fine and smooth, no whines or weird noises of any sort.

marti5 · 12-20-2009, 12:56 PM

The P/S fluid is in no way connected to the transmission fluid. 580 is well over the top for a hose seep, its a diy for a few $/£/€ 's

legless-egg · 12-20-2009, 01:01 PM

my citroen's gearbox went into a "snow mode" if it detected really bad wheel spin, the abs kicking in and the temp was below freezing. this was a fatory setting to make it safer to drive on bad snow or ice but it only happened once (and id spun it a few times!!!). it locked out the manual shift, changed gear at really low revs and limited the throttle.
when the gearbox started to go, the steering wheel would shake a bit even when the car was stationary, it didn't really respond to slight changes, and there was a slight grinding noise at times at low speeds (prob couldn't hear it at high speed). i thought it was air in the system but couldn't find a valve or reservoir to bleed it, it was still under warranty so it was off to the dealer and they had to fit a new gearbox

marti5 · 12-20-2009, 01:12 PM

^ Legless, the BMW gearbox is far superior than a Citroen gearbox, Ive been to ZF Dortmund Germany where they are built, a very interesting/fascinating place, the box is very complex and controlled by a separate EGS system, but please don't think I'm saying your input is not valid but its like comparing an old skoda to a Jaguar XJS if you know what I mean...

Dizzyvin · 12-20-2009, 02:59 PM

I agree with the hose price way over the top, i cant see a hose replacement costing that much, theres a foreign auto shop that claims to work on BMW"s near by. Might just take it there for the hose, as for the tranny i really hope it was just a glitch or strange kick of some sort. so far its happened 2 times in a week, the light coming on once. However i cannot get it to happen again. Thanks everyone for taking time to help me. I really appreciate it.

legless-egg · 12-20-2009, 03:21 PM

haha, no worries marti, i wasn't trying to compare the gearboxes, just thought the way they worked might be similar. there is, of course, a massive difference between shitroen + bmw, tho as you know, my bmw is sick at the mo!!!

Dizzyvin · 12-26-2009, 10:40 PM

So i took the time to read the manual and it specified to turn vehicle off and restart to reset light, and that if it just stayed on to bring it in and so on! never came back on and vehicle is now running great. Thanks to all that took the time to help!!!

witeshark · 12-26-2009, 10:44 PM

Very glad to see the issue sorted!

ronaldo123 · 12-30-2009, 07:22 AM

the BMW gearbox is far superior than a Citroen gearbox, Ive been to ZF Dortmund Germany where they are built, a very interesting/fascinating place, the box is very complex and controlled by a separate EGS system, but please don't think I'm saying your input is not valid but its like comparing an old skoda to a Jaguar XJS if you know what I mean...

marti5 · 12-30-2009, 07:29 AM

^You mean this:

My visit at ZF Dortmund for Gearbox maintenance.(very, very long!) HUGH RESULT!!

I went in 2008 and had the above done.

rgamble · 07-26-2010, 12:56 PM

i got a 2002 330i and it did the same thing , going down the interstate got a loud clunk, stuck in 3rd gear but all my power went off {radio, ipod,computer, dsc lightg flickered tnen went off and the batt light came on and stayed on. i havent got it resolved yet and it has me woried about reliability.