97 BMW 540i Transmission Issue

[chaos0221]

I have a 97 540i and my on board computer is reading "transmission failsafe", the reverse gear works fine and i can move forward only slightly . I am wondering if anyone can shed some light on the extent of service I would be looking at to correct this ... Thanks Todd .

[darkhorse737]

easiest way: ( to remove guesswork)

have your car scanned for transmission, ABS, and engine codes.

transmission on "failsafe" mode only means that the computer defaulted to a median working mode( bereft of traction control, optimal shifting patterns, and dynamic stability...) because ur ECU/ECM brain has sensed something faulty in your system.

...and don't let the above scare you.... i could just be a tranny filter that needs replacement ;-)

[zloy1]

same car same problem... any ideas?

[JesterMX6]

we sold ours when we had that problem :lol:

[marti5]

Forward clutch has gone, I had to replace my box.....you could try a fluid and filter change but I would say this is futile, if the F/F is not changed around 100k mark and every 30-40k after the box tends to fail...