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01 740iL Transmission problem

113K views 96 replies 52 participants last post by  arpad3 
#1 ·
I just bought a 2001 740IL that I love, but it seems to have a transmissin issue. The car has high mileage but a very good service history. It has been serviced by a BMW specialist. At about 40 - 50 mph, in drive, it feels like the tourque converter is trying to lock up and then releases constantly. There is a scraping type noise at the same time coming fron the transmission. If I drive the car in the manual shift mode it does not do this. It seems like it has a bad sensor or the tourque converter might be on its way out. Has anyone else had this same problem? If so , what was the end result? Thanks Bruce
 
#2 ·
I say service your tranny........even tho BMW says you neve have to- Tranny fluid good for life- not true ......I spent $ 4500.00 for New tranny @ 98k miles.....:mad:
the way my tranny went it never gave me any trouble or sign what so ever......damn thing ran good , smooth until 1 day driving my 3 yr old in the parking lot going 5mph. I then heard a High rev----------:confused:........instant tranny burned.....went into Trans Fail Safe mode......damn thing was suppose to put me in 3rd or 4th gear but it didnt...I couldnt go in reverse or forward. I had to tow the car.......Service guys told me that there were burned pieces at the bottom of the tranny pan How did I burn tranny? espec @ 5 MPH?....I was getting quotes from BMW 7500k range............Dont be guessing that its just going to fix itself...........for peeps sakes take it to the mech.
 
#3 ·
When I brought our 740iL in for its Inspection II, I had the service dept. drain out the tranny and put in new fluid. The tech told me that at the present mileage (it had 52,000) it was a good thing to do....higher mileage wasn't such a good idea, because it could ruin the tranny. When the car hits 100,000 miles I'll have it done again, but we'll have the filter changed.

Frederic
 
#4 ·
Just be careful.............clean fluid and filter is usually a good thing but with high mileage trannies you can dislodge a lot of crap inside with new fluid and end up causing tranny failure...........never use any of the tranny shop flush machines..........best to drop pan, clean out crap, change filter and install new SYNTHETIC fluid..........run for 3-5k and change again to get all the old fluid out.........you may have to do it 3-4 times to be completely set with new fluid.........change filter again on what you feel is the final change......cheap insurance.......
 
#5 · (Edited)
Transmission adaptive computer programming



Believe it or not this procedure actually worked on my e38 [no start button - i used the key and switched on ... but not to start position. May not be the solution for your transmission problem but what the heck, the price is right :dunno: !

http://forum.bmwcarmagazine.com/viewtopic.php?t=58900&highlight=adaptive

but I was led to believe that there are some routines to reset the adaptive gearbox on the E60/61.

First one is this...

You put your key in/hit start button/key switch so the ignition lights of the car come on but it is not started.

Then hold down the accelerator, to the floor for 25-30 seconds.

If you listen, at about 25s exactly you will hear some "noise" and that is the gearbox "resetting" itself to factor specs

Try it... Can't do any harm..
 
#11 ·
tansmision

Hi tim how did it go with service, would you believe, I again are having the same sort of problem ,this time i did a little more diagnostic work myself and found that the potentiometer at the throttle had a flat spot caused through short runs,this causes the incorrect signal to the transmission,this can be tested by having the car warm and applying a very slight weight on the pedal that it turns at between 500 and 1000 rpm if the car begins to surge or to hunt you may have the above problem, when you think about it your foot really only rests on the pedal at all times no matter what gear. good luck Wigg.:thumbup:
 
#12 ·
740il

Hi guys,

reading the info above I have similar problems with the transmission. I have a 2001 740IL and today it revved to about 3000rpm then jumped into gear but could smell a burning after that. Last week it was doing a lot of shaking around 35mph after I had driven upto 110mph (not tyre balancing).

With 164,000 on the clock and full dealer history is it worth changing the oil in the transmision? or any other suggestions?

Thanks
 
#14 ·
Hello All ,
This is my first post so I'll jump right in today I experienced a first with my 2000 740 IL which read trans fail safe error this occurred at about 5 MPH while pulling back into work parking.
also on the way home from work 1st and 2nd gears were sluggish but when the car got up around 30mph it drove fine these same results continued throughout my 10 mile ride home can someone help Icetea out ?
 
#16 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi everyone,

Hope I can help. This will be a little long-winded, but hopefully helpful so bear with me. I bought my 2000 740i Sport last July. Not 10 miles from the guy I bought it from I was in stop and go traffic waiting to go through a bridge toll booth and after stopping I noticed my car was very sluggish to pull up to the booth. Same when I was pulling out. I noticed on the dash a transmission failsafe warning aka limp mode. Not knowing what this is since I had never owned a BMW before, I drove it all the way home this way.

I actually pulled over at one point to get some tape because my left front turn signal popped out of its holder. Great way to start eh? Turned out one of the clips was busted and just needed to replace the signal. Sadly I had turned off the car, but did not take the key out of the ignition. I later found out that when the car goes into failsafe mode you need to pull over immediately and take the key out of the ignition and then restart. This resets the tranny computer. It does not eliminate the problem necessarily, but takes you out of failsafe.

The seller was willing to take it back, but since I was already home I wanted to take it to a shop before I brought it back so as not to damage it anymore than it may be. I ended up deciding to keep it and although the tranny has been a problem, I was told that the rest of the car was in great shape. So the shop I took it to said the OBD codes read Transmission Gear Monitoring and Turbine Speed Sensor. So they recommended I replace the sensor and do a tranny service. So they did the sensor and thankfully the seller paid for the diagnoses, transmission speed sensor replacement, filter and pan gasket replacement and fluid because I later found out that it may not have been necessary.

The shop I took it to specialized in Mercedes more so than BMW and my new, excellent shop told me that they probably read the code and duped me into replacing the sensor. The car went into failsafe again within a month. At the same time saying that if the fluid came out black(which it did) the tranny was not in good shape and after replacing the fluid, if it doesn't die within 3000 miles it will be ok. The new shop said bad idea to do the service because as mentioned above, when replacing old fluid with new you may cause some debris to break loose with the fluid being so good and actually encourage the tranny to fail. Guess the 1st shop was right in a sense and either knew they were trying to break my tranny or did not understand that what they recommended was not a good idea. In addition, after much diagnoses of continued problems with the tranny at my new shop they went in to check the condition of the fluid and noticed it was a pint short of fluid from that service which they said was pretty big. Seems the right amount of fluid is quite critical to their function according to my guys.

So after abandoning the previous guys and switching to my new shop(Bavarian Tuning in Santa Rosa, CA), I decided to go ahead and start doing some Dinan upgrades. Done pretty much everything except intake manifold and supercharger. Once I did the upgrades I again was having problems with my tranny. Weird stuff. When I would accelerate on to the freeway in manual mode the tranny would hang up in 3rd going to 4th. Rather than shift up to 4th and thus reducing the rpms it would actually hang in 3rd and rev up and once I took my foot off the accelerator would slam into 4th violently. So we tried to figure out what it was. The guys were convinced it was a software problem and not the tranny even with the previous history. They gave some reasons. According to them these trannys are somewhat intelligent and learn your driving style so that if the previous owner was say an old lady and you are much more aggressive, it would take some time for the computer to readjust to your driving style. May be more bull****, but I trust these guys. SO eventually after having more problems they brought Dinan and BMW into the mix.

They decided to offload the Dinan software and the original BMW software since there was an update to the BMW software. So they reloaded the updated software and had me drive it around for a few days. That's also when they noticed the low fluid and topped that off. Had no problems for a couple of days so we then loaded the Dinan software back on. The car drive the best it ever has for the first few days. No real problems. Then one day the problems came back again slowly.

Now before you start accusing these guys of duping me also I should tell you that besides the normal charges of doing the Dinan parts and software installation, all the diagnostic work and calls to Dinan and BMW were done for free. I have noticed two things about when this failsafe happens. Failsafe always happens on an incline and the car either acts up or goes into failsafe always after the car and transmission is warmed up and been driven for a while. So after all that......the conclusion is that it is the tranny itself and it needs to be fixed....LOLOLOL. Sucks doesn't it???? Being a ZF tranny they said there are only 6 shops in the US approved to rebuild these trannys and luckily one is in South San Francisco. I believe the quote is around $3700 versus a new one for $6000+. I'm told that the rebuild is excellent and no need for a new one. So I plan to do it relatively soon. I can drive the car fine, but get scared around the hills and spirited driving. It will eventually die on me so I might as well get it done and enjoy all the Dinan upgrades instead of fear that my tranny is going to explode on me.

Hope this was helpful. Sorry I didn't have a better outcome for you guys, but it seems that these trannys are pretty notorious for dying around 90K and mine was at 82K when I bought it and is now at 91K.
 
#17 · (Edited)
2001 740 IL transmission problem

Hello,

I just registered becuase when I searched the subject, the original message, posted by bruce r showed up ...

The problem with my car sounds exactly the same as bruce r described. I also have the 2001 740IL with 160,000 miles on it now. I never flushed transmission oil or changed filter (was told by BMW that it is not required). Just like "bruce r" described in his original posting, when driving at about 40 - 50 mph, the car makes a scraping type noise (sounds like it is somewhere in the front, under the engine, closer to passenger side). Also, when I drive at about 30 mph, and push the gas slowly, the car starts rattling, as if the engine misfired. I checked the computer codes, and it did show that several cylinder have misfired. Last time I changed spark plugs and gaskets the car had 80K, so I figured that it was resonable to change it again at 160K, but the issue was not resolved (both rattling and scraping noise are still there). Now, the mechanic is telling me that it is the transmission. I read that people suggested to flush transmission oil and change filter, others say that it helps as much as Tylenol for a dead person. Has anyone been able to fix this problem?

"bruce r" - your original message describes the situation with my car the closest and our models and year is the same - have you fixed it? Anyone?
 
#18 ·
I had the same "surging" you are experiencing and my tech at BMW thought the clutch was tryigng to lock in and out of 4thr and 5th gear so rapldly that the surge was the sympton I was experiencing. He found that it went away in the sport mode due to diferent pressures in the transmission when the sport mode is engaged. I ended up having the transmission serviced and the filter changed out and the surge has gone away. Can't tell if it was low fluid or just worn fluid. My last service was done at 107k and now this service was just done at 185k....so almost 80k on that service.
 
#19 ·
Don't listen to BMW dealers they want over 5000$ for new tranny my 98 740i used to make a noise going uphill in transmission ..o did some research and change the oil my self mobil one synthetic ...that was last year since then no noise no problems.. It's a little bit tricky you have to drain the oil .. Change the filter and on the passenger side of tranny you have the fill plug unscrew after putting all back and go autozone and get a pump kit for few bucks filled until is full and you're done...
 
#22 · (Edited)
Since this is an old thread but about the same subject, I will post 3 questions :

Have someone used the Meistersatz tranny filter? Had any problems with it? I've read that aftermarket filters can cause whining ...


When you change the tranny oil, do you let the car idling without the drain plug on? To flush out the converter... Doesn't damage the clutches?

About how many qt. of oil you were able to pull out? I know that the capacity is 9 qt with the torque converter.


THX. in advance!
 
#24 ·
I think for them lifetime means to always have the car inspected and serviced by BMW on a regular maintenance schedule. I owned an E 34 , it had 295K and almost 19 years on the original tranny oil & filter, shifted fine without problems before I sold it,I was the second owner and car had been serviced only by BMW. They engineered the transmission oil and cooling process of the oil to be lifetime. But still you never know what previous owner did to it. Maybe he changed a failed radiator, drained some ATF and never top it off. Maybe he drove the car on manual mode exceeding the speeds recommended for each gear..you never know!

I do believe that is lifetime oil. Under normal driving conditions and car under a BMW maintenance ! My 99 740 has 149 K on the original oil & filter and shifts perfect! I'm thinking to change it because sometimes my driving is aggressive and exceeds their recommendations. (4000-5000 RPM and I don't stop until I reach 120+MPH) Then comes that feeling that you get driving a BMW! The Ultimate Driving Machine!
 
#26 ·
Several of the above sound like the problem we are having with our 1998 740il so I just wanted to see if anyone who had similar issues found a definitive solution. Car has about 180000 miles and has been well taken care of. When holding highway speed or slight acceleration at highway speeds car seems to slip/fluctuate back and forth between 4th gear and o/d accompanied by a sort of rubbing..not exactly a grinding noise. Switching from Automatic to Manual stops the problem as the car stays in 4th.
 
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