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2005 4.4i X5 transmission problems

98K views 54 replies 25 participants last post by  amancuso 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys,

I drive a 2003 4.4 X5. It has about 111,000 miles on it and unfortunately im having terrible transmission problems with it. Simply putting it into drive, I need to wait a good 5 seconds until the car is in gear. I took it to my local dealership and they said they would have to replace the entire transmission for about half of what the car is worth now. Is there a way to fix an automatic transmission without replacing the entire thing? I'm considering just selling the car.
thanks

EDIT: I actually have a 2003 X5 4.4i, with the 5 speed transmission, not the 6 speed found in the 2005 and up. As i posted further down also, the car is having clutch problems I believe, the transmission slips hard almost in any gear, and jumps and catches gear. I dont beleive that changing the mezatronic unit or upgrading the firmware for the tranny control will help me in this situation.
 
#9 ·
Hi Zibawala, My x5 has the same problem kick in the butt from first gear to second gear.
started from 30.000 miles. It's been in the shop many times. first, they said it's the power of the 4.4 engine, after that they could not duplicate the problem. they said it has the latest software upgrade.
now few months passed warranty and today just hit 50.000 miles. problem is, it's getting worse. Would you please explain more about Mezatronic unit? at what mileage did you get yours replaced and did they do it under warranty?
Thanks :)
 
#5 ·
Ok i guess I didn't really describe the problem correctly. The car slips in almost every gear during hard acceleration, which leads me to believe that the clutch plate is ruined. Is there any way to crack open this transmission, and have someone work on it? or do we have to replace the entire tranny.

Thanks
 
#7 ·
After 111K miles you probably do need a rebuilt or new box. You can have your transmission rebuilt at a specialty shop for a lot less than the dealer will charge. You can also have a box from a dismantler (salvage yard) installed at even less cost. I have had excellent luck with both over the years. I look for an independent shop that just does transmissions and rear ends. Ideally this is a shop that other dealers use for this specialized work. I avoid the franchise operations, but that is just my personal preference. Visit the shop and look around the work area, if it is spotless and well organized with high end cars on the hoists you have found a good one. Avoid the shade tree operations with parts piled up and junkers parked outside. Good luck!
 
#8 ·
that is good. i have the same problems. got the same answer. replace the whole transmission for $9,100.00. After picking up from the dealership yesterday, i drove it in sport mode and it has not been jerky. i dont see how the whole transmission needs to be replaced if it works fine in sport mode. I will talk with the mechanic. thanks
 
#10 ·
I had the same issue with my 2005 X5 4.4 Sport Package. I'm embarrassed by the solution. Mine has had this issue for some time and the dealer tried a software fix. It did not correct it. So, being out of warranty, I just kept driving and mostly used manual mode. The only time it really presented a problem was a rolling stop, usually on a hill. Well, about month or so ago my tire pressure light came on and one of my front tires was low, but I checked all of them. THe rest were around 30 PSI... still a little low. Well, if you look inside your door panel when you open the door, you'll notice that it says for the larger rear tires they should be inflated to 39 PSI. SO I filled them all to spec AND NOT A PROBLEM SINCE. I'm kinda surpised as to the sensitivity of the transmission. This should give my torque converter a break too. Put AIR in your tires and see what happens... 39 PSI rear for the larger tires (check your door panel).
 
#12 ·
Hi,

Can you please help me find a solution for my problem aswell?
I have a X5 of 2004 with almost 295000km and since yesterday I have a problem with my transmission aswell. When I put it in R it starts driving forwards instead of backwards! When I put it in D it takes a few seconds before it moves.

I went to the dealer and they said they need to change the gearbox but that's so expensive! I hope that there is a solution that doesn't involve changing the gearbox because the car isn't worth that much anymore. I hope you can give me some tips.

Thanks
 
#13 ·
Hey There

I willhelp as much as I can,,but I need to some more details, does the car display the symptoms when it is cold or warm, have you lost the kickdown gear, can you use your gearbox in maual mode, has a message TRANSFAIL PROG appeared on the dash, when you select drive does the car take a few seconds before it engages gear, but you experience a loud thump before it moves off.

Cheers

Gerry:thumbup:
 
#14 ·
Hey There

I willhelp as much as I can,,but I need to some more details, does the car display the symptoms when it is cold or warm, have you lost the kickdown gear, can you use your gearbox in maual mode, has a message TRANSFAIL PROG appeared on the dash, when you select drive does the car take a few seconds before it engages gear, but you experience a loud thump before it moves off.

Cheers

Gerry:thumbup:
Hi Gerry,

Thank you so much for your fast reply :thumbup:

There's nog change in temperature these days so I don't think it has anything to do with heat or cold. I can use the gearbox in manual mode but it still takes a few seconds before the car actually moves slowly and it makes a noise (it's the same movement and noise when I put it in D). When I put it in R it starts to drive forwards immeadiatly without making any noise.

:rolleyes:
 
#20 ·
Hi Gerry, u seem knowledgable, I had a problem today with my tranny, I was in Reverse rolling back, then I put it in Drive, and gased it quickly, it didnt move, then engaged with a clunck, then as if it was in 2nd gear instead 1st, then the message Tans. program failure appeared, no check engine light or anything, I decided to go in manual mode, at first it did the same thing, then it worked, then I thought I will program the trainny by using manual mode, but after driving it for a while, put it back in regular automatic mode, it worked fine, except one time I was almost stopping, and I had to move fast, the clunk happened again. works fine in manual mode. never tried sports mode though. any ideas Gerry?? thanks
Zee
 
#21 ·
Hi Mate

Trans Fail Prog means the gearbox electronic gears from 1 -4 will not be selected by the main gear computer, BMW X5'S WERE BUILT WITH A FAIL PROOF GEAR ( 5TH GEAR ) when the gearbox components fail and trans Fail Progrm appears then the electronic gears 1- 4 shutdown and the car puts itself into 5th gear because it knows there is a problem.

Trans Fail Progrm,,,,can mean several points,,,but first can you tell me what is your mileage / kms on the car, do you drive it hard ? was the car just warmed up, or cold start when the problem started, have you lost your kickdown, try putting the car on a hill, shut the engine off and restart to see what happens, the clunk you have experienced is the torque converter and the stator not sychronising with the clutch possibly due to wear, if you can take it for a drive both in auto sports first and manual and try dropping the gears to see what happens.

Let me know how it goes so that i can advise further, once we can narrow down the options then i can more or less diagnose the fault,

This is my email if you need any further info

gerry.gorman@blueyonder.co.uk
 
#22 ·
Hey Gerry, first thanks for your time to help people:)
I was driving the x5 for at least 100 miles when this happened, seeing my mailbox while in the car, tried to take off quickly, and it happened. As far as miles I have 90k miles on it, I do drive it as supposed to, but one time I put it in manual mode when I first got it, and I stayed on 1st gear and tried to shift the +/- in the opposite direction, to the front thinking it is +, which ended up staying long on first, that's the only thing I remember I did wrong with it, the previous owner was my friend, and knowing how he drives, he might be a harsh driver :( especially that this is a sport package too, the big wheels might hurt it more, but today I will try the things u gave me to narrow the problem down, just to let u know that the car is driving fine, only in certain places this happens. I will try it today and get back to u, thanks:thumbup:
 
#23 ·
Hey Zee

Yea no probs about you coming back to me, try the things i said as they all point to certain parts of the gearbox components, one thing iam sure of is that your gearbox will be fine, they are practically bullet proof and should never need replaced, there is a small particle filter inside the gearbox that usually needs replacing around your mileage, but try out first so we can narrow it down

Cheers

Gerry
 
#24 ·
Hi Gerry, very busy sunday for me around the house!!
I took the truck for a ride and did what u told me and here what I found out:
the kickdown is still available in aut. reg. mode and in sport too.
tried it in sport first, drives perfect, all gears change the way they supposed to, and in manual same thing, all of them work up and down, then I tried it in reg. aut. mode and it drove really nice too, but the whole drive was around 10 miles, hopefully this will help you(and me) sort the problem out:)
one more thing, I thought these transmissions should have a lifetime oil, I thought I read that in the manual, u know better, I am waiting for ur reply on fire!
I can't thank u enough man!
Zee
 
#25 ·
Hi Zee

Did you do a hill start ?????,,,,,,sorry i meant to say to you to pull away in manual on third gear to see if there is any slip??? sorry about that i meant to say earlier

Well the gears are working fine by the sounds of things,,so no probs with the gearbox, the gearbox oil has a lifetime fill, BMW class a lifetime fill and a cars lifetime span as 100ks, this is where the life of the car ends, tell me was the car still moving when you reversed it and then selected the forward gear ??

Come back to me

Gerry

:thumbup:
 
#26 ·
here u r:D, well I can try the 3rd gear thing in manual and let u know what happens! but yeah it was driving %100, is it possible when it gets hot?
to answer your question, when i was reversing, I was almost in full stop when I put it in drive, but what happened it didnt engage in D fast enough, so my foot on the gas pedal was faster than the gear itself, thats when the clunk happened and then the whole story.
u mentioned in earlier post the filter inside the gearbox, what about that? thanx Gerry:)
 
#27 ·
Hey Zee

Well i have absoultely no worries that you have an internal fault, if this clunk has only happened the once with trans fail progm appearing on the dash, then im 99.9 per cent certain that the stator which id part of the one way clutch and torque convertor did not distribute the flow of directional oil quickly enough to drive the torque, hence the fast gas pedal while the car was still in motion ( moving ) the filter would only need changing if you experienced this on more than one occassion, the easiest way to check if the particle filter is clogged is to drain a small plastic cup full say about one quarter and check for small particles and also smell it for burning trans oil, burning oil is where the particle filter and the gearbox oil cooler keps the flow of oil at a nice operating temp.

Keep me posted but if your saying that this has happened only the once then you have no worries with any fault,i know the gearbox components like the back of my hand and i can assure you that if and when they fail then you would be experiencing a lot more issues to do with loss of gear.

Best wishes

Gerry
 
#28 ·
Me again, I found out something, it happened again while I was in reg auto, it was running nice till about to stop and then u go, that when it always happen, and when it happens, whatever u put s mode or manual, the first gear will rev high but slow motion, then engages with a clunk for 1st gear, and as long as u start from standstill, it won't happen, except rolling then gas in reg aut mode, but it will never happen in s mode or manual, unless u were in reg mode then when it happens, no matter what mode u put iT in while moving, it won't reset till u u release ur foot off the gas pedal till it engages with a clunk depending on how hard u were on the pedal, but again it won't happen if u started on s mode or manual.hppefuly this will give u a better idea for diagnostics. Regarding the filter change can an Indy mechanic do it or it needs special tools, and how would the mechanic know how much oil to refill if i changed the filter, sorry for troubling u that much Gerry, but I guess u r close to know what is wrong. I tried the 3rd gear in manual mode it is fine.
Thanks a bunch!
Zee
 
#31 ·
Hi Zee,,no probs with you mailing me,, I WILL DO ALL I CAN TO HELP YOU RESOLVE YOUR ISSUE SO FEEL FREE TO SPK TO ME ANYTIME

High revs are an indication of the pressurisation of oil in the clutch pack failing, in other words the one way clutch is starting to wear, the clunk noise is an indication of early signs when the ratio of gas pedal to gear selection is not met, now that the car has experienced the problem again, i would suspect damage to the one way clutch, the gearbox would still drive a defective clutch, but it would shut down eventually all the gears from1-4 leaving you with gear 5 only, the clunk sound will be more evident after a while on every start / stop, the particle filter is an easy job to do if you are a moderate mechanic, the gearbox filler plug is located at the rear of the gearbox, with the drain plug underneath, the handbook states how many litres you will require, once the gear plug is full a little amount starts to trickle out of the drain hole, this is where you insert a new drain plug with copper washer, having removed the gearbox fro the x5's on numerous occassions, i would examine the clutch area first to see if there is evidence of wear failure, i have never advised any people who have brought the car to me to that the gearbox would need replacing, any person that buys a new tranny box, only gets one that is cleaned up and fitted along with a new torque convertor and clutch,the gears inside the box are not normally a common part to wearr and fail.

Cheers

Gerry
 
#29 ·
Hey Gerry, i forgot to mention that when it happens I hear a scratching noise if this helps. When the gears go down till a full stop, the first gear isn't engaging fast enough, and the u go, the car revs but almost no motion, then it makes this scratching noise if u keep ur foot on the gas, and then it selects the first gear with a normal clunck due to taking off with gas out of a sudden, but I know how to avoid all this now, when it revs with no actual gear selected, I take my foot off the gas pedal, stop, then gas it again, and it will shift properly!
Is it the fluid not going fast enough to engage the first gear fast enough? Help Gerry:) thanks in advance buddy!!
Zee
 
#30 ·
And most times u stop at traffic lights it does shift properly, the issue is happening once every time here and there, but if u want it to happen on purpose, while in motion, pretend u want to go for a full stop, and just before u completely do, gas it hard, and the whole revving, scratching noise, then gear goes in hard if u keep your foot on gas pedal:(
Zee
 
#32 ·
Hi Gerry,
thanks a lot for your valuable input, the truck is really in mint shape and it is definitely worth fixing, but it is going to be expensive I guess, I took it to the mechanic yesterday and he will tell me the NEWS:yikes:, yesterday as you said it went to failsafe program mode, no more drivable:tsk: I think rebuilding the gearbox is better option than fitting a used one, as I could have the same problem down the road, I wanted to ask u, is it a good idea to change the chain or belt whatever it is in the t.case, being the gearbox is out?
and can a talented mechanic do the job without the dealers tools like for codes and stuff?
thanks in advance
zee
 
#33 ·
Hi Zee

Remember I said the gearbox will not need to be replaced or rebuilt,,it will not be at fault,, it will be the internal components that drive the box,,ie clutch, gear sensor, torque converter, stator, dont be conned or fooled by anyone telling you that you need a rebuild.

Ref the timing chain, unless the chain is rattling or knocking upon starting the car for roughly 3-5 seconds then i would leave it alone as the chains are not known for failure at all, if you keep regular oil changes and use fully synthetic oil then the chain will last the life of the car and engine. if your mileage is over 150ks then twice yearly oil changes dependant on your daily commute will be good for the timing chain, it is an easy job for a mechanic, but a modest diyer,,,,not so easy and would be best left to someone with experience. a timing chain is not expensive,,if you wanted to change it, make sure you purchase new tensioners as well,,,,

If its not too late already try and get your mechanic to do a reprogramme on the gearbox to see if its an electrical fault with the gearbox sensor, also ask him to check the sensor it is located on the left /right hand side bottom rear of the gearbox,check the connection and terminals for corrosion wear.

Heres how to do a gearbox reprogramme,,,,,,,,

Step 1,,,,,,,,,press gas pedal
sep 2,, turn key to position 2 ( dont start the car ) whilst holding the gas pedal for 30seconds

Step 3 ,,,,, release the pedal then press again for 10seconds

Step4,,,turn vehicle on and see if there is any changes,,,this is desigbed to work with older vehicles

Or

Step 1,,,,,,put key in position 2

Step 2,,,,,,,,hold pedal for 30seconds

Step 3,,,,you should hear a noise indicating the process has worked

Step 4,,,,,, turn vehicle on,,,,this process is designed to work with newer vehicles

Cheers

Gerry
 
#34 ·
thanks alot Gerry:thumbup:
I wont do anything without consulting u anyway, just to see what the mechanic will say, as he is a friend. he works on American made cars, but he is really good , and I will have him do the labor with whatever needed, clutches, sensors, etc...
Im not going to spend crazymoney at the dealer:thumbdwn:
in my previous post, I asked u if I would change the belt or chain in the transfer case, if I took the gearbox out, not the motor timing chain, so what do u think, and what mileage do transfer cases need to be serviced, and what symptoms are usaully for worn transfer cases? thanks!
zee
 
#35 ·
Hi Zee

You can buy good quality oem parts that would be much cheaper than the dealer.

Now for the tchain in the transfer box

The transfer case chain is a relatively simple job to do even with the gearbox attached, the causes for chain wear is if you experience a loud cracking noise when giving torque ( power to the car, or when you move away froma dead stop you will hear a cracking noise, the chain comes in two types, if your car is year 1990 -2002 then you would need a LX500 CHAIN WITH ONE BLUE LINK, if you are 2003- onwards then you would need THE ATC500 WITH 2 BLUE LINKS, if you remove the transfer case ( usually takes abt 20mins ) you will see the chain, and planetary gear,the chain is held in by a spring clip which tightens the chain upon removal and refitting, if you are experiencing no noise then again the chain is built to last the lifetime of the car, usually ppl who off road there car in mud etc have problems with the chain, a good oil flush with ATP tranns oil would be goos for the chain and gear, if you go with the oil flush, the fill plu is at the rear and the drain plug towards the gearbox, the transfer box will require one drain, then refill, then drain and refill again, this is designed to rid of any particles with the new finer oil,the importance of transfer oil is not to overfill,,,,,literage is roughly 200ml abt 0.2 litre to fill

Cheers

Gerry :thumbup:
 
#37 · (Edited)
Hi mr. Garry, if you can, please help me i would appreciate it!
I recently bought 540i 4.4L m sport model 2000 with 5 speed automatic gear box and 210,000 km. Most of the time while cruzin at around 50-60 km/h I feel vibrations like something gets stuck gently, and when going up hill I fill it more
I went to the dealership they searched for faults but the computer doesn't writes me any thing.
When the mechanic took the car for a ride he told me the tc is the problem but he"s not sure 100%
Sometimes I also get funny noises between 80-100 km/h like noise of sucking oil
P.s. the gear gets kikdown and replacing gears just fine
Please help
 
#38 · (Edited)
Hi there, (I am reposting this from last year)

I have a 2003 X5 4.4 automatic transmission with 142000 miles that has been out of commission since 5/09...it sucks! I've experienced some (or at least variations) of the issues posted above, and haven't yet achieved anything in the way of a resolution.

Issues that I encountered prior to transmission "Failsafe" shutdown:
Indecisiveness in gear selection at low speeds/low load (2nd to 3rd gears?)- this at first was remedied by using manual mode.
Some hesitation in initial engaging of gear (R or D).

Initially, as with a lot of "car issues", the symptoms would only surface occasionally, and sporadically making it difficult for repair person to understand the mysterious feeling that I described. Owner paranoia was likely his diagnosis. Having said that, when the transmission did finally "fail", I was near dealer and after $130 diagnosis, they suggested $7000+ replacement transmission. I do not believe that the transmission has failed. In this case, it does not fail-safe until it gets to normal operating temperature, and works fine until then. No gear slippage or any other types of "failures" I've experienced in other vehicles. I could drive off right now, and it would be fine until operating temperature is achieved, this is true whether driving, or just idling.

Has anybody else had problems like these, and would anyone like to lay odds on whether it is actually the transmission that needs to be replaced vs speed sensors or something?

Are these all similar issues, and has there been any resolution that didn't involve $7000?

Thanks!
 
#39 ·
Couple of things to check here before we can diagnose where your problem may lie.

Is the car displayi any messages on the dash ie trans fail programme

Have you lost your kickdown in manual and auto box

Drive the car in manul mode and check the dash gear selection upon driving to see if there is any gear loss, the X5 is built with a take me home gear usually 4 or 5, what happens is the gears 1 to 3 are electronically driven, the gearbox shuts down if a fault develops and only allows either 4 or 5 to be used, there are 4 main cause to this, one is the transfer chain is worn, hence the jumpaction when a gear is trying to be selected, the chain jumps a cog, the torque converter is driven by a metal shaft called a stator which distributes oil to the converter, if the stator fails the torque converter will struggle to drive the car, the last is the one way clutch could be burnt out which again would result in converter failure.

Try selecting manual mode on a clear standing, select first gear then release your foot of the brake without any gas, check if the converter pulls the car away, do this with all the gears if you can, if the car struggles then id be looking at the main components of the converter and one way clutch.

ive repaired countless faults of gear loss on the X5's and ive never had to advise on a gearbox rebuild, the easiest way to check if a rebuild is needed is to drain a little oil fromthe drain plug,ensuring that the plug is not fully removed, drain in to a little plastic cup no more than 3- 3 desert spoonfuls, check if you can see any metal particles which would indicate a failure on the gear coggs, also you may notice a little burnt sell from the oil which would be of a dark brown colour, this can indicate a clutch fault.

Cheers

Gerry
 
#42 ·
Hi Gerry,
thanks for all the valubale info. u provided us with, I did rebuild my Tranny in Old Saybrook, CT USA where there is a ZF transmission dealer luckily:), it costed me installed $4500 which is reasonable compared to the dealership.
Thanks again Gerry:thumbup:

ZEE
 
#44 ·
@gerry9870

Gerry very slight problem with a 2005 3,0d six speed auto. Everything works well in all gears apart from when slowing down to a complete stop when engine is up to working temp and just as you stop the box selects 1st gear with a thump just like getting the lightest tap from a rear end traffic bump. I get over the problem by hitting neutral for a second and then back into drive. Any ideas of a fix?
 
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