04-06 Automatic Transmission problems

Originally Posted by FireFly

Our 2005 holds 3k rpm's BUT only when you first start the vehicle and I believe this is for emissions reasons. Once the vehicle is warmed up the AT works flawlessly.

+1.. It holds higher revs to facilitate warming up the engine and for emissions. Unfortunately, the newer gearboxes seemed to have dropped this programming.

mine is at the shop for these issues. i have a 04 cpo. it hasn't been that bad but i figured why wait for it to get worse. i'll get it back tomorrow and i'll let you know how it is.

Originally Posted by datawx

OK further info for y'all to chew on. I can reproduce the jerky, surging feeling in D S/D and manual mode. All ways seems to be in the same rev range 3000 to 4750.

Just wired, real wired.

Well, I tried to reproduce the effect several times today to no avail. I got up to 40 mph in Drive, about 2000 rpm in fifth gear, and let the converter lock up. The rpm went to about 1500, then I very gently added gas. All it did was stay locked and barely pick up speed until I hit the kickdown point with the throttle. On level ground it just un-locked the converter unless I really mashed the pedal. On the hill it usually wouldn't un-lock the converter unless my speed dropped below about 36-38 mph, it would just downshift. I tried on both a gentle uphill and on level terrain.

Me thinks you need to take a Service Advisor on a long test drive and demonstrate the problem. If you can reproduce it that easy it should be no problem to get them to try and fix it (providing they can figure out what's causing it).

well i got my x3 back from the shop and everything seems good. believe it or not but i'm averaging 2-3 more mpg. then before it went in. go figure.

Originally Posted by dformica

well i got my x3 back from the shop and everything seems good. believe it or not but i'm averaging 2-3 more mpg. then before it went in. go figure.

Did you get the hill program update? You should definitely notice a difference in the software patch.

Y'all have to realize how difficult it is for a vehicle to determine when to utilise the hill program. Imagine walking blindfolded, and then determining at what point, you should start to hold gears, and the precise point to let off. Sure, as the driver, you can see when the hill is over. But the car has to rely solely on sensors......not easy.

Hill program, smell program . . . . My Z3 doesn't have any of these bells and whistles, and it goes up hills just fine - and believe me we've got more than a few out here where I live at 6K plus. All I have to do in that BMW is give it a little gas. It's an amazing thing - giving the car a little gas - responds by taking me right up that hill, accelerating with ease. Never bogs down, and certainly doesn't suffer intermittent lacks of confidence or any identity crisis.

Seriously though, the X3 is one troubled thinker when it comes to going forward - reverse seems pretty consistent, however. For those that keep trying to explain away this really poor performance of the X3, all I can say is don't save me a spot on the sidewalk as the Emperor rides by.

Originally Posted by Terry J. Harris

Hill program, smell program . . . . My Z3 doesn't have any of these bells and whistles, and it goes up hills just fine - and believe me we've got more than a few out here where I live at 6K plus. All I have to do in that BMW is give it a little gas. It's an amazing thing - giving the car a little gas - responds by taking me right up that hill, accelerating with ease. Never bogs down, and certainly doesn't suffer intermittent lacks of confidence or any identity crisis.

Seriously though, the X3 is one troubled thinker when it comes to going forward - reverse seems pretty consistent, however. For those that keep trying to explain away this really poor performance of the X3, all I can say is don't save me a spot on the sidewalk as the Emperor rides by.

Mine works fine. I dunno, I don't know what others define as their "ideal" transmission behaviour. I really like the way mine works...........fairly aggressive on keeping the revs up but still smooth and leisurely when I accelerate slowly around town.

I'll tell you this, on the '06 325i it practically never holds lower gears when accelerating up hills and mountains. Perhaps its because it's a lighter car and has more power. I'm disappointed in the 325i because when I push harder to accelerate, it doesn't downshift and it feels like its just trying to save gas by keeping revs below 2500rpm at all times. It's the laziest gearbox ever. But perhaps this is what some of the folks want.........maybe they don't want a motor revving 4000rpm for a few miles for better passing ability.

I can tell you this: if I override the program and try to go up a grade at freeway speeds in top gear only, passing anyone is out of the question. My X3 needs 4th to pass or gain any sort of speed in a timely manner. So I'm glad it holds the revs high.

We have a 04 73K, a Canadian model....no issue.

Drive an 06 X3 3L Diesel Auto and the gearbox is quite poor. The Stealer (dealer) tries to blame it on the difficulty the gearbox has in adapting to two different people driving the car with varying styles. Symptoms might be the revs holding at 3000rpm or more in too low a gear and you either have to kick down or I shift into Sport and then manually shift out of it. For a car of this value it's pathetic. The Stealer's answer was initially that it ws the auto engine breaking safety feature for hill descent. I almost believed that until it was happening on the flat too. It's just a poorly designed gearbox / ECU nothing less nothing more. When I suggested that kicking down to force the gear change was entirely unsafe they wnet back to blaming varying driving styles. It's just something they got wrong and should be providing a fix for. Similar issue to when it rains and water collects between the door seal and car body and then is deposited into the car on opening the door. The Stealer even said it was a 'feature' of several BMWs. Feature ? F*** uk more like.

I will address my concerns to BMWs head office in the UK because it's too much money to spend for such basic errors. Maybe next time I buy a BMW I'll ask them to sign something to say the car will be error free or they will be getting it back. See what they say.

Maybe next time I buy a BMW I'll ask them to sign something to say the car will be error free or they will be getting it back. See what they say.

Why would you give them your money again if they won't take care of you in the first place?

It boggles my mind that people will pay so much money to be abused after they have had a problem.

The first time I can understand, but to go back and do it again?

"Burn me once shame on you, Burn me twice shame on me", comes to mind.

The diesels use a completely different gearbox. The GM 5AT used in the US petrol models can't handle the torque of the diesels.

Generally speaking, there is a gearbox program for hills. Upon recognition of a up or downhill, it is supposed to hold revs and block out upshifts, dependent on the gradient and vehicle load. For example, when heading up a 15% gradient (on some road in SW PA) at about 60mph, the gearbox detects that there isn't enough power in 5th, or 4th for that matter. So thus, it kicks down to 3rd gear @ 5250rpm and holds that gear for the 3 mile stretch. Yes, it might seem excessive, but I just let the thing rev its heart out. Plus, now there's sufficient output for passing.

On downgrades, generally the gearbox does not do much engine braking. It does NOT behave like Toyota or Honda automatics, which actually kick down to a predetermined gear (usually 3rd). Instead, it locks up the torque converter in that given gear, which can be any gear. For instance, when coasting down a mountain behind our campus, I do not need to brake. When I let go of the throttle in 3rd gear, the revs continue to rise as the engine does the necessary braking. If I accelerate, it will upshift to 4th, and upon letting go, it will hold 4th.

It would be cool if I went ahead and recorded all of this. Perhaps I will, just for the guidance of everyone here.

Azn: that's not what's happening... at least it wasn't in my case. I would go up a hill, it would hold 3rd... i'd crest the hill and be coming back down again, sometimes to the BOTTOM of the hill and it would never shift. that's not normal.

keep in mind... it didn't always need a hill to do this.. regular level surface streets would do it too.

Originally Posted by kjboyd

Azn: that's not what's happening... at least it wasn't in my case. I would go up a hill, it would hold 3rd... i'd crest the hill and be coming back down again, sometimes to the BOTTOM of the hill and it would never shift. that's not normal.

keep in mind... it didn't always need a hill to do this.. regular level surface streets would do it too.

There was a SIB that addressed a delayed upshift in 3rd or 4th that fixed the problem. It was noticeable in my X3; it's less likely to hold 3rd gear now.

now, i never found one for the 07, but i did have it done on the 06 and it helped.. a little.

i have the same issue with the delay upshifting on my 04 x3 3.0i auto.....

is not really that bad and it only happens sometimes...(i've only notice it in few incident.....in the 30k miles that i have put on it)

i know there is a SB for it......i m monitoring it for now...and if it get worst then i'll bring it in for the reprogramming....(the car is now under BMW CPO at 57k miles)

i have not notice any slow downshifting or hasitation that others have mentioned......

Originally Posted by kjboyd

now, i never found one for the 07, but i did have it done on the 06 and it helped.. a little.

True, because the SIB was for the GM 5AT on the older models.

I'm guessing with the '07 (although you don't have a X3 at this point), there has been no definitive fix. I think the current software update works for most, but not all.

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

True, because the SIB was for the GM 5AT on the older models.

I'm guessing with the '07 (although you don't have a X3 at this point), there has been no definitive fix. I think the current software update works for most, but not all.

Azn, since you don't have an 07 or 08 (using your logic) it would be best not to presume the latest update works for most. Lets save these comments for the sticky.

Originally Posted by Evlengr

Why would you give them your money again if they won't take care of you in the first place?

It boggles my mind that people will pay so much money to be abused after they have had a problem.

The first time I can understand, but to go back and do it again?

"Burn me once shame on you, Burn me twice shame on me", comes to mind.

A fine point well made.

You'd have thought we'd have changed dealer after they left te sump cap off of the 318 at a service or the times they serviced it and missed basic faults, misaligned the exhaust, left pieces off after services. Nah glutton for punishment after assurances were given on new servicing standards etc yada yada.

Today the X3 needed 4 new tyres so I started doing some research on the best combinations because ride quality even without the Sports Suspension (I'm wondering whether they did in fact remove it at all ) is very hard. I put it down to the Run Flats and their stiff side walls (so did the BMW Dealer). The tyres were far cheaper from a national tyre company here in the UK but they told me the tyres were not Run Flats at all just standard tubeless Dunlop SP01 Sports. Eh ? They sold the car and one of the key features were Run Flat Tyres so with a puncture we could happily get home 100km without changing them. It turns out they are not. I'm really glad that I didn't have to find out the hard way doing 70+mph on the motorway when the tyre shredded.

As for the Auto Gearbox on our 06 3L D it over revs to the point that it makes you look like a crap driver because if anyone overheard they would think why are they driving in that gear. That's as basic as I can put it.

I have an 05 and have the same hesitation problem starting at about 2700 RPMs. I've gone through this thread, and don't see that the problem got fixed. Is there a fix to this issue? Also have the upshift issue.

Mine is a 04. I only have 2 issues with it. Between 1st and second at 3000RPM it will slip. It started doing this at 45k, so the dealer changed all the fluids and such and it wasn't near as bad. It's at 76k now and its starting to do the same, so I guess its time again. It is really starting to make me wonder what the real problem is or the solution for that matter. I think my dealer is doing more than a mere fluid change.....or least it seems like it. My second problem was the weird shifting patterns and just behavior. I would be cruising along and bam, it would down shift. Note I was going the same speed and I didn't accelerate or anything like that. Occasionally it would do the same thing, but up shift. Which was fine with me unless it really wasn't at a speed to do such, so it would push me along. I have to say driving in manual mode has pretty much eradicated almost all of these problems. The slipping only now occasionally happens when I accelerate then let off the gas, namely in traffic. Manual anything seems to be the fix for everything in this car lol.

Howdy,

I have an '05 2.5 with 66,000 miles on her. The problem that I have is that when i come to a complete stop I get a slight jurk/slight vibration.bump............it almost acts sometimes as if the car is going to shut off............it is weird. Does anybody have this problem? I took it to the dealership here in town and they said it had something to do with the computer but I call BS.

I have an 04 3.0 with 93K miles on it and I started to see something wierd a coupleof months ago. When I first start it after it has been sitting for a while and I back out of a parking space or my driveway then put it in drive it will slip a bit as I start to move forward. If I am gentle with the throttle for about a 2 seconds it seems to slip into place then it doesnt do it again for the rest of the trip or - often - for the rest of the day. It almost acts like fluid draind out of some pump in the transmission while it sat and the fluid needs to circulate a bit to go into drive for the first time.

If anyone has any insights I would be very appreciative.

Thanks as always.

Originally Posted by Batche

I have an 04 3.0 with 93K miles on it and I started to see something wierd a coupleof months ago. When I first start it after it has been sitting for a while and I back out of a parking space or my driveway then put it in drive it will slip a bit as I start to move forward. If I am gentle with the throttle for about a 2 seconds it seems to slip into place then it doesnt do it again for the rest of the trip or - often - for the rest of the day. It almost acts like fluid draind out of some pump in the transmission while it sat and the fluid needs to circulate a bit to go into drive for the first time.

If anyone has any insights I would be very appreciative.

Thanks as always.

The only time I've experienced an automatic transmission slipping is when I had a '90 Grand Am with a faulty transmission fluid cooling line (running to or from the radiator -- can't recall which at the moment) that ruptured while I was driving the vehicle, and I lost quite a bit of transmission fluid. At some point, the fluid level dropped to where the transmission started slipping -- badly.

In the end. I noticed the problem in time and it was repaired without damage to the transmission. So, the first thing I'd check in your case is the transmission fluid level, to be sure it's within the operating range.

Originally Posted by kjboyd

trust me.. i had both the 06 and the 07 and what you are feeling in the 05 is NOT the problems the 07s and 08s are having.

My 2007 is great! Sorry! Since you brought up 2007's.