2005 4.4i X5 transmission problems

here u r, 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

Originally Posted by zeebmw

here u r, 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

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

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

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

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

Originally Posted by zeebmw

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

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

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, yesterday as you said it went to failsafe program mode, no more drivable 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

Originally Posted by zeebmw

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, yesterday as you said it went to failsafe program mode, no more drivable 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

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

thanks alot Gerry
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
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

Originally Posted by zeebmw

thanks alot Gerry
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
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

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

Hi, 1st post here,,

I'm having probs with my gearbox!! 5 sp auto. What's happening is, whilst driving my x5 will stick in 2nd or 3rd gear,?. You have to force it up a gear by shifting with manual??

Anybody any ideas??

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

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!

Originally Posted by x5strive

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.

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

Originally Posted by gerry9870

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

Hi Gerry,
I am a new owner & member...
Cut a long story short, we bought a 2002 4.6is X5 88000ml today (30/12/11) and on the way home @ 40mls driving sensibly we felt a small kick/thud/shunt in the driveline, pulled over turned off, re-started, no real getaway power, once up and running seemed to be overrevving..
Not able to use sport mode at all, seemed like we only have one gear. Into dealer in morning for fault reading, rang dealer purchased from is willing to help a little as this was his personal car.
Got home disconnected the battery, nothing different, tried the gas pedal thing, nothing

Be very gratefull for any advice
Rob & Sonia (disheartened owners)

Originally Posted by gerry9870

Ok no probs,,just remember the gearbox should never need replacing,, its the components around it that actually drive the box,,,get the garage to drain a little transmission oil to see if it is burnt, if it is the problem lies with the one way clutch,,this is the key component along with the torque converter to drive your car,,,,best wishes with it and i hope it all works out ok

Cheers
Gerry

Hi Gerry,

I have taken my car to 3 garages and they all insisted on replacing the gear box. I've kept your advice that the gearbox shouldn't be replaced in mind and I started searching online and I finally found someone who said that he could revise the gearbox and just change the faulty parts instead of changing the whole thing. I've paid 2400 euro which is reasonable compared to the price of changing the gearbox. Thank you so much for your advice, take care!

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

ZEE

I got failsafe mode when my intake elbow multiple cracks in the hose. 0174 and 1071 then tons of 1382 1384 1341 1342. I changed the hose cleared the codes. btw the 1300 series errors are dealer proprietary codes. and were pending. (whatever that means).

@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?

Hello Gerry,
The question you ask Zee is suitable to the condition of my car. My car 76K miles, all started happening after replacing the transmission oil as much as 2 x 4 litter in accordance with the procedure of change the oil in this mailing list. I lost my kickdown, try putting the car stop on a hill can not be advanced at all, even trans fail the program. the power off and restart the machine can move slowly, some times jump also..... often occurs when a cold engine ..... what's the solution? What should be checked? before the oil in the dressing I have never experienced this kind. I sent an email also to ensure that you receive my message. Thank you.

Reviving this thread….

Hi Guys,
I have a 2005 4.4 X5 w/96k and I am the 4th proud owner. I am starting to feel my transmission acting up. For the past week, I've notice that in the morning the transmission is not working correctly. When it shifts to 2nd gear it jerks the X5 and I hear a thump noise. Occasionally, when I come to a complete stop, I can feel the car "downshift". But when the car is warm.. it seems like the X5 works completely fine.
Can someone please help me with this….I don't want to spend a arm and a leg and I want to prevent it from getting worse.

Thanks in Advance,
Calvin

[QUOTE=gerry9870;6476309]

Originally Posted by azmaz

Hello,

When I start the car it doesn't make an odd noise, just a normal noise like it always does. Then when I want to move it I put it in D and when I give gass to advance the car makes a noise that you can compare with giving to much gass and then the car starts moving so it doesn't move immeadialty as it is supposed to when you put it in D. When I'm driving the car in D there is no noise it's only when I stop and move again that there's the same noise and the delay in movement as when I've just put it in D. When I put the transmission in R it moves forwards without any noise (just like it is supposed to do in D).

[/QUOTH

Hey There

Ok,,ive narrowed it down to three main cause which are all connected to your issue, now the main point to consider here is that your gearbox components will require to be replaced and not the gearbox itself, any company that tells you the transmission has failed doesnt know abouth the BMW X5 gearbox, as all they will do is refurb the stator and bull ring and install a new one way clutch and or stator and torque convertor.

Now from your description my guess without seeing the car is that the one way clutch and stator is at fault, basically the stator's job is to redirect the fluid returning from the torque converter in an opposite direction, now if this does not happen then a mix up of gears occurs, basically you might have a build up of trans fluid from the turbine part of the torque converter which the stator is suppose to redirect,,now in common issues the stator fails, thus leads to one way clutch failure and the torque converter spins and spins until it can find engagement to drive forward, so in theory your one way clutch and stator need to be checked out along with new trans fluid, a cost for a one way clutch and sator kit is roughly £ 700, to take the gearbox out is 4 hours, to refit the parts is 2 hours, then refit the gearbox, im pretty positive that this is what is causing your issue,,for a garage to charge you for this work,,,,id pay no more than £1600,and your car will drive like a dream.

Hope this is of help to you,,,,,,,

Regards

Gerry

Hi my name is Gary, I have a 2001 bmw x5 and its doing the same thing almost. it runs fine until car warms up and the it doesnt want to go into gear, then it slams into gear