Brand New 328i Conv, Transmission Malfunction

Just bought a brand new 328i Conv, right after I drove home. Before I could drive out yesterday, Transmission Malfunction light on. restarted several times, still got same warning message. Call BMW road assistance, they asked me tow it to dealer to check it out. Towed it to dealer this morning.
Anybody saw this problem before?

Originally Posted by imlab10

Just bought a brand new 328i Conv, right after I drove home. Before I could drive out yesterday, Transmission Malfunction light on. restarted several times, still got same warning message. Call BMW road assistance, they asked me tow it to dealer to check it out. Towed it to dealer this morning.
Anybody saw this problem before?

My co-worker had this on his CPO 2009 E92, shortly after the transmission failed at less than 33K.
Have the dealer diagnose it and replace it if needed - I hope they will give you a loaner for the time being.
Good luck.

Originally Posted by imlab10

Just bought a brand new 328i Conv, right after I drove home. Before I could drive out yesterday, Transmission Malfunction light on. restarted several times, still got same warning message. Call BMW road assistance, they asked me tow it to dealer to check it out. Towed it to dealer this morning.
Anybody saw this problem before?

So, if I'm reading this correctly, did this happen to a one-day-old no-real-miles nothing-but-the-drive-home car? Not used, but brand spanking new?

If the answer is "yes", I'd be talking to the dealer about doing a "let's send this one back and you give me that one over there instead" type replacement.

Originally Posted by Zooks527

So, if I'm reading this correctly, did this happen to a one-day-old no-real-miles nothing-but-the-drive-home car? Not used, but brand spanking new?

If the answer is "yes", I'd be talking to the dealer about doing a "let's send this one back and you give me that one over there instead" type replacement.

+1, unless it's an easy electronic sensor gremlin type of fix.

Originally Posted by Zooks527

So, if I'm reading this correctly, did this happen to a one-day-old no-real-miles nothing-but-the-drive-home car? Not used, but brand spanking new?

If the answer is "yes", I'd be talking to the dealer about doing a "let's send this one back and you give me that one over there instead" type replacement.

I had this experience once....didn't get better....lemon law invoked. Word to the wise.

OP, did I read you right.....they asked YOU to tow it to a BMW dealer?

Yes, it was just shipped from Germany to here Sat, and it is one-day old, with less than 20 miles on it. Yea, they told me to tow it to dealer.

Originally Posted by Zooks527

So, if I'm reading this correctly, did this happen to a one-day-old no-real-miles nothing-but-the-drive-home car? Not used, but brand spanking new?

If the answer is "yes", I'd be talking to the dealer about doing a "let's send this one back and you give me that one over there instead" type replacement.

That might work with an inventory vehicle but one just ordered for customer delivery, I'm not so sure. I figure they'd have to go through the process for lemon laws in the state. I don't think they treat transmission issues any different than, say a faulty brake light. Of course, to the customer, transmission issues at day 1 are bit concerning.

We have our family truckster at the GM dealer right now with transmission woes...2 weeks before power train warranty went out though. (Whew!)

OP, best of luck and let us know what they find. Hopefully just something small that'll have you back on the road in no time.

Hope it's the first and last issue you have. Unlikely but swapping to another car won't make any difference as virtually BMWs have unique quirks; give them a chance to remedy this one first. I bought my 328 convertible used with a smidge over 10K miles; it had a ton of issues but with the help of this and other forums it's virtually trouble free now.

Originally Posted by cwinter

Of course, to the customer, transmission issues at day 1 are bit concerning.

Front runner, 2013 Understatement Of The Year Award.

Originally Posted by imlab10

Yes, it was just shipped from Germany to here Sat, and it is one-day old, with less than 20 miles on it. Yea, they told me to tow it to dealer.

Seems like a QC issue at the plant.
I hope it's just a minor issue with the sensor rather than the whole doa transmission case.

Originally Posted by Zooks527

Front runner, 2013 Understatement Of The Year Award.

Could be worse, I am sure my convertible was. Dread to think what the original owner got for the [ex-]lemon but they did under 10.2K miles and I paid 57% of original MSRP from a dealer so presumably the original owner got less than half what they paid for it ~10K miles ago

By 10K miles it had two cracked wheels, stuck roof mechanism, water leaking into the cabin, rough running on start-up, faulty rear brakes, broken mirror motor, squeaks and creaks + a bunch of other minor stuff.

Originally Posted by lqaddict

Seems like a QC issue at the plant.
I hope it's just a minor issue with the sensor rather than the whole doa transmission case.

That is a good point, since during delivery the vehicle is driven (on the boat, off the boat, on the transporter, around at the dealer while being prepped). If something was fatally wrong with the transmission, you figure it would be caught. Perhaps really just an electronic gremlin, since OP didn't seem to indicate any perceptible mechanical issues.

Originally Posted by Zooks527

Front runner, 2013 Understatement Of The Year Award.

Transmissions...who needs'em!

Originally Posted by imlab10

Yes, it was just shipped from Germany to here Sat, and it is one-day old, with less than 20 miles on it. Yea, they told me to tow it to dealer.

Your car was built on Friday, December 24th, at 4:50pm.

hopefully the light was not on and the dealer noticed it and cleared the code and then turned it over to you, They wouldnt do that would they?

Originally Posted by CALWATERBOY

I had this experience once....didn't get better....lemon law invoked. Word to the wise.

OP, did I read you right.....they asked YOU to tow it to a BMW dealer?

Originally Posted by imlab10

Yes, it was just shipped from Germany to here Sat, and it is one-day old, with less than 20 miles on it. Yea, they told me to tow it to dealer.

Who is "they"? Did you call BMW roadside assistance?

Is this thing a slush box or MT? I have my suspicions and it's kinda germane to the subject here.

Oh yeah ...bummer. Hope it all works out for you as a simple fix.

That is horrible for a brand new car hope just a warning light nothing too serious. Keep us posted.

I was told today that the computer inside transmission is broken, instead of replacing the computer, they will replace the whole transmission.

Ha,

No offense, but I'd tell them to fix it and put it back on their lot, cause you want a new one. No way I'd take a car just shipped manufactured in Germany and then have it pieced back together new...

Wow that is serious repair.

BMW roadside assistance would never ask a customer to tow the car to the dealer. Everyone knows that. So that calls into question the whole thread doesn't it ?

RR and tranny, no biggie. better than tearing it apart to fix.

Originally Posted by mclaren

BMW roadside assistance would never ask a customer to tow the car to the dealer. Everyone knows that. So that calls into question the whole thread doesn't it ?

I didn't explain well, or you misunderstood. They hired a local towing company to tow the car to dealer. What I meant in the original post was they told me the car was not drive-able and but had to be towed, so I could not drive it to dealer to check out.

Originally Posted by imlab10

I didn't explain well, or you misunderstood. They hired a local towing company to tow the car to dealer. What I meant in the original post was they told me the car was not drive-able and but had to be towed, so I could not drive it to dealer to check out.

Did they provide an estimate how long the repair is going to be?