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05 545i Transmission Surging Issues help!

796K views 1K replies 264 participants last post by  s.harmon5300 
#1 ·
So for the past several months I have noticed that when my 5 gets between 35 and 40 mph it starts surging, like it starts loosing power but gains it back, and it only happens within 35-40 and just steady driving. I took it to the dealer, and there are no codes present, the service manager, tech's and the advisor all took a ride and felt it each time. They said they contacted BMW NA and that they wont do anything, unless it throws a code, but when I call them(BMWNA) to talk(complain) about it they tell me it has to have a code as well, and yet I still ask them why I am driving around their car that has issues that they wont fix, and all they can say is sorry until a code comes up. Has anyone had any issues like this with the surging transmission, or know how to talk to Customer Relations so that something does happen? It's just really annoying driving around a car that has issues, and they wont stand behind their product.
 
#325 ·
I noticed that this problem is for 06-08 and 545 and some 530's I've had this surge problem for about 3 months which was since I got the car and I have made a note to the dealer that I've been hang this problem only when taking off .. Recently I went back and explained what is still going on and my SA and he said try to reproduce the problem and even tho my cpo just expired they will be willing to work with me so I've been trying an no luck but just yesterday I decided to reproduce the problem while driving in manual and I finally got it to do the hard shift/suge and it's my 3rd gear.. Only when the trans shifts into and out of 3rd I have this problem .. So just curious if any body might know what I'm going to expect and what should keep in mind to trying to get this problem fixed.. Btw this jolt/hardshift/suge happens atleast 2-4 times a day .. Any imput will be appricitated thanks!
 
#332 ·
mine occurs when coming to a stop mostly. It also happens sometimes when backing out of a parking spot - when I shift from reverse to D it surges big time.
 
#327 ·
It's hard to predict when my car will do it, but generally it's between 35 and 40 miles per hour under light acceleration. Super frustrating. After being told by my dealer and BMW NA Customer Relations that I needed to pay $3500 and get over it, I didn't do anything else towards getting my car fixed for about two weeks. Wrote a letter today, so we'll see what happens.
 
#330 ·
Sent a letter to Jim O'Donnell, knowing it woldn't get to him, but thought I would try. Some lady called me this week...."while we sympathize with your situation, you car had a limited warranty and that warranty has expired. The Regional Manager has decided not to extend goodwill to you, and that decision is final.". I explained that there are thousands of people with this problem, and I felt like BMW was hiding because of the expense to issue a recall. "Sir, we research all of the forums and are very aware." Ok, great, then you just don't care. Now I have to decide if I just get rid of this car, or find an independent that can replace the Mechatronics. The last thing I want is for BMW to make money off this situation.
 
#331 ·
what a total nightmare. At least you gave it a shot. my warranty runs out at the end of this week and I'm taking it in one more time to convince them to fix it.
 
#333 ·
Mine only occurs when I am in auto and in the manual auto mode when I am in 5th gear, 4rth and 6th no problems; however, I have been so disappointed by BMW's lack of response or customer concern that this will be the last
one I own. I received the recall notice on the brake booster after having mine replaced when it failed on the highway (nice) and had an emergency repair, the recall notice basically told you if you already had the work done you get to eat the cost.
I have a 1996 Nissan 300zx conv, that has had less issues in the 12 years I have owned it than in the 2 years I have owned a BMW. There is no denying the car handles great, but it does not overcome the build quality and customer service you receive.

I have no inhibitions telling anyone who will listen that buying a BMW was a big mistake on my part and recommending they look at other manufacturers.
 
#334 ·
05/04 645Ci here with same issue.. went through every post and copied info that i will present to my SA which unfortunately is 3 hours away:(
 
#335 ·
Hi

I'm a newbie on here with an May 2004 E60 545i and I've got the same issues! I live in Scotland in the UK where E60 545is are about as common as rocking horse poo so I've signed on here where I'm guessing V8 cars are just slightly more common than back in the UK.......I've tried posting on the UK forums but I only know of three other E60 545i drivers in the whole of the uk who are internet forum aware.

My problem is the 5th gear hiccup at 1,200 rpms at the 35 to 40 mph speed range with light throttle load. It is really annoying. It doesn't happen all the time so the BMW couldn't find it. Nor does it throw up any fault codes. It also takes slightly longer than I would like to engage reverse.....

I had e-mailed ZF asking them to comment on my problem and they suggested going to BMW to get the car checked out for the most up to date software.

I went to BMW asked them to do software updates. They had the car for two days to do this, they said the transmission had the most upto date software and had problems getting the software uploaded. They said that they got a few updates to the DME but I'm not convinced as they never charged me a penny for the software updates.

Since then the fault has appeared more frequently and the holding down the throttle pedal for 25 seconds doesn't help.

Today I googled the fault and came upon this thread. So reading it I've learned that I'm not alone with this and the apparant cure is either a software update (which I'm not entirely convinced I've had) or get a new mechatronic unit.

Now my first BMW was an E39 523i which at 46,000 miles decided to throw it's toys out the pram or rather its autobox when one of the shift solenoids decided it no longer wanted to work. I got a new bank of solenoids fitted and the valvebody overhauled and it worked a treat and was faultless for another 50,000 miles when I then traded it in for the E60.

I'm thinking but no one else on here has mentioned it, but can you get the mechatronic unit overhauled like I got my E39 one done?

Any thoughts on overhauling the mechatronic unit would be appreciated.

Andrew
 
#337 ·
I have my 545i in an independent shop now, as I write this. After a short inspection, the mechanic said the transmission pan is leaking fluid and I am getting it replaced, new pan, gasket etc. However, I also have the surging issues at 35 - 40 mph, where it essentially "hiccups" and you can feel the jolt while driving. It occurs rather systematically when it starts; every few seconds. There are no other symptoms with the shifting other than at that speed range (i.e. when you are on the throttle just enough to sustain that speed). I've had it for a long time. My question is, should I just bite the bullet and have the shop replace the mechatronics unit while he has the transmission opened up?
 
#342 ·
I gave my mechanic the go-ahead. He's going to replace the mechatronics unit. After spending so much time in reading these forums, I really hope this solves my problem!!

The original reason I took it in was that it just started leaking a lot of transmission fluit. A new revised pan, gasket, fluid, and labor was going to run me several hundred dollars. He said that he would be staring right at the mechatronics unit while doing this procedure, so I thought, "why not?" I'll just get the mechatronics unit replaced at this same time and solve this issue.
 
#345 ·
motivemods - Thanks for the peace of mind. It does seem that the problem was solved for everyone who had this fix performed.

Jtshtx - Originally, as a result of my recent onset of transmission fluid leaking, it was going to cost me $875 for him to replace all the fluid with new, replace the pan with the new upgraded pan, gasket, and filter. That price broke down to about $525 in parts/fluid (expensive fluid) and $350 in labor.

With throwing the mechatronics unit in the mix, he was able to get a remanufactured ZF part for $21xx. He explained that when he talked to the sales rep for the mechatronics unit, that the sales rep stated this is the newer, redesigned mechatronics. The part came with a 12 year / 12K warranty.

Bottom line: Total cost to fix and replace everything is $3360. So, essentially, I am paying another $2,485 for the mechatronics unit over the original quote of $875 to have my leak fixed.

I plan on keeping the car and realize the mechatronics unit isn't going to fix itself and will probably digress. The idea of him simply replacing the pan, gasket, and fixing the leak, while being so close to the mechatronics unit did not sit well with me. I figured this was my time to go the extra mile and have the mechatronics replaced.

With a 73,500 mile '05 545i, does anyone think I have a shot at BMW NA covering the cost of the part for me? I suppose it is worth a letter. I had to move fast on this fix because I just recently started leaking a lot of transmission fluid, so there was no time to consult BMW NA in advance.
 
#346 ·
hmm it's probably hard to get BMW to cover anything after the fact since BMW would if they good will the case replace it with an OEM part.
 
#347 ·
It's a holiday weekend over in the UK due to the Royal Wedding and so I can't speak to my Transmission Specialist. He is one of the UK dealers in ZF parts so I just have to wait to speak to someone. I'll get a price and let you guys now.

I looked on the ZF website and they talk about replacement solenoid kits being available for our mechatronic unit (meaning to me that it is capable of being overhauled) but elsewhere deep in a ZF download document on technical specs for the 6HP26 tranny they mention that no spares are available for the mechatronic unit meaning to me that it isn't capable of being overhauled.

Intersting to see that the faults only start around high 40,000 or 60,000 miles. Mine first did it at 48,000 miles, it now has 63,000 miles. I've just replaced all 8 spark plugs myself but that didn't help anything. I was slighly hoping it would be a bad plug which at £9.50 isn't too bad....slightly less than a mechatronic unit.

I'm well out of warranty so I'll just need to bite the bullet. I was looking at weighing up price of fix against trade price in against a 550i but mine is such a luverely car and the chances of finding a low miler 550i with what I'm after in the UK is slim at best.
 
#348 ·
Zero chance of getting BMWNA to help. I have dealt with getting BMW to fix this for several months, and even sent a letter to the CEO when my dealer told me "you know, BMW fixed a lot of thing on your car while it was under warranty.". Basically, they know there is a problem with the trans, they simply don't care.
 
#349 ·
Andrew - Are you saying that I'll be getting the same mechatronics unit that will likely start exhibiting symptoms again in 60,000 miles? I got the impression that when my mechanic spoke to ZF that ZF confirmed that there was a higher rate of failures in these and that there was a newer, updated mechatronics and that there are remanufactured units.
 
#350 ·
This problem has been inherent in E60's since day one and I'm surprised so many people have been driving around with this problem for so long as BMW won't fess-up with a consistent fix for this problem. Check out my posts on this from way back September, 2007 after I had transmittion and PROGMAN software updates to fix my problem.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231250&highlight=

One question I could never get a straight answer on and I'd like those out there who have had a positive fix done - does your car seem like it has less power/torque than before the software upgrade and mechatronics replacement? I do notice the car will no longer start out in 1st gear while not in sport mode (it now starts in 2nd gear) and if you do a rolling stop, it will always start out in 2nd gear - this is how they eliminated the 2-1 downshift slam when coming to a stop.

My car was the test mule for BMW to come up with a fix to this problem way back when I first purchased it - I seem to remember they had to send a "special laptop" over from Germany to diagnose the tranny problem. It took months to convince them they had a problem and multiple PUMA cases, and at times, the car was in the shop for more than a week. I got to know the shop foreman on a first name basis.

I do swear, my car does not accelerate as it did prior to the tranny software update - it feels much smoother under acceleration, but it seems it's lacking much of the torque it once had. Anyone else notice this?
 
#352 ·
I confirmed that I'll be getting a brand new unit, not a remanufactured one. It's coming in today. My mechanic explained it had to be programmed first. He said he got the new unit from the transmission manufacturer and that when he spoke to the agent, it is an upgraded unit.

MSAMMY - 2nd gear starts would be unacceptable to me. I would take it in right away and have that rectified. As for a loss of power, that better not be the case. My independent shop will not be messing around with the programming and I never had the 2-1 slam, so this should be a non-issue. But thanks for scaring me!

Carlos - I have a video of the problem I had. You can barely see the tachometer move and the miles per gallon guage move every time it "hiccuped."
 
#354 ·
I confirmed that I'll be getting a brand new unit, not a remanufactured one. It's coming in today. My mechanic explained it had to be programmed first. He said he got the new unit from the transmission manufacturer and that when he spoke to the agent, it is an upgraded unit.

MSAMMY - 2nd gear starts would be unacceptable to me. I would take it in right away and have that rectified. As for a loss of power, that better not be the case. My independent shop will not be messing around with the programming and I never had the 2-1 slam, so this should be a non-issue. But thanks for scaring me!

Carlos - I have a video of the problem I had. You can barely see the tachometer move and the miles per gallon guage move every time it "hiccuped."
u should post it!.. that way i can see if its acting the same as my tranny..
 
#353 ·
#357 ·
Bryant - Are they charging you the same amount that you posted earlier even though they are now using a new mech. unit instead of a re-manufactured one? Let us know how the install goes and good luck!
 
#358 ·
Tommy, yes they are. The mech unit has yet to come in, so it's still been waiting at the shop. Apparently it had to be programmed first and that contributed to the delay. I'll give you a report once I get the car back. Feeling a little anxiety.
 
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