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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.
 
#427 · (Edited)
I recently had a similar problem with my 2004 525i that I purchased in April 2012 - it would surge forward while coming to a stop. First the dealer replaced a relay (of sorts-$100.00 deductable covered by extended warrantee). Then it happend again a few days later. After a phone call and email, they replaced the transmission, waiving the deductible and a separate warrantee (2yr/24k mi) it runs fine.
Try a different dealer or mechanic is my suggestion.
 
#429 ·
i'm curious if anyone has had this issue on the later models? I have a 09' 550i and all i have noticed is a slight surge when downshifting from 2nd to 1st while coming to a stop. Is this just the beginning? and should i have it replaced by the dealer while still under warranty?
 
#441 · (Edited)
So, just got my 2004 545i (very low price / high miles) and it has the jerky 2 to 1 shifts, "hiccup" at 35-40mph low throttle situation and a little quirky going to either 4 to 5 or 5 to 6. I lose count when I get into those high gears, :lol: Also seems to be MUCH better in sports mode, all indicative of the mechatronics unit. I was going to change the fluid/filter/etc. first but am thinking of just going ahead and replacing the assembly while I'm in there. This fluid is so expensive I hate to have to drain it again (I'll be doing the wrenching)

So, I am looking at a couple of options:

Option 1 is a rebuilt unit from thectsc. This is probably the safest bet. The kit he sells actually has a new pan included, which you can return for a refund since I already have a new pan on the way (was going to try changing fluid first). Cost, let's call it $1500 w/shipping.

Option 2 is have one of a few companies out there rebuild my unit for me. RevMax Torque Converters is one company that does it, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that. Cost is $800 w/48 hour turn around.

Thoughts? If money weren't an issue, Option 1 would be a no brainer. Has anyone had theirs rebuilt? If so, where and what were the results?? I'd love to cut the cost in half but don't want to spend $800 there just to have to spend $1500 if they do a crappy job.

The other vehicles that use this transmission have rebuild services out there for 1/3 of what we have to pay--looks like someone would have offered a popular service for ours by now!
 
#442 · (Edited)
Update on mine, 10/6

I replaced the transmission pan (filter) and oil today (well, 5.5 quarts anyways). The car was definitely low on oil to begin with. I could not find any leaks around the mechatronics sleeve so I left that alone.

Most issues are gone. 2->1 is still SLIGHTLY abrupt, but nothing like before. 5 to 6 is fine now and there was one other, 3 to 4 or 4 to 5 that was rough, that one is smooth too now, so it looks like some new oil + the right amount helped those issues. It's a huge improvement on those issues.

HOWEVER, the 5th gear hiccup is present with a vengeance. It's a pretty abrupt hiccup, not just a little thing that you can barely feel. If I'm going over 80, it doesn't do it. Anything below that in 5th has the hiccup if I'm touching the gas even a little bit.

Any thoughts on whether new mechatronics will fix this? Looks like some other people have had the 5th gear hiccup also and it worked, but it's still $1500 I wish I didn't have to spend.

---------------

One more update, 10/8:

First, I found this link to by far the best and most thorough manual for this transmission that I have ever found. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14739987/24267127-Audi-Jaguar-Bmw-Zf6hp26”.pdf

If the link ever stops working please PM me and I will upload a copy somewhere for everyone. It covers everything from how all the different types of solenoids work to all of the hydraulic paths, conditions for each gear, just about everything. Pretty great

Secondly, I ordered a new set of solenoids. We'll see if that helps and go from there. If not, I'm not sure what I'm going to do.
 
#443 · (Edited)
Can you change the solenoids without having to re-code the car? I was told by my Indy, you cannot just change one solenoid on 6HP19 trans, as it will need to be re-programmed by BMW. Which part of mecha holds the code anyway?

Also, do you have similar guide for 6HP19 that you can share?

Sent from my Android Bug :)
 
#445 ·
I had these same problems with my 550i and could not figure out what was making the transmission so jerky especially in sport mode.

I replaced the throttle body with one I bought off ebay with far fewer miles and ran a throttle body reset on it (engine/key ON, engine itself off). Also cleared the ECU with my obd2 reader (doubt this did anything).

Ran some seafoam through (Also doubt this did anything...)

After that all the jerkiness was gone. Wife no longer complains about the slamming transmission.

Who knows. I'll reinstall the old throttle body and reset it this weekend to see what gives. Luckily I got the throttle body super cheap, and it wasn't to fix this problem. I was going to have it bored out to portmatch the manifold and this was an unexpected surprise.

Just my 2 cents, I just thought I'd chime in!
 
#447 ·
New transmission installed gratis by BMW is working just fine. Out of habit though I am still waiting for the car to lurch when downshifting out of 2nd to 1st or shifting up to 3rd. Hasn't happened yet, but I have only been driving the car 3 days due to return from a long vacation. While it took a few years to get this issue resolved BMW stepped up and fixed the problem in the end. Glad I certified the car when I bought it after the lease expired. Any rules for breaking in new transmissions?

On a side note, BMW said they also installed a new computer module. In the process all of the many albums I uploaded to the car now carry no titles. Just "ripped with a number designation. However, individual tracks within the albums are still named making it a process of just renaming lots of albums or just deleting and re upload. Either way it's going to take a lot of time. That's the negative. The positive part of this is I have a new navigation look, and the telephone pairing is working better with my Iphone 4s as compared with before when I had problems getting the contact list to transfer.
 
#449 ·
That has to be the dumbest thing I have read on Bimmerfest yet. :thumbup:
 
#451 · (Edited)
One more update for anyone still reading:

I had reset my transmission using the hold the gas pedal to the floor for 30 seconds thing a few times and it never really made much difference. Friday I finally got my D+K CAN cable in and reset all the adaptations via INPA. First drive, it had a little trouble shifting smooth, little jerky, high RPM's once or twice before finally changing gears, etc. etc. BUT ultimately after it figured it out, basically all of my problems are gone. I've driven a few hundred miles this weekend and the 5th gear hardcore jerking is at most a small hiccup, only at a certain speed/throttle position (so seldom I haven't been able to really even repeat it, only felt it barely once by coincidence). Jerky 5 to 6 change is gone. Jerky 3 to 2 is gone. The little jerk right before you stop (2 to 1) is still present, but a software update should take care of that one. I just haven't gotten up the nerve to update the transmission computer software yet, lol.

Also, changed spark plugs today and my god the old ones looked horrible. 5 were the original bosch style (the car has 180K on it so I sure hope they aren't actually originals) and the electrodes were half gone. The other 3 (easiest ones to get to..) had been replaced at some point with NGK ones. I replaced all 8 in about an hour (not sure why everyone acts like it's a tough job? It was really relatively easy and painless).

Verdict: It's a whole different car. It used to be so jerky off idle I was almost embarassed to have people ride with me and def wouldn't let anyone else drive. I almost preferred to drive my work car (Imapala) just because this thing was such a pain to drive halfway smoothly. Between the plugs and transmission complete reset, it's completely different. So much better to drive now!

edit: added pics of sparkplugs
 

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#452 · (Edited)
One more update:

I ordered a solenoid kit a few weeks ago, but never had a chance to install it. A couple of days ago I started having issues with 4 to 5 shifting under hard acceleration (once it even gave the transmission warning message and locked me into one gear. turning car off/back on got me going again at least), so I figured it was time to put these in.

Is there a DIY for how to do this? If not, I'll try to write one up if anyone wants or needs it. Please let me know if anyone wants this.. It's pretty easy. Just pull the mechatronics/valve body. Take mechatronics (plastic + electronics) off of valve body, remove solenoids, install new solenoids and put it all back together.

One thing that really freaked me out was I got it all apart and the old solenoids were green, new ones were blue. I just about put the old ones back in, but realized when I blew on some of them they were leaking pretty bad, so I figured I'd try the blue and see what happens. About the time I got it back together thectsc wrote me back and said it was just a color change, but what I had would work fine.

So, the verdict: With new solenoids, this is the best shifting I've seen out of this car so far. Shifts are quick and firm, but not jerky at all. Much better than before. Going into reverse is almost instant now, where it used to take 2-3 seconds before it would engage. I reset all of the adapatations so I've had a few little jerks here and there during downshifts, but you can tell it's changing fine, just sometimes the computer is changing down a little too early. Hopefully it learns how to be smoother about it.

I can also be hard on the gas and no problems with the 4 to 5 shift or any others for that matter


If I drove it hard I used to get some codes about output speed not being correct or something like that, which I assume was either from slow shifting or slipping clutch packs. Regardless, I drove it hard earlier and got no error messages at all.

I would suggest anyone about to replace their whole valvebody/mechatronics who has the classic symptoms consider just replacing the solenoids, if you are so inclined.
 
#664 ·
I think I have enough nerve to do this.. I'm afraid if I wait any longer that my tranny will completely fail. I am having the 2-1 slam when stopping and difficulty switching gears between 2k-3k rpm and have had two trans fail/limp mode episodes. Seems that the problem is worsening by the day...

With that being said, I want to order parts, but need to make sure I'm ordering the correct ones. I have an 07 530xi. How can I verify the tranny model that I have? Is this a VIN decoder thing or do I need to do a visual inspection?

Finally, do I need any special tools to remove or install anything that will make this easier?

Thanks in advance!
 
#453 · (Edited)
And here's a video of the valve body / mechatronics removal and solenoid swap that I made:



Let me know if there are any questions. This isn't a full step by step, but in my opinion gives more detail than I was able to find anywhere else on the web.
 
#454 · (Edited)
Seems that the surging in mine is worse the colder it is outside and only first thing in the morning. I have 48,000 miles and am taking it to the dealer this Saturday. (09 550i)
The dealer was able to duplicate the problem and are opening a case with BMW, we shall see. ***** Update They did the software update and after I test drove, it didnt fix anything. So on to mechtronics work I assume.
 
#455 ·
yesterday I had the sealing sleeve and leaking trans pan replaced. Replaced fluid with Redline D4 and all of my surging issues are gone. Total cost for the work was $735. My symptoms prior to the change were hard 2-1 downshifts and a noticeable surge when shifting from Reverse to Drive. I should also add that no software updates were done as my mechanic said that all software was up to date. I'll report back in a few weeks as to whether or not this resolves my trans issues long term.
 
#456 ·
Oh boy...

Hi all.

I just bought an 05 545i a little over a week ago with 76k miles. Its an automatic. The dealer thought it had the sport package but I found out via research that it actually does not. Because of that I didn't think much about the rough shifting it had on test drive. At this point I am starting to notice it more because I am not "getting used to" the car and getting smoother technique.

I have a lot of dead zone in the gas pedal, about the first 10 degrees has almost no effect. Then it picks up and causes a "surge" of torque at once after pressing down far enough.

The other thing I noticed was that I can't smoothly stop the car. The downshifts are noticeable no matter how much braking is applied. Once about to stop it seems like it downshifts and then the idle suddenly drops. If i don't time my foot letting up on the brake pedal carefully then the car ends up bucking wildly. :eek:

I don't have any slams or sounds going on. I don't notice any hiccups or hesitation in any gear. Its just when starting off, braking, and especially when coming to a stop it has issues.

Does this sound like the mechatronics unit is starting to fail? If so I am thinking to do fluid/filter service and save up for a different car. Of course on the other hand I feel confident I could replace it myself and if the car drove nicely afterwords then it might be worth it to me. I paid 18 for the car. I think I will start with either a test drive of another 545 or have an experienced tech confirm it.

Thanks.
 
#457 · (Edited)
Hi all.

I just bought an 05 545i a little over a week ago with 76k miles. Its an automatic. The dealer thought it had the sport package but I found out via research that it actually does not. Because of that I didn't think much about the rough shifting it had on test drive. At this point I am starting to notice it more because I am not "getting used to" the car and getting smoother technique.

I have a lot of dead zone in the gas pedal, about the first 10 degrees has almost no effect. Then it picks up and causes a "surge" of torque at once after pressing down far enough.

The other thing I noticed was that I can't smoothly stop the car. The downshifts are noticeable no matter how much braking is applied. Once about to stop it seems like it downshifts and then the idle suddenly drops. If i don't time my foot letting up on the brake pedal carefully then the car ends up bucking wildly. :eek:

I don't have any slams or sounds going on. I don't notice any hiccups or hesitation in any gear. Its just when starting off, braking, and especially when coming to a stop it has issues.

Does this sound like the mechatronics unit is starting to fail? If so I am thinking to do fluid/filter service and save up for a different car. Of course on the other hand I feel confident I could replace it myself and if the car drove nicely afterwords then it might be worth it to me. I paid 18 for the car. I think I will start with either a test drive of another 545 or have an experienced tech confirm it.

Thanks.
The first 10 degrees of pedal movement not doing much is the same on mine--google BMW throttle tip in and you'll find tons on it. It's a common issue but seems to be kind of an "is what it is" thing with no options to improve it. Some say you can reset "throttle adaptations" (google it) and it will help for a while anyways.

I can still barely smoothly stop mine as well. There's a transmission software bug where it shifts down from 2nd to 1st right before you stop, making it jerk at a horrible time. Try this: drive it in manual mode, when coming to a stop and downshifting manually, don't use 1st. Stop with it in 2nd and see if it's smooth then. My guess is it will be. If you don't downshift at all, it will shift down to 3rd for you before you stop (but not go any lower until you tell it to). Try that also and see if it's smoother.

There's a software update that fixes the issue (I think it basically just doesn't use 1st unless you're in sport mode) that may be an option for you to consider if stopping in 2nd via manual mode helps.

Sounds like normal stuff to me, not a mechatronics failure. I wouldn't tell anyone you paid that much ;)
 
#458 ·
Sigh of Relief

Muchas Gracias amigo.

That puts my mind very much at ease! :)

I did notice exactly what you describe in manual mode. I can start nicely in 2nd or 3rd as well as stop better. As an update I also noticed that its a whole lot smoother in normal mode when the car is cold and I am starting off in the morning. As it warms up it gets gradually harsher and with more throttle tip-in.

I will definitely look into the software update as I would like it to act like it does in manual mode. I am also thinking the flush and filter is still a good preventive maintenance measure.

For the price yeah I do feel I paid a bit much but my philosophy when buying from a dealer is instead of pushing for lowest price I usually ask for other extras in case I need or find out something is wrong. Oh and yeah I do lie about the price especially to my Indian co-workers because they get so jealous. :rofl:
 
#459 ·
Muchas Gracias amigo.

That puts my mind very much at ease! :)

I did notice exactly what you describe in manual mode. I can start nicely in 2nd or 3rd as well as stop better. As an update I also noticed that its a whole lot smoother in normal mode when the car is cold and I am starting off in the morning. As it warms up it gets gradually harsher and with more throttle tip-in.

I will definitely look into the software update as I would like it to act like it does in manual mode. I am also thinking the flush and filter is still a good preventive maintenance measure.

For the price yeah I do feel I paid a bit much but my philosophy when buying from a dealer is instead of pushing for lowest price I usually ask for other extras in case I need or find out something is wrong. Oh and yeah I do lie about the price especially to my Indian co-workers because they get so jealous. :rofl:
One thing that makes everything smoother when cold (for me anyways) is that the torque converter stays unlocked 100% of the time until the transmission fluid gets up to around 100*F. You'll probably barely feel any shifts at all when it's unlocked--but it locks a large portion of the time after it gets warmed up. This is to get the fluid warmed up as quick as possible.
 
#461 ·
So the bottom line is:

If you E06 with steptronic transmission experiences the following symptoms: when car is warmed up, there is a slight RPM 'flutter hiccup' around 37 MPH & 1,700 RPMs, which does not seem to occur at other speeds or RPMs, and sometimes also has a slight delay after shifting in Reverse.

Then the cause is most likely transmission ZF mechatronics solenoids which can be replaced and then needs a computer update BEFORE driving ANY distance.

So, don't waste time and money with other potential suggested causes such as: bad gas; MAF sensor; 02 sensors; fly by wire; fuel filter; CCV; Carbon buildup; tourque converter; spark plugs; VANOS, computer software updates; re-train the "learned" transmission with the 30 second pedal to floor reset; transmission control module, etc...

If above were the cause, then issue would likely occur across many speeds / RPM's. This mechatroinc solenoid issue is specific to this RPM and speed range.

Ignoring this may lead to transmission fluid leak and failure.

How many BMW's (E06 and other) are impacted by this?

The cost to fix is ~$4,000?

How do we get BWMNA to issue a recall?

We had Beemers since 1990 and this is not a plus when we consider our next upgrate within a year.
 
#800 ·
Jeep recall for ZF Transmissions...why no BMW recall?

So the bottom line is:

If you E60 with steptronic transmission experiences the following symptoms: when car is warmed up, there is a slight RPM 'flutter hiccup' around 37 MPH & 1,700 RPMs, which does not seem to occur at other speeds or RPMs, and sometimes also has a slight delay after shifting in Reverse.

Then the cause is most likely transmission ZF mechatronics solenoids which can be replaced and then needs a computer update BEFORE driving ANY distance.

So, don't waste time and money with other potential suggested causes such as: bad gas; MAF sensor; 02 sensors; fly by wire; fuel filter; CCV; Carbon buildup; tourque converter; spark plugs; VANOS, computer software updates; re-train the "learned" transmission with the 30 second pedal to floor reset; transmission control module, etc...

If above were the cause, then issue would likely occur across many speeds / RPM's. This mechatroinc solenoid issue is specific to this RPM and speed range.

Ignoring this may lead to transmission fluid leak and failure.

How many BMW's (E06 and other) are impacted by this?

The cost to fix is ~$4,000?

How do we get BWMNA to issue a recall?

We had Beemers since 1990 and this is not a plus when we consider our next upgrate within a year.
I have a 2005 E60 and also have the 'surge when stopping' problem, delayed reverse, hesitation at 35-40 mph crusing speed, and just the other day as a bonus, got the 'Transmission Failure' warning that disappeared when i turned off the car and turned it back on.

Went to Indy two days ago, described these symptoms, and without even putting the car on a lift said i needed a new transmission because it's a known issue. Estimated cost, $5k! Luckily i found this thread and after spending a couple hours reading all 32 pages(!), I found most have fixed these same issues by either swapping out the mechatronic as a unit (~$2k DIY) or just replacing the solenoids and seals (~$800 DIY).

schpenxel, you da man for figuring this out and letting us know about this solenoid-only option! I'm going to replace the solenoids since I'm out of warranty, seems to be the least expensive option to repair this for good.

As a side note...from this thread, sounds like BMW has been playing dumb and side stepping this major transmission issue...Jeep is recalling their vehicles because of a similar issue: http://blog.caranddriver.com/short-...omatic-gets-second-update-for-rough-shifting/
 
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