2007-2010 X3 Automatic Transmission Problem Master Thread!

Originally Posted by Coffeeman

If enough potential BMW buyers "take a break", then maybe the powers that be in Montvale will begin to take notice.

I don't think Montvale is the solution. Can I suggest making a call to Dr. Norbert Reithofer, CEO of BMW. This is what someone did when they had issues with the fuel pumps on the first 335i....
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...bert+reithofer

Don't know why I didn't think of this before....hope it helps.

Originally Posted by Evlengr

Here ya go:[*]Cold weather seems to bring out the worst in the GM6 transmission.

Very true. It shifts hard when it is cold (less than 32F)

Gotta' Love a 4 wheel utility vehicle that doesn't work properly in the winter months.

Originally Posted by matti

Very true. It shifts hard when it is cold (less than 32F)

While I think I remember the shifts being held longer on my 12/07, my 09/07 shifts the same all of the time regardless of temperature, even down in the low 20's. If mine's an aberration, it's one that I'm not complaining about.

My only annoyance so far at 800+ miles, is its tendency to hold any gear longer if you're climbing even the slightest incline. Mix in a little additional throttle and it'll go 4K and beyond before even thinking about shifting. But since it's consistent and predictable, I just consider this part of it's sporting nature and when it bothers me I just move the lever left and pull. The 12/07 did this too.

I know someone in the market for an X3, so when I visited the dealer yesterday looking at an e93 for myself, I asked the sales guy "I'm leery of the X3, because of the tranmission problems. Any truth in them?"

He said:

1. Yes, a batch of X3's in the 07 / 08 model year were produced with transmission problems.

2. Those problems have been fixed through a software patch, and the models on their lot now, which were built after the problem was fixed, should all be fine.

3. People on the Internet talk too much.

Take all that for what you will. Do any of you have any confidence that a new build X3 will in fact be problem free?

Originally Posted by hoopics

I know someone in the market for an X3, so when I visited the dealer yesterday looking at an e93 for myself, I asked the sales guy "I'm leery of the X3, because of the tranmission problems. Any truth in them?"

He said:

1. Yes, a batch of X3's in the 07 / 08 model year were produced with transmission problems.

2. Those problems have been fixed through a software patch, and the models on their lot now, which were built after the problem was fixed, should all be fine.

3. People on the Internet talk too much.

Take all that for what you will. Do any of you have any confidence that a new build X3 will in fact be problem free?

Not unless it's an MT. (and now there seems to be people reporting "Stalling Out" problems with them).

• When BMWNA owns up to the problem--openly
• Fixes or makes good on the current users
• And 08 owners stop reporting problems

Then I'll believe them. Until then they have done nothing but Lie, Deny, and stick to their story that there is "No Problem Found".

The latest "Software Fix" is only a partial fix. And major problems still occur, especially under cold weather conditions. Great for an AWD vehicle that people buy to handle inclement weather.

If there was "No Problem Found" than all these people that are trading out, getting them bought back, suing, or just not buying must be liars.

To have confidence in the vehicle there must be confidence in the mfg and their support structure.

Originally Posted by

[B

To have confidence in the vehicle there must be confidence in the mfg and their support structure. [/b]

Agreed !

Why would anyone buy another BMW and risk having another problem they won't even admit to let alone solve. There are too many other good vehicles out there. I should of bought the Sante Fe. Sure it doesn't handle like the BMW but it was 60% of the cost.

Email sent this morning concerning another issue we had with the transmission on the X3

Dear BMWNA and Service Manager:

We experienced another issue with the drive train on our 2008 X3 last night that I wanted to add to the list of already reported issues.

My wife and I were driving the X3 around 5:30 PM EST on 3/10/2008. We drove through an intersection with a stop light at speed, made a left hand turn at the intersection and as I pressed on the accelerator the car violently bucked 3 times, felt like it was going to stall, and finally engaged and proceeded down the road. This bucking we experienced was similar to a new driver having difficulties learning/driving a stick shift when not in the proper gear. Since our car is an automatic and was in D mode there was something within the controls of the transmission that caused this reaction. Again, we went through the intersection at speed and had not started from a stopped position. Additionally, I looked at the gas gauge to see if we were possibly running out of fuel but we had approximately 1/4 tank of gas so I do not believe this was an issue related to fuel.

Please add this issue to the other five already reported on our 2008 X3.

Originally Posted by matti

Why would anyone buy another BMW and risk having another problem they won't even admit to let alone solve. There are too many other good vehicles out there. I should of bought the Sante Fe. Sure it doesn't handle like the BMW but it was 60% of the cost.

The Lemon Law states that there is a useage fee the consumer has to pay for a repurchase or a replacement vehicle. "Whether you bought or leased the vehicle, a replacement would be identical or reasonably equivalent to your
present vehicle. You would be responsible for paying the manufacturer a deduction (offset) for use, based on a
formula that includes the miles you put on the vehicle up until the time you made the request to the
manufacturer. [(Miles × purchase price) ÷ 100,000]
A refund to you for a vehicle you leased would include:

Your down payment or any initial balloon payment;

The amount allowed for any trade-in; and

Incidental costs associated with the repair of the vehicle, such as towing, alternate transportation or
repair charges.
A refund for a vehicle you bought would include:
• The purchase price (the amount you agreed to pay before taxes were added and any trade-in value or
down payment subtracted);
• Collateral charges (including but not limited to sales tax and other government charges, dealer charges,
dealer-installed items, extended warranty, and all interest you paid on any loan from a lending
institution); and
• Incidental costs associated with repairing the vehicle, such as towing, alternate transportation or repair
charges;
• Minus a deduction or offset for the miles you put on the vehicle, up until the time of your request that
the manufacturer buy back the vehicle. [(Miles × purchase price) ÷ 100,000]."

AWhitney ..please do not let this dissuade you.

The price is based upon when you first formally notify the dealer/mfg. So if you reported this problem at 600 miles and now have 12,000 you get the fair market value at 600 miles.

A good lemon lawyer is a must as BMWNA will try to make you assume more costs then you should.

Considering BMWNA's new militant stance of "No Problem Found" it seems that for many of us there is no other recourse.

Once again, I have to emphasize had BWMNA come forward and offered to work with X3 owners instead of lying (and that is what they did) I for one would have been much more tolerant.

I've basically stopped reading this forum because I'm so disgusted with the transmission on my X3. My wife and I are dual-income-no-kids and we'll never buy another BMW...nice job guys.

Havelcek... huh? are you thanking us for driving you away? That's what it sounds like.

Originally Posted by kjboyd

Havelcek... huh? are you thanking us for driving you away? That's what it sounds like.

Woops sorry about that, no I meant that to any BMW employees who happen to be reading and ignoring these threads. I have greatly benefited from the collective wisdom of the posters on these forums but continuing to read about the transmission problem just makes me angry.

"Havelcek steals it ! Havelcek stole the thread ! It's all over... It's all over !"

I prefer to take liars and bully's head on. BMWNA has been both IMO.

No Problem Found - Liar

It's Your Faullt (driving, gas, etc....) Bullying

Sorry I don't sugar coat my remarks, but when you are talking this much money and the magnitude of the issue they don't deserve it.

Originally Posted by matti

Why would anyone buy another BMW and risk having another problem they won't even admit to let alone solve. There are too many other good vehicles out there. I should of bought the Sante Fe. Sure it doesn't handle like the BMW but it was 60% of the cost.

I agree--for $15k less its a bargain and I can give up some handling and stuff to save some bucks--I wonder about the resale of the newer X3's will go down because of the trans and ecu problems.

Just today, towards the last quarter of a 300 mile round trip down I-80, I had gotten off in Laramie WY to get gas, started down the road that leads back to the interstate, was doing a constant 45 mph or so, and experienced that unpredictable unintended acceleration - you know, driving along and out of the blue the car starts to take off. Also, I stopped to pee at the rest stop at the Lincoln Monument (highest point on I-80) and on the downhill entrance ramp re-entering the interstate the X3 held a gear all the way to red-line/7K rpms as I entered the interstate. Tell me an automatic transmission in a $46K BMW is designed to red-line. I even drove off the next two exit ramps just to see if I could replicate this upon again re-entering the interstate. Of course, I couldn't and instead the X3 acted much like one would expect, running right up through the gears as I reached 70+ mph and entered back onto I-80.

Originally Posted by Terry J. Harris

Just today, towards the last quarter of a 300 mile round trip down I-80, I had gotten off in Laramie WY to get gas, started down the road that leads back to the interstate, was doing a constant 45 mph or so, and experienced that unpredictable unintended acceleration - you know, driving along and out of the blue the car starts to take off. Also, I stopped to pee at the rest stop at the Lincoln Monument (highest point on I-80) and on the downhill entrance ramp re-entering the interstate the X3 held a gear all the way to red-line/7K rpms as I entered the interstate. Tell me an automatic transmission in a $46K BMW is designed to red-line. I even drove off the next two exit ramps just to see if I could replicate this upon again re-entering the interstate. Of course, I couldn't and instead the X3 acted much like one would expect, running right up through the gears as I reached 70+ mph and entered back onto I-80.

I've experienced similar behavior...It is almost as if the transmission is haunted. The other night, I was on a back road with steep hill, flat road, steep hill, etc. The X3 stayed near red-line the entire time. I finally flipped it to sport mode, whereupon it began to act more "normally".

There is something seriously wrong with these vehicles.

Have there been any DME/EGS software updates recently? I haven't heard of any since the aborted one in January. If anyone has had any experience with one since then, please post your observations.

there wouldn't be... as they are now saying there is NO PROBLEM

Here's one for the folks that have the troubled tranny. With the temperatures warming up, have you noticed the X3 behaving better?

With the exception of the SD I am seeing less jerky transistions from 2-3 and vica versa during consistent warmer temps.

Originally Posted by Evlengr

Here's one for the folks that have the troubled tranny. With the temperatures warming up, have you noticed the X3 behaving better?

With the exception of the SD I am seeing less jerky transistions from 2-3 and vica versa during consistent warmer temps.

It's pretty warm were we live, but we do go up to the mountains, so X3 has seen some low temps, snow, etc. Have not noticed any difference in the behavior cold vs. warm, etc.

My wife took her X3 for service a couple of weeks ago. The same song by BMW: "It's your driving", "nothing wrong with transmission", "drive in SD mode". Wife expressed her surprise that you "needed a special style of driving" to buy X3. Told them that she would take that under consideration next time we look to buy a car.

However, noticed that trany works considerably better after the service. Don't know if this is temporary (or any updated software was loaded, etc.), as I heard it's acting better after reset. Will see...

On a good note, X3 performed very well in light snow and on ice with OEM Pirelli Scorprios M+S.

So according to this thread the problems with the AT are for vehicles built between 9/2006 and 11/2007. Is there anyone here who had their cars built AFTER this date that have experienced the problem as well? If someone has experienced that and reported it in this thread I apologize for not readong all nine pages of it but browsing though I didn't find anyone who had specified that. I gues I fall into that camp of thinking that forums do make problems seem worse than they are because, as the saying goes, when you have a complain you tell 7 people, when you're satisfied you tell no one. So naturally you hear more complaints than you do positives. If I were to get an 08' X3 it would have to be ordered so I would think/hope that the problems are not present in the current builds. That's why I ask the question. If someone can tell me that a recently ordered X3 built after the specified dates has the same AT problems then I might scratch the idea all together.

yes, 08s built after 11/07 are having the problems as well.