05 545i Transmission Surging Issues help!

Question does anyone have video of this problem? Im going to make one and hopefully someone can help me with my problem ( transmission kicks in and out of 3rd gear)

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."

I came across this article on the installation of the mechatronics. It's pretty illustrative of what needs to be done. Except for the programming, it seems like it could be a DIY job.

http://www.zftranspart.com/images/custom/mecha.pdf

Originally Posted by bryant

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..

Originally Posted by carlos916

u should post it!.. that way i can see if its acting the same as my tranny..

Here you are:
Watch the mpg meter, as every time it fluctuates, it is a result of the "hiccup" at that constant speed in 5th gear (DS). That happened to be at 60 mph, but it is perhaps even more noticeable at 10 - 15 mph less.

One thing I would like to note is that this "surge / hiccup" problem does not appear very discernable on this video, but from the seat of your pants, it is a very aggravating and abnormal frequent occurrence.

Originally Posted by bryant

Here you are:
Watch the mpg meter, as every time it fluctuates, it is a result of the "hiccup" at that consant speed in 5th gear (DS). That happened to be at 60 mph, but it is perhaps even more noticeable at 10 - 15 mph less.

hey thank you very much!.. appriciate the vid.. im going to take the car for a drive and see if i have that hickup on the mpg gauge.. i was told that it would be the rps that jump but ill try to get a vid and post and hopefully get some feed bak

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!

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.

Well I finally picked up my car with the brand new installed mechatronic unit today, directly from ZF. Again, according to my mechanic, he was told this is the latest version unit, which fixes the historic problems. He stated it came with the revised transmission pan, gaskets, etc. I only drove it about 10 miles to work and could tell that the shifting is perfect and precise. I'm not saying it was slushy before, I could just tell that the shifting is more crisp. I cruised at 40 - 50 mph and there was no evidence of the surging / hiccups. Final cost ended up being just over $3,500. It was quite a sting, but I would have been taken for that much if I traded it for something else and I wouldn't sell it to a private party without disclosing that issue. In the end, I believe it was worth it if I never have another issue with that unit again. After waiting a week and a half (thanks to the delay from ZF) it's great to be back in this car.

Originally Posted by bryant

Well I finally picked up my car with the brand new installed mechatronic unit today, directly from ZF. Again, according to my mechanic, he was told this is the latest version unit, which fixes the historic problems. He stated it came with the revised transmission pan, gaskets, etc. I only drove it about 10 miles to work and could tell that the shifting is perfect and precise. I'm not saying it was slushy before, I could just tell that the shifting is more crisp. I cruised at 40 - 50 mph and there was no evidence of the surging / hiccups. Final cost ended up being just over $3,500. It was quite a sting, but I would have been taken for that much if I traded it for something else and I wouldn't sell it to a private party without disclosing that issue. In the end, I believe it was worth it if I never have another issue with that unit again. After waiting a week and a half (thanks to the delay from ZF) it's great to be back in this car.

That's great news that the problem is solved. Your rationale for spending the 3500 makes perfect sense too. that price is significantly less than others have reported here so i think you made out well.

That was money well spent. Tranny problems are a pain to live with but once fixed, you will love that car and probably keep it for a long time. Glad to hear things turned out well for you!

Originally Posted by MSAMMY

That was money well spent. Tranny problems are a pain to live with but once fixed, you will love that car and probably keep it for a long time. Glad to hear things turned out well for you!

+1 million.. thats my only issue with my car.. the tranny!.. but yeah glad to see it all worked out for u!.. im dropping my car off next week at the stealership and having a bmwna rep look at it.. hoping for the best but will see what happens

Thanks for your confirmations. After driving a couple hundred miles now, I continue to be pleased. Not only is the problem fixed, I can really tell the car is more responsive. I wonder if it has to do with the programming on the new unit versus the programming on my old unit or perhaps that the new unit is well, new, lol. I recall when I first got my 545, that I told the dealership that it felt it was too "jolty" when I accelerated from 0. They changed the programming and fixed that, but I always thought I was robbed of a little power. After the install of the new unit, that power feels like it has returned. Keep in mind this is all theory. The main thing is is that those annoying hiccups are gone.

good stuff.. im taking my car in here in about a couple of hours and dropping it off .. tomorrow morning it will get checked out by a bmwna rep and hopefully i can get something fixed... im getting fed up with this kick and at times its almost feels like when u tap on the brakes and everyone in the car lunges forward a bit =/ so yeah ill get some word on it by tomorrow afternoon

Keep us updated with what they say. Good luck to you.

It was infrequent, but before the fix, I would experience those "kicks" once in awhile (the hiccups I've explained earlier were much more prevalent). If that ever occurred when I was on Ice, the results could have been terrible.

Hey man,
I am sitting the UAE and have been reviewing this forum for a few months while battling with BMW ME - A$$-Clowns!!

Your updates have motivated me to get a decent indy BMW mech to have a crack at my mech unit.
I love my 545, have done a fair few miles in it, looked after it - but this hiccup in the low klm will drive you to drink!!!

Will keep a post on the progress

Oh - and all the BM SA that read this - complain to your tight ass management that the customers are on to you!

I am not a mechanic/car-freak but i am not an idiot either.

BMW you have a real, live, known fault on your hands here and you are using the ostrich method of problem solving!!! Not good enough

hey guys sorry for the late reply so i rescheduled and i just got my car back yesterday.. so the bmwna rep that came to look at my car said that he couldn't find nothing wrong with the car (they couldn't replicate the problem .. kick in and out of 3rd gear) .. my SA said that they took the car for a road test and drove it for about 30 miles and nothing happened and nothing was found abnormal, they checked the fluids, ran a computer diagnostic on the EGS and there were no faults.

im not happy with the results and when i went to pick up the car it was late so i wasn't able to talk to my SA because they were all gone.. I'm going back on Monday and going to have a talk with him and the service manager. also on my way home the car did the kick again.. its just one of those things that happens when it happens .. I'm getting to the point that were i want to let go of the car and just get something else .. BMW of course lol.. but yeah since its one of the major components its just an issue i cant ignore.

so now I'm either thinking of getting something else maybe an 08' E60 or lease a E9x coupe .. but yeah those are my last resort options of i cant get no were with this transmission issue..

^ You will probably experience the same issue if you get a 08 E60, as my 550 kick from time to time.

And off course BMW's definite answer to all our issue "WE CAN'T REPLICATE THE PROBLEM"

^yeah that sucks.. well hope i get something sorted out tomorrow

Is this problem present only cars with auto transmissions or both?

Originally Posted by Margal

Is this problem present only cars with auto transmissions or both?

from what ive read in the E60's its all been automatics with the problems.. not all but some... more of an 545 issue than the 530 like me..

but ill be on my way to the dealership to talk about my results here in a bit so hopefully something good comes out of that..

My 05 545i had the same issue as you described. I tried to get it diagnosed throughout the last one and one half years but it never did it at the dealership. It finally did it and it turned out to be the valve control body in the trans. They replaced the part and it fixed the problem. The car is a CPO car so it cost me only 50 dollars but the bill has over four thousand dollars. I hope the helps everyone having the same problem.

I am new to bmw I got a 05 545i and I having the same issue i thought it was normal till I found this. I also have very bad jerk starting off when the engine is cold from 1st to 2nd it does it a couple of times. I just printed this out and will take it to the dealer next week.

Originally Posted by MikeD731

My 05 545i had the same issue as you described. I tried to get it diagnosed throughout the last one and one half years but it never did it at the dealership. It finally did it and it turned out to be the valve control body in the trans. They replaced the part and it fixed the problem. The car is a CPO car so it cost me only 50 dollars but the bill has over four thousand dollars. I hope the helps everyone having the same problem.

The valve body is the Mechatronics. BMW just calls it mechatronics.

PLEASE GIVE ME UR OPINOIN
I have an '05 545i. I have These same issues. I have thought about replacing the mech. But don't know if it is worth it. The car has 106,000 miles and still owe about $9k on it. Apart from the mech. Issue I absolutely love the car. Would it be worth it to get the mech replaced for $4000 since out of warranty or trade the car in? Have really had only a few minor repairs on the car. I would like to keep the car as long as I could. Should I just go ahead and replace the unit? Could not doing this repair cause any future issues?
Thanx - srry so long