I've HAD IT!!! Transmission & Dealer Problems

Background: I bought this car used in 2009. It's an '06 e66 and now has just over 70k miles as of today. When I bought it, it had about a month left of warranty left, so took it to the dealership to have it fully looked at, but yet they didn't find anything covered by warranty.

Long story sort, few weeks later I've been having issues with the transmission, this is from mid-late 2009. They kept telling me everything was normal and ok.

Few months ago the transmission/shifting went downhill fast. Problems getting into 2nd gear, shifting hard, etc. Took it to the dealerhip and asked about replacing the flex disc/guibo joint, but they said it's the transmission and I passed on the $6300 repair. Rather, took it to a shop near me who works on a lot of BMW and Benz's and indeed was the flex disc that needed to be replace. Job done and new fluid added for about $800.

However, I'm still have a ROUGH downshift from 2-1 or known as the "coasting jolt." Same going from 3-2 if in manual mode. Going from about 1500-2000 RPM the seems to be almost a delay in acceleration, almost like the car is going to shift then says "ha, jk!"

Today I noticed a rough shift going from 4-5 and 5-6

Called the dealership and they said "yeah, that's probably normal, just bring it in." I've spent over $700 for them to just "look" at the car with nothing ever done besides saying "replace trans for $6k+"

I KNOW there is other options, but they refuse to reprogram or replace anything beside the trans. What options do I have left here? The coasting jolt from 2-1 is BAD, as well you can feel the 4-5 and 5-6 getting worse.

Complaining and going up the food chain to BMW corporate has done nothing besides waste my time. What else is left? Should I try to get the garage by my house to see if they can reprogram anything? I've heard about replacing the engine computer and trans software, but only read a few people who've had success and this is also pretty expensive.

ARGH!

Reset the transmission adaptation values in INPA. Try putting key in ignition without touching brake. Push gas pedal down for 25 seconds then start the car. See if either of these things help smooth out shifts.

Originally Posted by wjjklj

Reset the transmission adaptation values in INPA. Try putting key in ignition without touching brake. Push gas pedal down for 25 seconds then start the car. See if either of these things help smooth out shifts.

I've tried this a few times, as well had the shop completely reset the computer in the event it was in some type of "safe mode" but that hasn't done anything.

Shifts good now with the flex disc changed, but now I can feel the 2-1 because there is no play in it anymore

Did the shop change adapter seal and sealing sleeve when they changed fluid? Also new filter/ pan is recommended when changing fluid.

Originally Posted by johndade

Did the shop change adapter seal and sealing sleeve when they changed fluid? Also new filter/ pan is recommended when changing fluid.

They replaced the pan/filter with a brand new one and did 2 full cycles of fluid then added more after that.

The guy checked out the sleeve and said it appeared it was in good shape as that's one thing I read about on here.

Just called another dealer about an hour away and dropping it off next week... fingers crossed this won't result in a new trans

My transmission was replaced at 28,000 by BMW. They replaced under warranty with a rebuilt one. My car still shifts hard and pan and filter was replaced at 83,000 miles.

The transmission is a POS and even if you replace it I don't think it's going to solve any long term problems.

I think you are throwing money out the window.

Have you reviewed all the SIB's related to the transmission with the BMW Dealer? Look at Group 24.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=633049

Originally Posted by bossku69

Background: I bought this car used in 2009. It's an '06 e66 and now has just over 70k miles as of today. When I bought it, it had about a month left of warranty left, so took it to the dealership to have it fully looked at, but yet they didn't find anything covered by warranty.

Long story sort, few weeks later I've been having issues with the transmission, this is from mid-late 2009. They kept telling me everything was normal and ok.

Few months ago the transmission/shifting went downhill fast. Problems getting into 2nd gear, shifting hard, etc. Took it to the dealerhip and asked about replacing the flex disc/guibo joint, but they said it's the transmission and I passed on the $6300 repair. Rather, took it to a shop near me who works on a lot of BMW and Benz's and indeed was the flex disc that needed to be replace. Job done and new fluid added for about $800.

However, I'm still have a ROUGH downshift from 2-1 or known as the "coasting jolt." Same going from 3-2 if in manual mode. Going from about 1500-2000 RPM the seems to be almost a delay in acceleration, almost like the car is going to shift then says "ha, jk!"

Today I noticed a rough shift going from 4-5 and 5-6

Called the dealership and they said "yeah, that's probably normal, just bring it in." I've spent over $700 for them to just "look" at the car with nothing ever done besides saying "replace trans for $6k+"

I KNOW there is other options, but they refuse to reprogram or replace anything beside the trans. What options do I have left here? The coasting jolt from 2-1 is BAD, as well you can feel the 4-5 and 5-6 getting worse.

Complaining and going up the food chain to BMW corporate has done nothing besides waste my time. What else is left? Should I try to get the garage by my house to see if they can reprogram anything? I've heard about replacing the engine computer and trans software, but only read a few people who've had success and this is also pretty expensive.

ARGH!

First of all most BMW dealerships don't have tech's that know their way inside any sort of transmission, esp transmissions made by ZF. That's why many won't even attempt to tear one down. And if they do tear one down and can't put it back together, ZF won't return a core charge fee to the dealer so they are out a lot of money.

The shop that did the work for you essentially took your money and ran with it. They knew the transmission was bad and they couldn't work on it so they put a bandaid fix on it with the flex disk. The flex disk is a SHOCK ABSORBER. There is still a bang coming from the transmission, it just covers up a lot of it! The root issue needs to be addressed! Plus with the fluid change the transmission could fail even faster! If the fluid has been in the car WAY TO LONG the best thing to do is top it off or drain it and add some new fluid and mix it in with the old stuff. The reason is that the fluid has little bits of clutch material in it that is essentially holding the transmission together and keeping it running. Putting in new fluid removes all those particles and the transmission can no longer function properly.

You have 4 options now:

1. Live with it

2. Get the transmission replaced by BMW

3. Get the transmission looked at by a specialty transmission shop that knows their way around a complex transmission. They can rebuilt your trans for a reasonable price or replace it for a price better than BMW.

4. Call up BMW Corporate and complain to them. You have documented issues that have lasted for quite a while while under warranty and now the issues have progressed to where they are not intermittent. It is failure on the part of the dealership to properly diagnose the issue. They might pay for 1/2 the trans. or cover it completely!

Originally Posted by csmeance

First of all most BMW dealerships don't have tech's that know their way inside any sort of transmission, esp transmissions made by ZF. That's why many won't even attempt to tear one down. And if they do tear one down and can't put it back together, ZF won't return a core charge fee to the dealer so they are out a lot of money.

The shop that did the work for you essentially took your money and ran with it. They knew the transmission was bad and they couldn't work on it so they put a bandaid fix on it with the flex disk. The flex disk is a SHOCK ABSORBER. There is still a bang coming from the transmission, it just covers up a lot of it! The root issue needs to be addressed! Plus with the fluid change the transmission could fail even faster! If the fluid has been in the car WAY TO LONG the best thing to do is top it off or drain it and add some new fluid and mix it in with the old stuff. The reason is that the fluid has little bits of clutch material in it that is essentially holding the transmission together and keeping it running. Putting in new fluid removes all those particles and the transmission can no longer function properly.

You have 4 options now:

1. Live with it

2. Get the transmission replaced by BMW

3. Get the transmission looked at by a specialty transmission shop that knows their way around a complex transmission. They can rebuilt your trans for a reasonable price or replace it for a price better than BMW.

4. Call up BMW Corporate and complain to them. You have documented issues that have lasted for quite a while while under warranty and now the issues have progressed to where they are not intermittent. It is failure on the part of the dealership to properly diagnose the issue. They might pay for 1/2 the trans. or cover it completely!

Hi csmeance........any chance of naming "a specialty transmission shop" that could do BMW transmissions in the Boynton Beach FL area & or the Toronto ON area...thanks

Originally Posted by dommm

Hi csmeance........any chance of naming "a specialty transmission shop" that could do BMW transmissions in the Boynton Beach FL area & or the Toronto ON area...thanks

Not sure how far Ft Myers is from you, but they have one listed there on their website: http://www.zf.com/corporate/en/produ...pdate=1&page=3

Originally Posted by dommm

Hi csmeance........any chance of naming "a specialty transmission shop" that could do BMW transmissions in the Boynton Beach FL area & or the Toronto ON area...thanks

Use the ZF link above to find a reputable shop where you will be staying for a large amount of time. That way if SOMETHING does go wrong, you are close by!

Originally Posted by bossku69

Not sure how far Ft Myers is from you, but they have one listed there on their website: http://www.zf.com/corporate/en/produ...pdate=1&page=3

Thanks for the suggestion but I had no luck with the link.

I emailed the Ft. Myers shop & asked if they do work on BMW transmissions & they replied that they "do not deal in automotive transmissions."

Using the same link you supplied I found & emailed a shop in Mississauga Ontario Canada which is not far from me while I'm up home & they replied saying "Tarten Equipment represents ZF but mostly in the Heavy Duty sectors. We do not do a lot of work in the automotive end."

Originally Posted by csmeance

Use the ZF link above to find a reputable shop where you will be staying for a large amount of time. That way if SOMETHING does go wrong, you are close by!

Hi csmeance

Would you have any other suggestions on finding a specialty transmission shop? The link that bossku69 suggested did not pan out. tia

Originally Posted by dommm

Hi csmeance

Would you have any other suggestions on finding a specialty transmission shop? The link that bossku69 suggested did not pan out. tia

Domm take your car to Toronto Automatic Transmission. These guys know what they are doing and they ONLY work on ZF transmissions ....nothing else. I had them replace my torque converter and transmission pan and fluid...my transmission shifts great now...before that I had tones of issues...they also replaced my flex disk for me. If you want to take it there let me know and ill call the owner for you. His name is Bob...very nice guy and they are very reasonably priced. They are right off the gardiner ....close to islington in Etobicoke.

Originally Posted by DFEL750I

Domm take your car to Toronto Automatic Transmission. These guys know what they are doing and they ONLY work on ZF transmissions ....nothing else. I had them replace my torque converter and transmission pan and fluid...my transmission shifts great now...before that I had tones of issues...they also replaced my flex disk for me. If you want to take it there let me know and ill call the owner for you. His name is Bob...very nice guy and they are very reasonably priced. They are right off the gardiner ....close to islington in Etobicoke.

Hi DFEL750I........Thanks for the tip. I'm in Florida at the moment & don't need service yet but I will save the name of your transmission shop for future reference. I spend half the year down here & half up home so just wanted to be prepared for the worst being that these cars from what I've read on this site seem to have a bad rap for transmission issues.

Originally Posted by dommm

Hi DFEL750I........Thanks for the tip. I'm in Florida at the moment & don't need service yet but I will save the name of your transmission shop for future reference. I spend half the year down here & half up home so just wanted to be prepared for the worst being that these cars from what I've read on this site seem to have a bad rap for transmission issues.

I'm not sure of any good shops in FL that specalize in ZF transmissions but I can call a few friends and ask them if they know of any!

Originally Posted by csmeance

I'm not sure of any good shops in FL that specalize in ZF transmissions but I can call a few friends and ask them if they know of any!

That would be great. tia

PS: Happy New Year to you & all bimmerfest members.