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BMW transmission issue


blue98ls1

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Today I took my 850ci out for a short drive, it hasn't moved since the BMW car show. It felt like it was running a bit rough but I thought maybe it was just from it sitting for a while. Well I get a couple blocks from my house and I am following this little old lady going about 15-20mph and all of a sudden I hear a thud/clunk and the little message center went *DING* - Transmission safety mode - See Owner's Manual. And the transmission went into LIMP HOME mode. I am going to assume the owners manual would say something along the lines of "Take vehicle to nearest BMW service center." if I had the owners manual....

 

So here's the thing, If you turn the car off - it will come out of limp mode. You drive it for a little bit and right back into limp mode it goes. :fuuuu:

 

Anyone have any equiptment to find out what its issue is? Hoping its a simple sensor or something...

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sensors dont go clunk.

 

i imagine a specialty BMW shop would have something for it. That might be the best place to go. There is one in grandview i think

 

Was hoping that "clunk" was just the transmission downshifting into whatever gear "limp home" is.

 

I did find a transmission for worse case senario. But it has never had any problems changing gears or anything. No indication it was about to go out. I really bet its a wiring/computer/sensor issue. Because the car itself was running rough/sluggish. It didn't feel like a transmission problem per say. :confused:

 

I knew having the transmission fluid changed was going to be a bad idea. :fuuuu:

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I think you guys are getting transmission "flushes" mixed up with a true fluid-change.

 

Flushes routinely destroy transmissions because they kick up all sorts of shit that has naturally settled over the course of the vehicles life. This crap then gets re-circulated throughout the tranny and often leads to failure a short time later.

 

A simple drop of the pan then refill w/fresh fluid shouldn't harm the trans.

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Also what are the symptoms? Does it go into limp mode right as it's about to shift into a certain gear? How long does it take to act up? seconds? minutes? Does it shift fine in all gears for a while only to go into limp mode once it warms up?

 

I know it sounds stupid but have you checked the fluid level/condition? does it smell/look burnt?

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I think you guys are getting transmission "flushes" mixed up with a true fluid-change.

 

Flushes routinely destroy transmissions because they kick up all sorts of shit that has naturally settled over the course of the vehicles life. This crap then gets re-circulated throughout the tranny and often leads to failure a short time later.

 

A simple drop of the pan then refill w/fresh fluid shouldn't harm the trans.

 

From what I was told by a transmission tech if you put all new fluid in the transmission after it's seen old worn fluid for some time, it causes the trans to start slipping due to the fact the new fluid isn't full of particles and crap and the fluid is "slippery" in comparison to the old "grippy" fluid.

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From what I was told by a transmission tech if you put all new fluid in the transmission after it's seen old worn fluid for some time, it causes the trans to start slipping due to the fact the new fluid isn't full of particles and crap and the fluid is "slippery" in comparison to the old "grippy" fluid.

 

This has to be the most dumb down way to explain something very technical.

 

This is like saying a particle accelerator is like when you take two kids with slingshots and have them shoot them shoot balls at each other and if the balls touch, they disappear. no homo.

 

Here is a technical sheet on oil viscosity's related to wear on parts and oils.

 

http://www.jglubricantservices.com/docs/Technical%20Information%20Sheet.pdf

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This has to be the most dumb down way to explain something very technical.

 

This is like saying a particle accelerator is like when you take two kids with slingshots and have them shoot them shoot balls at each other and if the balls touch, they disappear. no homo.

 

Here is a technical sheet on oil viscosity's related to wear on parts and oils.

 

http://www.jglubricantservices.com/docs/Technical%20Information%20Sheet.pdf

 

I wasn't aware I was going for a technical response. I thought I was trying to get my point across to an unknown person on a level that's easy to understand, but what the fuck do I know, I'm just the one writing my posts.. :dumb:

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http://www.meh.ro/original/2010_03/meh.ro3728.jpg

 

Tech Section Guidelines

 

6) If you don't have anything nice to say, hit your browser's back button. This is a place where people search for help. Insults and flaming will not be tolerated in this section. Anyone who violates this rule will have their post edited/deleted and will receive a strike.

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I had a V12 750iL...I think its all the same between the 7 and 8...anyway the point I'm getting at is this sounds like the reason I sold mine. Mine was making the same noise and would also go into limp mode. Took it to MAG and the said it was something electronic that goes bad on the inside of the trans. It has been a little more then 10 years so I cant remember what it was...but I know MAG told me it requires basically the rebuild of the trans. Unfortunately they also said they don't do that there, they just replace with new or already reman. So, I sold it and bought another newer 7 series....without the V12. I loved the engine and the power...but god was it a problem child....

 

Sorry not much help, but maybe it's common?? I would post it up on bimmerforums.com

 

Good luck!

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Also what are the symptoms? Does it go into limp mode right as it's about to shift into a certain gear? How long does it take to act up? seconds? minutes? Does it shift fine in all gears for a while only to go into limp mode once it warms up?

 

I know it sounds stupid but have you checked the fluid level/condition? does it smell/look burnt?

 

I didn't mess with the car very much, I was pretty busy yesterday and only thought of getting the car back home and in the driveway. I stopped and restarted the car a couple times, didn't really pay attention if it was a certain gear that was doing it. I will go mess with it and check the fluid shortly and try to answer your questions better.

 

Back story on the fluid - It was pitch black when we bought the car. Personal experiance with automatics is not to fuck with the fluid when it looks like that as the trans is a ticking time bomb, but Anthony somehow convinced me to take it somewhere and have new fluid/filter installed. Logic being it would probably end up failing one way or the other. They did the drop the pan method which only replaces SOME of the fluid.The transmission has never shifted hard, had problems with going into any gear or given me any indication it was about to fail. And I definately know ALL the indicators of a transmission thats about to go bad. I used to own a ton of Subaru SVX's. :lolguy:

 

The only thing the car has ever done is during the test drive Anthony tried to do a burn out in the car and the traction control thing kicked on and the car went insane and basically said "I am not that kind of girl" and kicked into limp home mode. Shut down & restarted the car and all has been fine. The traction control has since kicked on a lot of times while driving in the rain or whatever. No issues.

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Drove the car this morning and it did not go into limp home mode at all. I took it to the closest place I could find which happens to be a Jiffy Lube and they checked the transmission fluid because the dip stick was being stubborn for me. They said it was a quart low on transmission fluid and on oil (wtf?). So now I am going to take it in and find out where the leaks are.
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They said it was a quart low on transmission fluid and on oil (wtf?). So now I am going to take it in and find out where the leaks are.

 

 

FYI,

 

Alot of the older ZF Auto's of that era had 2 part trannies, ATX Components w/ ATF & the Transaxle w/ gear oil. The Transaxle doesn't hold much though....:fuuuu:

 

Good luck!

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That's the same transmission that was in my Discovery I think. Dipshits filled it at the wrong hole once, essentially over filling it and causing ATF to come out the vent tube by the firewall spilling ATF all along the bottom of the car. :mad:
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Well the update is, I don't know wtf is going on with the transmission. It was low on fluid, they topped it off. It hasn't gone into limp home mode since. HOWEVER, I keep smelling transmission fluid burning when I drive the car, and there are no signs of leaks anywhere for transmission fluid.... But it IS losing fluid. I have drove the car a couple hundred miles since and I am just keeping an eye on the fluid levels.

 

The bad news in all of this, the car has an oil leak at the upper oil pan gasket and its 12+ hours of labor to fix. Leak is not bad enough the car can't be driven, though. Seems to lose a quart about every 3k miles.

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