- #144 of 229
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Re: Concerned about being burned [MLB6]
by Bait
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Feb 03, 2009 (2:43 pm)
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Replying to: MLB6 (Jan 27, 2009 8:44 pm)
What I have learned from my experience is the following. (and by the way, the other poster is right. You may not experience the AT problem until after you have it...not necessarily during a test drive. I didn't)
Now, back to my point. If your X3 has this problem you will not only be risking an accident, you'll be mad as hell that you're paying for something that's not the way it should be. As mad as you'll be over that it's nothing compared to what you'll feel after being tossed overboard by BMWNA once they tell you the vehicle is operating as designed when they know full well it's got a problem. All the forums on the web, the NHTSA site as well as local dealers who will admit there's a problem can be found with little effort.
I've never seen a company put so much effort into driving people away from a brand. My opinion is to either have an attorney on retainer or go with someone else.
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- #145 of 229
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Re: Concerned about being burned [Bait]
by kesnow
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Feb 04, 2009 (8:35 am)
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Replying to: Bait (Feb 03, 2009 2:43 pm)
You are exactly right. I've had every "software update" known to BMW and both my dealership and BMWNA tell me that it is supposed to drive the way it does. The last upgrade got me jerky shifts, slow shifts, no shifts. My lease is up in 6 months and my next car WILL NOT be a BMW. They've lost me for life. The last thing they did was replace the "mechtronics" and it is no better. The transmission is, I believe I read some time ago, a GM product they are trying to adapt. I'm not 100% sure that's true, but I've never seen a GM transmission operate this poorly. The real problem is the adaptive software. I don't see why they don't just scrap it altogether and get rid of the adaptive logic like the one on my '05 325. It shifted like buttah. Also, they tried to blame it on too high a concentration of ethanol in my gas tank--and would change the gas filter, clean the injectors and drain my tank (of about 2 gals) for $1000, even though they found no damage. I'm not that stupid. So, be prepared for grief until you can get rid of it.
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- #146 of 229
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Re: Concerned about being burned [kesnow]
by topherh
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Feb 04, 2009 (9:24 am)
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Replying to: kesnow (Feb 04, 2009 8:35 am)
I'm really not sure what the deal is about this transmission issue, so I'm very curious. Don't get me wrong. My first '06 with only 12K miles on it left the front differential on the side of I-25 in -5 degrees, so I am not saying I think this is the best, most reliable car on the road (tow truck driver told me they tow more BMW and Mercedes than anything else.) but I haven't had the tranny issues.
I had just purchased it pre-owned and they said it was simply a "unusual mechanical issue" and the car was fine. "We've never heard of this happening before....." I still had almost 2 years of warranty left, but I was having nothing of that so they took it back.
So in the mean time, I did more research and have seen many threads about this transmission problem, and I drove several more to get my confidence back. I drove a couple of 2007's and 2008's and never noticed this transmission hesitation problem in any of them, at all.
What I ended up with is an '07 with 22K miles on it. It has the sports package with the M3 detailing and I'm thrilled with it. With the tighter suspension, it drives like an "ultimate driving machine" and I have absolutely no issues with the transmission or anything else for that matter. (Well, the "climate control" doesn't work very well as far as I'm concerned and the blue tooth sorts my phone book in a strange order, but other than that....) I live in Colorado so when it's really slippery, I use the manual transmission anyway, and it hugs the road.
So a) they are not all like that, and b) if anyone has any input on the climate control and blue tooth deal, I'd be happy to hear about it.
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- #147 of 229
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Re: Concerned about being burned [topherh]
by kesnow
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Feb 04, 2009 (10:38 am)
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Replying to: topherh (Feb 04, 2009 9:24 am)
You won't see the problem with the shifter in the "M/S" mode or shifting manually. That's now I drive mine to get it warmed up, then shift it back to full automatic. Seems to shift better then. The '06 had a 5 speed, the '07-'09 have a six speed, so that's why you didn't see the problem with your '06, plus it wasn't adaptive. All I can say is good luck.
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- #148 of 229
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Re: Concerned about being burned [kesnow]
by topherh
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Feb 04, 2009 (11:59 am)
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Replying to: kesnow (Feb 04, 2009 10:38 am)
I knew that the problem didn't present intself in the "M/S" mode or shifiting manually, but I have never had the problem when in full automatic regardless. Thanks for the good luck though. From all these posts, there must be something there, so perhaps I'm lucky......So Far.
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- #149 of 229
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Re: Concerned about being burned [topherh]
by Bait
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Feb 05, 2009 (6:55 am)
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Replying to: topherh (Feb 04, 2009 11:59 am)
Well, mine almost got me killed again this morning. Heading down the freeway in the middle lane and needed to get into the left lane to avoid an old lady in a Toyota in front of me. Knowing the (non-existent) problem with this car I took extra care making sure the left lane was open. It was, I made my move and the car started debating whether it wanted to shift into a gear to do what I was asking it to do. By then I was already committed to the left lane. Again, this is a very old problem and one I've told BMW about for almost 2yrs....a problem that's extremely well documented as I don't throw away anything. The guy who came very close to ramming me in the rear didn't (at 70 mph) think this was very funny either, then again, neither have a few others who almost took me out (and my wife a couple times) while making a left through an intersection. Then again, I've told BMW about all those instances too and I still have the car and absolutely NO help on ANY level from BMW.
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- #151 of 229
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Re: Concerned about being burned [kesnow]
by billmv
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Feb 05, 2009 (10:01 am)
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Replying to: kesnow (Feb 04, 2009 8:35 am)
kesnow.....Do you, or any automotive / transmission software gurus reading this forum, know if it's possible to disable the adaptive software which controls the shifting? If you can, would the transmission then operate like the '06 version, which doesn't suffer from this problem?
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- #152 of 229
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Re: Concerned about being burned [Bait]
by daddyman
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Feb 27, 2009 (8:57 am)
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Replying to: Bait (Feb 05, 2009 6:55 am)
Haven't been in here in a while, but see nothing has changed. The only way to get this resolved is to get another vehicle. Plain and simple. There is no magic bullet. To do that you will need to get a lawyer. Lemon laws start from time of first complaint, and if you have made at least 3-4 attempts at letting them fix it they are done. BMW will never admit on paper there is a problem-----never! So you can either put up with the problem until the car is gone, you are dead, or get a lawyer. BMW does not listen to anything else. You put an American designed tranny, built by the French and programmed by Germans, of course they won't play well together.
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- #153 of 229
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Re: Concerned about being burned [billmv]
by UFester
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Feb 27, 2009 (9:26 am)
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Replying to: billmv (Feb 05, 2009 10:01 am)
'Disabling' the adaptive function wouldbe difficult, baring extreme intervention from Dinan or some other tuner that has 'cracked' the transmission controller, and probably the rest of the engine/drivetrain controllers, who could disassemble the software, modify it and re-burn it. Further, its not clear whether the problem lives only within the transmission or has the other drivetrain controllers and the communication busses between them at the root of this problem. Its a complex system with a breakdown lurking somewhere and it is not clear where. While it sounds pretty straightforward to get rid of the adaptive system and go back to a economy/normal/sport shifting paradigm, BMW engineering is the place that this would happen most expediously in (to borrow FDA terminology) a safe and efficacious manner.
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