Jumping when changing up gears

alex1985blue · Post by **alex1985blue** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 7:26 am

Hey Guys,

Im not sure if this is quite a problem yet but I thought id like to find out what the problem is.

Every morning I take my girlfriend to the train station 5 miles away, so we jump in the car and drive to the station.

The car is not warmed up before it is driven, but what I am finding is that the car jumps quite noticeabilly when it changes from 1st to second.It does it twice as I have to start and stop and start again all within 200m of the house.

After that the jumping reduces drastically to being almost non existant, but is still possible to feel it when you are speeding up slowly.

Now what I want to know has other people epereinced this problem, and what is the sollution?

Is it a problem or do these cars need to be warmed up for a couple minutes before drive on?

Gearbox oil change?

Cheers

Alex

CondorX5 · Post by **CondorX5** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 11:54 am

You don't give details of your cars year / model / mileage etc, but I would say that the auto transmissions can fail and that there are loads of posts on the subject - try reading xoutpost, the US site - as well as looking on here. There are loads and loads of posts about similar issues, all of which end up being related to some sort of transmission problem or, heaven forbid, a transmission failure.......lurching, jumping gear etc all mentioned in early signs of a transmission that is not happy.....

alex1985blue · Post by **alex1985blue** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:12 pm

The car is a 2005 4.4 v8

The gearbox works fine all other times and once the car has warmed up a bit. I cant see that as gearbox failure.

gchristofi · Post by **gchristofi** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:47 pm

Mines been doing something similar for the last couple of years. The problem is only very slight and has not noticeably progressed in the last 30k miles so fingers crossed, touch wood and all that! (2004 V8, now approx 65k miles)

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:58 pm

The auto tranny has a 'cold-cycle program' and a 'warm-cycle program'. The cold cycle causes it to hold the gears a little longer and alters the shifting processes whilst the engine warms up. It may need either reprogramming or the adaption system reset. I think the reset is done by turning the key to position 2 (don't start the car) and then holding the throttle predal to the floor for about thirty seconds. Release the pedal and start the engine. See if that works, as it's the easiest thing to try. If that's no good, then a code read might be a good idea. That may give a pointer as to which part of the system is feeling unwell.

There was an upgrade to the gearbox software which may be an option for you too. It was not installed by default so may not have been done if there were no problems reported at service etc.

Bad shifting was the first - and very brief - warning I had a problem. The box self-destructed within a minute with no warning and only 42k miles!! In my case it was the torque converter sprag-clutch, but that wrecked the whole box.

EDIT:> The failure mode I had was both unusual and rare, particularly at that low mileage. Auto's are complicated beasts and in your case it could be something really simple and not an indication of a serious fault. Keep a close ear to it and see what happens.

What mileage is on the car?

CondorX5 · Post by **CondorX5** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 7:39 pm

[quote=""alex1985blue""]The car is a 2005 4.4 v8

The gearbox works fine all other times and once the car has warmed up a bit. I cant see that as gearbox failure.[/quote]

Well don't worry about it then. Just tried to point out that X5Sport and others had very similar problems and that catastrophic failure can follow. Or not. As the case may be. It isn't operating correctly, obviously, and may just be a software issue or a reset as described. Or it may be an early indication of a pending failure - obviously it hasn't totally failed. Yet. Hope it doesn't.

alex1985blue · Post by **alex1985blue** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 1:31 pm

[quote=""CondorX5""][quote=""alex1985blue""]The car is a 2005 4.4 v8

[/quote]Well don't worry about it then.[/quote]

I think my response was written with a large amount of hope with my head in the sand.

What do you guys think is my next port of call after resetting the system?

The car has seem to have settled down a bit, but this morning it did jump again

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 1:54 pm

Umm..........well I guess that leaves you with a couple of choices. The first is do nothing and hope it sorts itself out - which it may still do - and the other is to either borrow a scanner or get a code read/diagnostic done and see if anything shows up. You don't necessaritly need to go to a Dealer for that as there are some specialist garages who support BMW but not at BMW prices. We use one in Bletchley, PCS, for the E53 and E46. Is it a 5spd or 6spd? How many miles on it? Is it specific to one gear, or several?

A BMW Dealer won't be able to fix the faults identified as they are not allowed to. They can only replace the entire transmission which in 98% of cases is completely unnecessary and over the top. A software reload might work as it only seems to affect the cold mode and not the hot. Could be fluid levels in the box - any signs of leakage? Just thinking out loud that if the level was low and the system uses different pressures in the cold cycle that might cause a problem?

alex1985blue · Post by **alex1985blue** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 2:08 pm

At the moment I am still to try your idea where you hold the accelerator down for 30 secs then start it. Just trying to figure out what costs I may be incouring in the future.

The car is a 6 speed and it has done 85,000 miles and is FSH. The problem is specific to changing up from first to second only. All other gears, and changing down are fine.

Ive had a look under the car and there is no oil marks from the gearbox, and nop dripping oil on the drive, so I think I can say that the gearbox is not leaking.

Is the one you use in bletchely good? I was thinking about taking the car to Jason who does the remaps who advertises on here.

If I was to take the car to s specialist around london, who is the best people to take it to?

Cheers

Alex

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 4:43 pm

Which side of London?

To give you some idea, when mine went the BMW Dealer diagnostic was Â£60. They would only replace the entire box at Â£7k. If the Mechatronics Unit had also failed then that added another Â£3k all fitted.

The transmission repair was done in Biggleswade (40 miles up the A1) for Â£2k all in. That was for a complete rebuild. Unless you have a catastrophic failure, which you don't, that's the worst case. Came with a 12 month warranty and check at 6 months. They'll recover the car from anywhere in the UK if necessary.

Given yours only does it when cold, my suspicion would initially fall on the adaption system, or a software glitch. Both of which are easy fixes

ITBarbie · Post by **ITBarbie** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 4:50 pm

Hi Alex

I have read your thread with interest. Jason is very good and I would recommend him (used for my remap). He is very knowledgeable and I think if not able to sort it will definitely help you source somewhere in London.

I do hope you get it sorted. My glass is always half empty not half full and I have been pleasantly surprised by some things I thought were terminal and in fact were not on my X. Chin up and get it checked out

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

alex1985blue · Post by **alex1985blue** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:09 pm

[quote=""X5Sport""]Which side of London?

To give you some idea, when mine went the BMW Dealer diagnostic was Â£60. They would only replace the entire box at Â£7k. If the Mechatronics Unit had also failed then that added another Â£3k all fitted.

The transmission repair was done in Biggleswade (40 miles up the A1) for Â£2k all in. That was for a complete rebuild. Unless you have a catastrophic failure, which you don't, that's the worst case. Came with a 12 month warranty and check at 6 months. They'll recover the car from anywhere in the UK if necessary.

Given yours only does it when cold, my suspicion would initially fall on the adaption system, or a software glitch. Both of which are easy fixes

[/quote]

Im on south london, but am hapy to travel for someone who is really good at what they do. All these big numbers with K after are starting to scare me

I hope that it is software related!

alex1985blue · Post by **alex1985blue** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:11 pm

[quote=""ITBarbie""]Hi Alex

I have read your thread with interest. Jason is very good and I would recommend him (used for my remap). He is very knowledgeable and I think if not able to sort it will definitely help you source somewhere in London.

I do hope you get it sorted. My glass is always half empty not half full and I have been pleasantly surprised by some things I thought were terminal and in fact were not on my X. Chin up and get it checked out

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/quote]

I have heard good things about him, I will have to give him a call and see if it is something he is able to do.

My glass is always half empty not half full as well but at the cost some people are saying im trying to think opimistically. Il get it sorted but hope it cost hundreds rather thousands.

Cheers

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:51 pm

I think we're all on side with that belief...............

alex1985blue · Post by **alex1985blue** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:40 pm

[quote=""X5Sport""]I think the reset is done by turning the key to position 2 (don't start the car) and then holding the throttle predal to the floor for about thirty seconds. Release the pedal and start the engine.[/quote]

When is the best time to do this? In the morning , in the afternoon after the car has been run and has rested for a while, or just after it has been used ie warm?

Cheers

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