Not such a Merry Christmas

[marksoldx5]

Merry Christmas, my wife did a mad Christmas day sea swim this morning, I left the car (52 plate , Auto, 3.0 diesel) ticking over whilst we drank hot chocolate. When we set off the car did not want to drive, trans fail popped up on the dash. The car would not drive very well just revved. Thought I could smell gear oil. The previous owner had a second hand box installed in March at a cost of £1300!
Could this be anything other than a gear box/torque converter failure.
Any help/advice would be fab.
TIA
Mark

[X5Sport]

Not a good start to Xmas!

You’ll need a code read, but it sounds like a transmission issue. Only a code read will confirm. If you can smell oil that sounds like it’s either leaking or the box has got very hot somehow.

If the fluid level has dropped below a critical level (you won’t get any warning at all) then it will allow clutches to start slipping due to low hydraulic pressure. That will cause progressive drive failure leading to a rebuild being required.

Was there a warranty on the replacement box, or wasn’t it a rebuild?

[Greydog]

Not a Happy Christmas

If the box was a swap 2 things first was the correct fluid used? Is the fluid level correct?

As X5 sport has said Code Read is first point of call

Dave

[marksoldx5]

Thanks for the info guys. I've got insta, but it isn't communicating with transmission. Was hoping to be able to measure gearbox temp, but again nothing. I think that I will try to top the gearbox oil up. I've had my suspicions that the level could be low as it was holding the revs for longer before changing up.

[marksoldx5]

So, I checked the gearbox oil level with the engine running, it seemed pretty full. Had the wife going from drive to reverse with engine on tick over, oil still came out of the fill hole, so probably not low on ATF.

[marti]

I would say low voltage battery....

[marksoldx5]

Charged battery and read codes.

[X5Sport]

The two ‘gear monitoring’ error codes could be 2nd and 4th gear clutch pack slip (it would possibly explain the symptoms you reported). The codes seem to indicate that the car is reporting that the monitored input and output speeds do not align correctly so something is slipping. Try clearing them and see what comes back (assuming that you want to drive it?).

These faults can occur if the transmission was filled with the wrong oil - only the correct BMW/ZF listed oils should be used (or one that matches the exact spec) - or if under-filled. The filling procedure is very specific and must be followed to the letter (involving temperatures and shifting with the engine running) to achieve the correct fill level). If too low the box cannot maintain its internal hydraulic pressure on the clutch and brake packs so they slip.

It could also be bad solenoids that control the shifting (sticking during operation), or at least that was another possible explanation I found on line.

Not sure about all the others but your glowplugs or controller are also showing issues. Those are a diy job as long as you plan well ahead as penetrating oil is a must and it can take a week or two to get into the holes fully. Snapped plugs are common (and fortunately fixable without taking the head off now) as I had earlier this year.

[marksoldx5]

UpdateGearbox is now working. In the end I think it was low fluid, I got 6.5l out of it over a few days and put in more. I used the correct sequence, all be it, with out being able to measure the temperature. When I first checked the oil level, oil came out this was due to the engine and transmission being cold. I also didn't believe that the level could be low as a second hand box had been fitted only 9 months earlier! My car has not got any leaks of any kind, so no fluid loss. It just goes to show that lots of garages are just not good enough. Another thing that hampered the repair was that ista could not communicate with the EGS, this red herring diverted my attention away from the obvious. I will need to look into the communication problem. So in summary I am feeling pretty chuffed. Thank you for all your help

[gmc15]

Good result

[X5Sport]

That’s a good result. Least expensive fix at least

I remember something from when my E53 ate its box for lunch at 38,000 miles and the ZF Specialist repairer saying that there was no comms link between the main OBD2 port and the gearbox as it needed a different software tool to talk over the bus, but I can’t remember what he said was needed.

I do recall that a Bosch Autocentre was the only place (other than a BMW Dealer) he could get the replacement Mechatronics unit ‘coded’ for an E53 as it came with no code and is used (as the box is) on a whole range of cars.

[marksoldx5]

Second Update
Well, my happiness was short lived:( After about 10 days the car lost drive again. Barely driveable, and stalls the engine when cold when I put it into drive or reverse. Slightly better drive when using Tiptronic. The car is up for sale on a number of sights, but I've only had very low offers. I am considering a gearbox rebuild but it just seems that far to many garages, are just not good enough!
Can anyone recommend a good autobox repair shop in the south west, I am happy to travel.
Another option would be a second hand box, that had had a rebuild with a receipt to prove it.
At the moment I am looking at losing £1500, or having to spend that much to keep the car on the road.
Any advice or recommendations would be very welcome.
TIA
Mark

[neil50]

Where in the south west do you live?

Have a look online for a ZF specialist if there is one near you.

[sleepyfolk]

There aren’t Any in the South West, consider getting a decent local garage to remove the box , then you can pallet the gearbox and TC to a good gearbox specialist for rebuild and your local garage can then refit the box, that’s what I found was easiest.

I used Howard’s BMW (Indy) in Redruth for the garage work, Speedshift will courier engines and gearboxes (Howard’s provided the wooden crate for it) mine was £49 delivered to Blackburn, return delivery was included by the rebuilder.

[marksoldx5]

Hi Niel50
Thanks for the reply
I live in Torbay, and the box is a General Motors 5 speed so I'm not sure that a ZF specialist would be best?
What do you think?
Thanks
Mark