XSeries-forum

Trans Fail Safe!!!  >:(
(3.0D 2002 X5 auto)
Driving fine this morning and then all of a sudden I went to pull away and it done nothing!
Switched it to manual and managed to pull away and then put it back into drive but it felt like a clutch slipping in a manual car.
Turned car off and a few minutes later got back in and was fine! I was only two minutes away from my home. Then literally as I'm turning onto my road, Trans fail safe and felt like clutch slipping again and also a really bad smell!  :'(

Is my gearbox dead or can it be rescued?

£120 fluid change first. If that doesnt fix it, new one..

If it is smelling that doesnt bode well you need it looked at Pronto I would suggest

Don't drive further than you have to or you could lose all drive and need recovery.    it may lock into 3rd and keep you moving to a repairer.

If you know someone locally with a code reader for the box that will tell you what has actually failed.  Unlikely a fluid change will do it as the smell indicates burning friction plates and once that happens you really and unfortunately need a rebuild.  It sounds like a pressure drop has caused a clutch or brake pack in the box to slip.

If you can get under it and get the fluid filler plug out try to.  If the fluid is dark, opaque and smells burnt you will know the bad news.

Without a code read it's difficult to know how good or bad it could be in terms of the repair needed.

Ok thanks, I've got a friend coming round tomorrow to help investigate but I'm not holding much hope! It may have to go on eBay for spares or repair which is a shame as it has been a brilliant motor!

Get the codes read like the guys have said, but sounds like a clutch pack has gone, sorry.

It's a case of looking at the thing and working out if its worth repairing the car or buying someone else's issues or a new one I guess.

You are looking at circa £2600 for a decent rebuild with ZF parts and top end oil.

its a GM gearbox ......give these guys a ring and discuss a price  Trans-Fix in Hertford , Hertfordshire, you might be pleasantly surprised ( ask for Marcus or Shaun)

Ok thanks

Right my car is still parked on my driveway not going anywhere!
I cant take it to a garage so it would mean a garage recovering it to see if auto box if f**ked, which im guessing it is anyway!

So my question to you guys is - is it worth selling it as it is or is it worth spending out on the repair? (a bloody expensive repair)

It's been a bloody good car and has never let me down until now. But it is 14yrs old and has covered 166k miles, but engine is sweet and has full service history. I also spent out last year on getting nearly all the bushes changed on the car so it DID drive like a new motor!

HELP!!!! 

If as you say the engine is sweet and you recently payed out for bushes and in general you were happy with the vehicle then you should consider fixing it. Of course if this has pissed you off so much that your not going to replace with another X5 then sell. You could buy another X5 with half that mileage and have gearbox failure then you'd be really really pissed off. There doesn't seem to have been much diagnostics done. You said it's done 166k probably never had the oil and filter changed, worth trying before you throw it away, could be a sticking solenoid, get some quotes from those guys that SLICK mentioned, if they are gearbox people then they should be able to give you some solid knowledgeable advice.

The gearbox was serviced November 2013 approx 30k miles ago! A couple of weeks ago before the problem I was going to sort out a time to get the gearbox serviced again!  :-[

Right I drove the car briefly today & drove absolutely perfect! Only drove for approx 5mins but went through all the gears & no clutch slip! Not going to drive it again until it's sorted or sold.
But I did notice there is black oil in the radiator! So guessing the autobox oil is mixing with the coolant.
Do you guys think my gearbox can be saved?

You really do need to get an Auto Box specialist to look at the box. If you are getting oil in the coolant and it is trans fluid (it could be from a head gasket issue)then there will be coolant in the box.
The trans cooler is fitted to the bottom of the rad and you could have a leak there.

All any one on here can do is make best guess's, the only way to be sure is get a Trans Specialist to read the codes and inspect the fluid for an accurate diagnosis.

Ok so its a GM box and not a ZF, so sorry.....

Don't drive it otherwise you will have to add recovery charges to your bill.

Get it to a decent "specialist", find out exactly what has gone wrong, gearbox and/or cooler and go from there. Only then you will know if the car is worth fixing.

Ok thank for the advice