XSeries-forum

A big hello again from a long-lost member,...4 years since I last had my old X5 but here I am again ..(remembered my name and password ).
I just couldn't resist another chance to own one of these brilliant motors so I jumped at the chance to buy a local X5 diesel sport last week. I was advised at the time there was a fault with the gear-change but on the test-drive I couldn't get it to miss-behave.
Had it a few days now and I can see what the previous owner was on about,...when the car is slowing to a stop and gets to second gear it will drop down to 1st (I think) and just as it comes to a halt it will give you a little kick in the back of the seat. It feels like someone has gently run into the back of the car. Its could be the gearbox or torque converter as it just happens for that split second and when accelerating away it just acts normal.....although there is just a little surge between the 1st and 2nd gear but really hardly noticeable unless you give it lots of  throttle...
Anyone have or had these symptoms , and will it be okay to keep driving it like this ?
It has 140k on the clock with full service history..

Jonny

[quote="jonnyivy"]
A big hello again from a long-lost member,...4 years since I last had my old X5 but here I am again ..(remembered my name and password ).
I just couldn't resist another chance to own one of these brilliant motors so I jumped at the chance to buy a local X5 diesel sport last week. I was advised at the time there was a fault with the gear-change but on the test-drive I couldn't get it to miss-behave.
Had it a few days now and I can see what the previous owner was on about,...when the car is slowing to a stop and gets to second gear it will drop down to 1st (I think) and just as it comes to a halt it will give you a little kick in the back of the seat. It feels like someone has gently run into the back of the car. Its could be the gearbox or torque converter as it just happens for that split second and when accelerating away it just acts normal.....although there is just a little surge between the 1st and 2nd gear but really hardly noticeable unless you give it lots of  throttle...
Anyone have or had these symptoms , and will it be okay to keep driving it like this ?
It has 140k on the clock with full service history..

Jonny
[/quote]

Hi and welcome back.
What you are describing is known as the Lurch. There's loads of posts on it if you use the search button.
Some have had it for years and still use their cars daily, slipping the car into sperts mode sometimes prevents it happening. As said loads of previous threads lister under " The Lurch "

Thanks for that info,... looks like I'm not the only one with this then !
I hadn't googled "the lurch" but did search for gearbox and torque converters problems and thought about changing the gearbox oil and filter but maybe that will have no differance ?
Previous owner also said that if you floor the throttle all the way through the gears it goes into limp mode around 80mph !!...  I don't really want to try that out as I tend to be fairly gentle on any motors that I own.
Both me and my wife are thoroughly enjoying the experience again having been through Honda CVR, Mitsubishi Shogun and an Isuzu trooper,...ohh and a wee nissan Note  !!
thanks again...

I had an 840 Ci a while ago that used to go into limp mode if you booted it through the gears too.
Fault codes were misfire bank 2 cyl 5678 ( V8 engine of course )
Old timer at the specialist asked me did the exhaust rattle in the morning, I said it did actually ! He said bang the cats underneath when the exhaust is cold, I did and the cat had collapsed inside causing a restriction inside, so couldn't get shut of the exhaust fumes fast enough at full tilt.
Get the codes read, it may give you a clue, or maybe fuel filter starving it of fuel at high demand ???
The list is endless.

Its into the garage next week to get a couple of front drive boots on so will ask them to read for faults...
Thanks

[quote="jonnyivy"]
Thanks for that info,... looks like I'm not the only one with this then !
I hadn't googled "the lurch" but did search for gearbox and torque converters problems and thought about changing the gearbox oil and filter but maybe that will have no differance ?
Previous owner also said that if you floor the throttle all the way through the gears it goes into limp mode around 80mph !!...  I don't really want to try that out as I tend to be fairly gentle on any motors that I own.
Both me and my wife are thoroughly enjoying the experience again having been through Honda CVR, Mitsubishi Shogun and an Isuzu trooper,...ohh and a wee nissan Note  !!
thanks again...
[/quote]

I guess the error on full throttle is "Trans Error" and the gearbox locks itself into whatever gear its in until you turn it off? That and along with the "Lurch" I am sorry to say that box is stuffed. Exactly the same faults as mine before an expensive rebuild. Get your codes read from a garage that can correctly read the gearbox codes and not just use a generic code reader.

The Lurch "can" be a quirk of the X5 but for me I don't believe it, its just the cars way of telling you that the oil is degrading along with component parts inside.

Private sell or off a dealer with a warranty?

[quote="grumpywurzel"]
[quote="jonnyivy"]
Thanks for that info,... looks like I'm not the only one with this then !
I hadn't googled "the lurch" but did search for gearbox and torque converters problems and thought about changing the gearbox oil and filter but maybe that will have no differance ?
Previous owner also said that if you floor the throttle all the way through the gears it goes into limp mode around 80mph !!...  I don't really want to try that out as I tend to be fairly gentle on any motors that I own.
Both me and my wife are thoroughly enjoying the experience again having been through Honda CVR, Mitsubishi Shogun and an Isuzu trooper,...ohh and a wee nissan Note  !!
thanks again...
[/quote]

I guess the error on full throttle is "Trans Error" and the gearbox locks itself into whatever gear its in until you turn it off? That and along with the "Lurch" I am sorry to say that box is stuffed. Exactly the same faults as mine before an expensive rebuild. Get your codes read from a garage that can correctly read the gearbox codes and not just use a generic code reader.

The Lurch "can" be a quirk of the X5 but for me I don't believe it, its just the cars way of telling you that the oil is degrading along with component parts inside.

Private sell or off a dealer with a warranty?
[/quote]

How much was your box rebuild and what parts did they replace?

£2500 ish. The box was completely stripped down and every consumable was replaced (Clutch packs, solenoids etc etc). This included a software patch and the top end oil and oil change after 2500 miles.

No lurch at all

[quote="jonnyivy"]
Thanks for that info,... looks like I'm not the only one with this then !
I hadn't googled "the lurch" but did search for gearbox and torque converters problems and thought about changing the gearbox oil and filter but maybe that will have no differance ?
Previous owner also said that if you floor the throttle all the way through the gears it goes into limp mode around 80mph !!...  I don't really want to try that out as I tend to be fairly gentle on any motors that I own.
Both me and my wife are thoroughly enjoying the experience again having been through Honda CVR, Mitsubishi Shogun and an Isuzu trooper,...ohh and a wee nissan Note  !!
thanks again...
[/quote]

If youre going to consider changing the oil, then are pros and cons to that, it has to be your call, but search on here for that there have been plenty of discussions on here. At that mileage some would recommend not doing it, saying your box will break as a result, but equally it sounds like it may be on the way out anyway. I dont have the 80mph limp issue but have had the lurch for over five years and Ive not changed the oil. Search the forum and make a call yourself - other members cannot know the condition of your box all we can do is offer our tuppenceworth
Smee

Completely agree, when I described the lurch to my gearbox guy he asked the age and mileage of the car and he said it could be just a software issue. That was until I also mentioned the Trans error message, sure enough the box was toast.

Changing the oil will make the problem worse as you actually remove tiny particles of clutch material from the knackered oil. There are loads of Youtube vids on the subject.

At the end of the day you wont really know till you have the codes read and the oil checked.

Good info and genuine suggestions ,...thanks to all..
Today was a good day,...only once got the Lurch coming to the same stop as before,....  changes effortless in "street gears",.... if its nearing the end of its life is it better to nurse it through its final days or does it make no differance once its lurching ?
It was a private buy , no warranty, and I did know that there was a likely problem with the gearbox,.... but hey,... I got the car for a song anyway and thought maybe I could eek out a few miles before it faltered..

I do a lot of motorway driving so I couldn't nurse it, but if you don't give the car the full boot you might be ok for quite a few thousand miles. I guess its a bit of a lottery.

If your going to nurse then make sure you've got good AA/RAC/Whatever recovery that will get it home or at least where you want it to go. Hope it has along and relatively Lurch free life.

Just a wee update,... the "lurch" is still there, although not quite as bad now that me and my wife can anticipate it coming,.... but today I took it out of town and down a long stretch of good road and opened it up. Once it had gone from 1st to 2nd I gave it good throttle (not kick-down),... and it pulled like a train right the way through the gears as smoothly as I remember my last X5. I'll not say what speed it reached but my goodness it was very impressive,...on the way back I tried slipping it over to the manual shifter,... right up through the gears again and back down without any faults or warning lights coming on.
I'm hoping I'm gonna be lucky with this one,... I'm prepared for a hefty garage bill when the time comes but to me it seems to run very good.....
Fingers crossed...

Nice one 

I got the trans error when the car kicked down a gear. To stop the lurch if it's bothering you, drop the car into neutral just before you come to a stop or into Sport mode (that prevents the car from selecting 1st gear)