323i automatic transmission

[csleee]

I have a 1999 e46 323i with an automatic transmission. I like to shift through gears even though it is automatic. Is this bad even though it is an automatic transmission if i drive it daily like this? Does this stress the transmission? I have recently had problems with the transmission, it slips gears or grinds when I switch from second to third. Is this a cause of me using the automatic transmission like a manual tranmission? Or is this from another cause?

[Rich]

Originally posted by csleee
I have a 1999 e46 323i with an automatic transmission. I like to shift through gears even though it is automatic. Is this bad even though it is an automatic transmission if i drive it daily like this? Does this stress the transmission? I have recently had problems with the transmission, it slips gears or grinds when I switch from second to third. Is this a cause of me using the automatic transmission like a manual tranmission? Or is this from another cause?

First of all welcome to AF!

I dont know anything about BMW's but "Manually" shifting any automatic isnt good. If you do it once in a while it will be ok, but doing this daily will probably cause the transmission to fail much earlier than it otherwise would. Im not saying that the the slipping/grinding is 100% from manually shifting it, but its probably part or most of the problem. I dont know how feasible this is but if you really like driving a standard, find a standard for your car and do a swap, or sell and buy something else because in short, an auto that is manually shifted alot will see a much shorter life than normal.

Hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge of BMW's can post here and help you out more.

[jag]

Does your car have the Tiptronic option????

[EdgarFan659]

I'm going to agree and say that shifting your automatic like you described is not good for it at all. I know someone who had a '95 audi sedan (not sure of the exact model) with an automatic tranny and did the same thing to it for about a year (about the amount of time he owned it). The transmission went kaput before the car had even hit 90k miles. It may have been a coincidence, of course, but I suspect otherwise.
I've discussed this particular subject with a few of my friends, and most of us agreed that the sort of "on the fly" continuous shifting that you described is probably bad for the transmission. But look at it this way.... it can't be good for it.

[csleee]

not tiptronic