2003 BMW 325I Transmission problem

I was just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem. My wife stated that when she puts the transmission from reverse to drive. It does not engage for about 5 secs or longer. So if you went from reverse to drive and then give it gas, it will feel like it is slipping and then engages causing the car to jerk. She called the BMW dealer and was told that it is a computer problem but they have no solution to the problem? Does anyone know anyhting about this ?

when moving from reverse to drive, try to stop the car completely in neutral first, then move to drive, this might help a bit.

any problem BMW will fix, if they cant do it at your local dealer they have other technicians and people they can call. You paid good money for your car, your dealer should tackle the problem. If they can not, they can call someone. They have smart ass techs and engineers that can fix everything. If you have any problems with your local dealer contact BMWNA in New Jersey
Im sure you have some customer service numbers in your paperwork or owners manual.

Good Luck! :sly:

Our brand new 2003 x5 has the same problem. It's back at the dealer for service. After two days they report it is a pressure leak in the transmission when the engine cools. So after reversing out of the driveway on a cold engine it takes 10-15 seconds of revving the engine to build up enough pressure to more the car into Drive.

I was just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem. My wife stated that when she puts the transmission from reverse to drive. It does not engage for about 5 secs or longer. So if you went from reverse to drive and then give it gas, it will feel like it is slipping and then engages causing the car to jerk. She called the BMW dealer and was told that it is a computer problem but they have no solution to the problem? Does anyone know anyhting about this ?
ITS GOOD TO KNOW THAT IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM- NOT REALLY BUT I KNOW WHERE UR COMING FROM. MY CAR HAS BEEN AT THE DEALERSHIP 4 TIMES NOW FOR THE SAME PROBLEM! THE FIRST TIME THEY REPROGRAMED THE COMPUTER-THAT DIDN'T WORK! THE SECOND TIME THEY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION- THIRD, THEY SAID THAT THEY COULDN'T DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND FORTH- THEY ARE REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION FOR A SECOND TIME!!!! LET ME KNOW WHAT THEY FIND OUT ABOUT UR CAR- I HOPE MINE GETS FIXED RIGHT THIS TIME BUT I DOUBT IT! U BUY A BMW THINKIN U WILL NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CAR PROBLEMS-BUT I GUESS I WAS WRONG-PRETTY SAD!

Wow! And all of you have '03s. If it's one area that BMW has dropped the ball is in the transmission department! Too much focus on the bottom line causing them to sublet components out. Similar to what Honda did when the opened operations in NA. And Toyota took over the top sales spot for the next five years. If BMW begins to slip in the famed JD Power initial quality reports, then maybe they'll return to craftsmanship of ole. It will cost us a little more to puchase a bimmer, though.

same problem - brought the car into the Dealer last week (1/8) and as soon as they heard the description they ordered a new transmission. Seems there was a defective batch and they can tell by the production number if yours was built during the period when the defect occurred. Good Luck.

same problem - brought the car into the Dealer last week (1/8) and as soon as they heard the description they ordered a new transmission. Seems there was a defective batch and they can tell by the production number if yours was built during the period when the defect occurred. Good Luck.

Hey Imgbruskin, they replaced your transmission? I was told by the dealer that it is a computer problem and that they have not yet developed a program for it yet (kinda like when you want your car to be program they plug it into the handheld computer which is running microsoft and they program it). What did you say to them that they did not tell you the same thing. I even called the BMW headquarters and spoke with customer relations and was given the same story, "can't do anything till they get a program out" never did they mention about replacing a bad batch.

Jeez!!! Maybe you guys should get manuals, BMW is not supposed to be driven with automatic people!! Its not even really a luxury car, its a sports sedan!!

BMW still hasn't fixed the problem. I purchased a new 2004 325i with the auto steptronic trans. Same problem, when the car sits over night it goes into reverse fine but when I put it into drive it just slips for between 5 and 20 seconds. This is really a safety issue -- once I pulled into the stree when a car was coming and I had to just sit there and rev the engine with no movement. It's been to the dealer twice already. First time they said the car was still in "transport" mode so they reprogrammed the car to "normal" mode. They were quite confident that this fixed the problem and even test drove the car. I said that is funny because they didn't keep the car overnight and the problem only happens overnight. They also could not explain to me what "transport" mode was. Surprise, it didn't fix the problem. I then reschedule a followup visit, had to wait 18 days to get a loaner. They took one look at the car and order a new trans. I am supposed to take it in in two days to get the trans replaced. From this site it doesn't sound like I have a good chance having the replacement trans work correctly. I am lucky though, I live in Maryland and we have a Lemon Law -- they get four times to fix it or replace the car. I will either go back to a manual trans or just get my cash back and go buy a nice reliable Japanese car like I should have done originally. I am totally disgusted with terrible customer service of BMW and their dealers. I am a mechanical engineer by trade and it doesn't take a genius to know that they have a serious design flaw with this vehicle. BMW should acknowledge the problem and fix it and in the mean time stop selling junk that doesn't work.

I have a 2003 E46 320D automatic and I never had this problem. My car stays overnight outside here in Romania where in winter by night you get - 10 to - 20 degrees Celsius. Maybe a limited series of the E46 have this problem. BRG

I have the same problem.

Well guys, I finally got the car fixed. BMW exchanged it for a new one. They stated it's a long waiting list. Car drives fine now.

Same problem up in Canada eh. The customer service from BMW has been appalliing. They have had the car overnight and say there is no problem. Sent off emails and got no reply from the dealer or BMW.

Mine doesn't happen every time however. Is anybody else just experiencing the problem only intermittently?

My 2003 325 did it 4 or 5 times for about 3 to 8 seconds each time when it was cold (in the 30's)during the night. The worst time though, occured in the afternoon, backing out in a public parking garage when the car rolled backwards down a slope even while I stepped on the gas. Had to get back on the brake to keep from hitting a parked car. I think its worse the colder it is.

Having this problem with my 2 week old BMW 330i. Pretty much every morning.

The sales weasel didn't call me back today in all of the 8 hours he was at work when I left a message (didn't say what I was calling about). Funny how quick the response time changes...

Guess I'll have to put 'er into service :/

I have the same problem.

Did you get a new transmission or a whole new vehicle?

I'm having the same problems as everyone else here. My problems started back in June, a week after taking delivery of the vehicle. It took me 4-5 visits into the service dept for different attempts at fixing things, and finally last month they decided to put in a new transmisson.

Problem is, the vehicle still doesn't have the "feel" that it should when accelerating/decelerating. I'm sure the service rep thinks I'm just imagining it because of all the problems I've had, but as soon as I get in the loaner vehicle which is the exact same model, year, and similar mileage as my car, it drives like a dream.

Really ticks me off - the first couple years of owning a BMW should be pure pleasure every time you drive the vehicle - that's what your paying the $$$ for, and yet my entire first year has been a giant disappointment.

Coincidentally, my husband just took delivery of a new X3 a month ago -- guess what we took it into service for today -- yep - a new tranny !! The morning hesitation was waaayyyy more pronounced in his vehicle than mine - probably close to 15-20 seconds before it would go into gear. The dealer didn't even pretend to fiddle with anything - they just said bring it on in and we'll replace the transmission...

Never in our history of owning BMWs have we had this many problems.

A new transmission for me. We'll see how this one works.

Why don't you people try warming up your car first time you use it everyday for about 5 min, always allows everything to prepare for your trip. Let the clutch warm up, so it can release when it has to, instead of it being delayed, when you don't warm the car up.

Same problem after just 300 miles on my 2004 325. The BMW service department rep. knew exactly what the problem was before I had even finished decribing what happens. He admitted it was common. They replaced the transmission. Sounds like it's time for a recall on these.

Hi all
My brand new X3 has the same problem. I learned today that they will put in a new transmission when its arrives from Germany (or Austria). Would have thougth they might replace the whole car after only four weeks and 1200 km. What recourse do we have ?
Paul

[Having the same problem with an '03 325; Morning hesitation. It happens whether i let it warm up or not. This morning, I let it warm up for nearly 5 minutes, and today's hesitation was one of the worst it's ever been. A new transmission has been ordered. We'll see what happens! It's funny when I back out of my driveway in the a.m.; I have to wave cars to go by me because otherwise, I see aggravated drivers in my rear-view mirror, wondering why my car's not moving. People probably think that I'm driving a manual, and don't know how to get it into gear, which is not the case...

Aloha, as of yet I have had no such problem regarding the transmission. My 03 325CI is running perfect.

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You know what, it doesn't matter if you warm up the car or not, it still does the same thing. I was told by the dealer not to warm the car up in the morning, I was told to start it and go, do not let it just sit there, there was no need. Besides, when you warm up the car, you are not warming up the transmission, the 3-5 minutes sitting there does nothing to inprove the transmission.

3 weeks since my transmission was replaced. No problem; runs great and hopefully that is the last of it. The work order stated the problem was due to internal leakage( in the transmission ). Whatever. This is a wide spread problem and is a quality assurance problem at BMW. Of course they won't admit this to be the case.

As for warming up your car. Well, Steve has it right. Our 13 year old scientist will learn about these things when he starts to drive.

I was just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem. My wife stated that when she puts the transmission from reverse to drive. It does not engage for about 5 secs or longer. So if you went from reverse to drive and then give it gas, it will feel like it is slipping and then engages causing the car to jerk. She called the BMW dealer and was told that it is a computer problem but they have no solution to the problem? Does anyone know anyhting about this ?

I have the same problem. I took delivery of the car in June 2003 when the weather was warm and it was ok then. The problem started
in late Oct when the weather start to turn cold. I live in Toronto, Canada. Now, it happens every morning when I back out from my garage. Funny thing is, It only happens from reverse to forward. It is fine
if I started to go forward without going from reverse. And it only happened if the care is parked overnight. As soon as the car started
driving forward, as if by magic, it runs fine all day until the next morning.
I will talk to the dealer to see what they say.

They are replacing just about all of those gm transmissions.

hello. Have read a few of the above posted messages regarding faulty transmissions in 3 series built in some period in 2003. I just purchased a new 2004 325xi. Had the transmission replaced (after much delibertation/arguing) with a BRAND NEW transmission, not a rebuilt one as was being forced by dealer. I am completely disappointed with this after waiting so long for finally being able to "own" a piece of German perfection.

My question: does anyone know what brand of transmission is in a 325xi when purchased brand new? I was told a brand new GM transmission replace the one I had orginally. But this sounds strange to me.

I was just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem. My wife stated that when she puts the transmission from reverse to drive. It does not engage for about 5 secs or longer. So if you went from reverse to drive and then give it gas, it will feel like it is slipping and then engages causing the car to jerk. She called the BMW dealer and was told that it is a computer problem but they have no solution to the problem? Does anyone know anyhting about this ?
I have an '03 in the shop right now for the same trouble. It started out with the hesitation in the morning. Brought it to the dealer and they reprogrammed the computer....it worked fine for about a week and a half. Now they are repolacing the transmission. I should get it back tonight and will report back with the results.

This is really upsetting. I have a 2004 BMW 325ci which I picked up in November '03. This problem has been there since day 1, but in the beginning it was just slight. I thought it was normal since I bought a 'sporty' car with the steptronic. Then last week, the 'stallling' was way, way too long to be normal. I called it in, and will be bringing my car in this Monday. Wish me luck.

I'm glad this forum was here so I am more aware.

Someone already said get a manual but I wanted to add, if you drive auto tranny you should be injured, disabled, or 70 years old! Auto trannies are for TRANSEXUAL SISSIES IRL omg owned!

There is a problem w/pressure leaking down when the vehicle sits. In the begining BMW did not know what was wrong. They tried reprogramming the shift delay time but quickly found this was not the problem. Trans replacment was the remedy. The reason for the delay was b/c tech line would only release the transmission on a "per complaint and verified bases and only through the FSE (BMW field service engineer)" but they are now available for regular ordering and they have enough in stock.

I was just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem. My wife stated that when she puts the transmission from reverse to drive. It does not engage for about 5 secs or longer. So if you went from reverse to drive and then give it gas, it will feel like it is slipping and then engages causing the car to jerk. She called the BMW dealer and was told that it is a computer problem but they have no solution to the problem? Does anyone know anyhting about this ?
Yes, I have a BMW 325i that I purchased in April 2003 that has the same exact problem. The dealership in Virginia told me that nothing was wrong and it was the secondary air pump. However, just this past month, a dealership in Florida told me that they have seen this problem before and they are ordering me a whole new transmission. My car was doing the exact same thing. Your wife needs to take the car to the dealer and ask them to replace the transmission.

Hey y'all,

I just took my car to the dealer, and they knew right away what I was referring to when I brought my car to them. Reminder that I have a 2004 BMW 325ci, picked it up in November '03.

Anyway, it's working great now, they replaced the transmission. Still upset by the whole situation though.

$hit happens...

There is a new software update that fixes this now, no more replacement of the trans.

It's true they now have foud a way to reprogram the transmissions. But on my X3 they decided last week to replace it anyway: the job was done last Thursday, june 10 2004. I was told that BMW are very fussy about their image and want to take no chances with a new product sich as the X3.

My BMW is a stick so i don't have a problem with that, but my cadillac CTS has had that problem, the dealer didn't know what to do, but it seems to be hit and miss. It doesn't always jerk around, they just said to let it warm up more.

First, a note about warming up your BMW in cold weather:

Don't do it! If you read the BMW Owner Manual for the '03 3-series, BMW techies and engineers strongly suggest you drive off immediately after starting your car in cold weather. Its just the way BMW engines are designed. Falling on the subject of transmissions, warming up the car has no impact on the tranny.

Anyways, I have acquired a 2003 BMW 325i Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle here in New York with an automatic steptronic transmission under a 55,000 mile new vehicle warranty. Originally purchased at 15,000 miles, the car started having transmission problems around 22,000 miles. The transmission warning light would appear next to the gear below the odometer. Of course, the transmission warning light does not appear ANYWHERE in the BMW manual, so after completing research online for my model(mainly edmunds and epinions), I suspected a fault in the transmission. Nonetheless, I head over to my local BMW dealership and was told that in fact, that light signified a fault with the transmission. They didn't have any loaner cars so I'm bringing it in tommorow, as I hope they'll service my vehicle for quite awhile (especially if the tranny is imported from Germany.) I told them that the light appears sporadically, and usually when the weather is cold-however, it has happened once or twice in slightly warmer weather. It results in severly limited engine responsiveness and shifting from Drive to Reverse or vice versa during this time, is abnormal in that it takes an excessive amount of time to shift gears (slips for a few seconds, then shifts-however, the shift is inaudiable which is of course, abnormal.) I can see how the dealership can return my vehicle without making any repairs. The light only appears once in awhile, and theirs no way I can prove of this fault without the actual service tech. test driving the vehicle during these conditions. In any case, we'll see what happens in a few days. Since the dealership I bought my used car from is known for outstanding service, I'll probably find out what they'll do with the car Tuesday afternoon. If what everyone is saying about the new software upgrade is true, then maybe I won't need a new tranny.

If the problem persists, I'll resort to contacting BMW of North America, JD Power & Associates, and Consumer Reports on the issue. Maybe BMW will then fix all tranny problems with 2003+ vehicles on the first service repair, at no charge for those without a warranty. It would be a smart move to avoid a forcible recall.

Not sure if anyone reads this topic anymore, but I'll be sure to keep the topic updated for future reference.


Srinath
Driving Enthusiast

Thats a freaking 3 year old tread.!!!!! MUST BE A NEWBIE

DOnt bring it alive after all those years PLEASE!!!!
IF you are responding to the same question just start another one.!!!

Well bud, its the main thread that appears on Google for searching the specific problem.

Gotta love the google

Well yeah, but could you make a link to the tread or start a new one, because its funny when some people, that by the way arent even alive anymore, resive the answers to their qtions. Weird,right? Its better if you make it a separate tread since you have used the tread for future refences. There are people that do the same thing, but they usually update their projects that take years to build.

GOOGLE kicks ass in some cases. I went and googled my name in, and what do u know, found some info on myself.

Jeez!!! Maybe you guys should get manuals, BMW is not supposed to be driven with automatic people!! Its not even really a luxury car, its a sports sedan!!
i`ve got the one with a manual tranny....and its great....no problems so far......lol.....and its almost 6 years old :D:grinyes:

Noone cares-the tread is 3 years old. So just start post whoring here.