'93 740IL "Transmission Program"

My 1993 740IL was suffering from a loss of reverse . The valve body was rebuilt and reverse seems to be working well. However, the transmission will slip from time to time when accelerating from a stop. It usually seems to occur from 1st to 2nd gear and the "Transmission Program" indicator comes on. The only way to get the transmission cleared is to turn off the engine and restart. This appears to be a problem that typically occurs when the engine is cold. There have also been a couple instances of the engine stalling after coming to a stop (with a warm engine). Can all of this be related?

The production date on this vehicle was 09/01/1992. Service records dated 4/16/2001 indicate that the car had the updated EPROM at that time; I'm not sure if there has been any further updates to the EPROM.

A couple of days ago I posted the "'94 740i forgets it's auto transmission" but received no replies so far. Your "stalling when coming to a stop" has happened to me a couple of times. I took the car to my BMW mechanic today. He thinks the 740i electronic transmission will fail suddenly, rather than slowly. He said the occasional stalling issue may be a "misfiring solenoid." I have no idea what he's talking about... Is there a computer chip in the ECT that can be easily checked?
Lee
p.s. I've never experienced the no-reverse issue, although it sometimes takes a second or two to click into reverse. I have 117k miles.

About a month after having the valve body serviced to correct the reverse issue, I had the service technician (independent) replace the shift lever and sensor. The sensor was not indicating when the transmission was in "D". It simply would not show up on the dashboard. All other gear selections would show properly. The technician mentioned that the computer sensor on the shift lever is what is responsible for relaying what gear position has been selected to the transmission itself. With it failing to indicate "D", it "could" pose problems. Based on that, I had it replaced (parts $180, labor $65). I haven't noticed any significant change, but the dashboard does show "D" when the lever is in the Drive position. Perhaps that is what your mechanic is referencing? Good Luck.

About a month after having the valve body serviced to correct the reverse issue, I had the service technician (independent) replace the shift lever and sensor. The sensor was not indicating when the transmission was in "D". It simply would not show up on the dashboard. All other gear selections would show properly. The technician mentioned that the computer sensor on the shift lever is what is responsible for relaying what gear position has been selected to the transmission itself. With it failing to indicate "D", it "could" pose problems. Based on that, I had it replaced (parts $180, labor $65). I haven't noticed any significant change, but the dashboard does show "D" when the lever is in the Drive position. Perhaps that is what your mechanic is referencing? Good Luck.


I saw a post about pulling these sensors out from the shift lever assembly and cleaning the contacts. I had a sticking */E mode and after doing this - about 20 minutes to pop out and spray with contact cleaner - the problem has gone away. I can now change modes no sweat.