2003 BMW 325I Transmission problem

[steve1]

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 ?

[MioCLK]

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

[rasta0011]

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!

[gailbny]

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.

[stylynn07]

Originally Posted by steve1

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!

[Beachcomer]

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.

[lmgbruskin]

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.

[steve1]

Originally Posted by lmgbruskin

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.

[simplyalf]

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!!

[JoeinMaryland]

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.

[robertmanu]

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

[Greg L]

I have the same problem.

[steve1]

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.

[chapola]

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?

[Greg L]

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.