BrandonSS

Hey all! I'm a new guy to the group. I just picked up my Alpine white 550i M-sport Saturday from the dealership. Saturday night I got this error. (See picture below). And since Saturday its became more and more frequent and today the green lights stopped lighting up on top of the shifter as soon as I got it to the dealership. I took it back to the dealership today and they are just being awful at communicating and coordinating the logistics of this fix. They are not a BMW dealer but another brand so they are having to take it to a local BMW dealership to have it repaired. However, they are telling me that I only have a drivetrain warranty and not bumper to bumper. I was told I had bumper to bumper when I purchased the vehicle or else I wouldnt have bought it. This is going to be worked out tomorrow as the GM was not in today. Anyway, what is this error? What is the common culprit and repair?

Would this be considered under a drivetrain warranty since it directly related to my ability to shift the vehicle (I'm guessing no) and I'm going to raise hell if they wont fix this on their dime. Its a very crappy situation considering it did it the night I got it home...

The car has 78k miles and was a well maintained leased vehicle prior to my purchase.

Thanks!!

Picture of the error, not that it matters.

twh

I'd argue that the drivetrain consist of being able to put the car in gear even if that is electronic.

BrandonSS

I'm 100% sure the salesman stated I had bumper to bumper. The warranty I signed doesn't have the "basic (drivetrain only)" box checked on my copy. To me, this says I do not have a basic drivetrain only warranty but a full bumper to bumper.... Agree?

twh

Seems to me you are right. It does seem dumb they don't have clearer language on the contract.

psam550

Sorry to hear that, Brandon. Although you will probably make more progress with the dealer by being nice, you may want to suggest, if push comes to shove, that the seller also has a duty to disclose known material defects or problems with the car that it is selling if the issue is not obvious. A reasonable person may conclude that the problem and the related warning message had been present for some time, was known to the dealer and thus should have been disclosed by the dealer. Then, you could have passed on the car or insisted on a lower price to cover the repair. In fact, the history of error codes in the car will likely tell you when the code was first tripped. (Those messages are stored but can be cleared). Although I would like to think that all persons are honest, sometimes they fall short. Good luck. Psam550.

twh

Brandon,

Following on the post by psam550, another thing you might do is read the codes. Don't erase anything. It could be there are some timestamps on errors that predate your purchase. You could use that to your advantage.

BrandonSS

Thanks everyone. I did request the BMW dealership send me a pdf of the log they pull from the car prior to communication with the dealership I purchased the car from. They said that would be no problem. So far they have not worked my car in but they expect it should be seen tomorrow. hopefully I find out more then.

Thanks!

BrandonSS

Update. Car has finally been diagnosed.

(GWS is the shifter module)
GWS - 00A830 GWS: Resetting system faulty
GWS - 00A828 GWS: Function indicator faulty

(DME is the engine control module)
DME - 002DEB DME: Power management, vehicle electrical system - 10.6V Alternator Voltage

1178 + tax for the shifter. $1230 + tax for the alternator.

The dealership i purchased it from agreed to pick up the shifter replacement but declined the alternator. However, after some reading, it seems that code happens to some cars that have been sitting on the dealership lot and only taken for short drives. It threw that code 200 miles ago and thats it so I'm going to hope for the best and hope it is fine.

BrandonSS

To the top. I'm on my 2nd new Gear selector assembly and it's still throwing the same code almost daily. At this point I'm not sure what to do besides schedule yet another appointment that is 3 weeks out and wait. Anyone have any ideas as to what it could be or what I should do with this dealership?

BimmerFan52

E60 rule of thumb: The car does not like out of spec system voltages, and will do strange things.

If I read the codes correctly they are saying the alternator voltage is very low at 10.6V instead of a normal 14.0V to 14.3V (most likely the voltage regulator has gone bad). In many cases this can lead to loss of power to the TCU.

When the alternator voltage sags so does the system voltage. The DME will sense the low system voltage and together with the CAS will often begin to shed load because power consumers will still demand the same power, but given a lower voltage each accessory will seek greater current, and the DME won't risk excessively high currents that could trip fuses or overheat busses.

One of the first items tripped to shed load is the terminal 30g relay, which supplies power to a number of accessories and modules from the front fuse panel. Among those supplied is the transmission control unit.

Normally if the terminal 30g relay is tripped you would also see the dynamic stability control error light on the dash along with the transmission problems, but the TCU might also not like the low voltage and using internal protection turn itself off.

I would recommend that first the alternator be repaired/replaced and then the transmission checked again. It could well be fine.

The OE alternator is available for less than $350 and labor is no more than $200-$250 with an independent BMW repair shop.