5Series.net - Forums - DIY: E60 Sport Automatic Retrofit Redux

Thanks to rsyed from Austria for starting the thread on the Sport Automatic Retrofit:
http://forums.5serie...c-sat-retrofit/.

For other great information about the SAT, see Rudy's detailed description here --> Rudy's full review of the 2008 550i Sport Automatic

Also thanks to other members here for helping me get through the VO coding and understanding the SAT for troubleshooting. Without their help this wouldn't seem like such a simple upgrade. I hope this version shows others that it is a pretty worthy DIY and does not require the trouble of getting the paddles to work.

I decided to freshen up the how-to a bit and place it in the DIY section as this version now completes the coding requirement, which at the time 3 years ago was left as an exercise requiring the dealer. This requires you to be able to code via NCS Expert, can get to someone who does, or you have a dealer that will cooperate.

Summary:

2008 and up model E60s use an electronic type shifter that can be easily unplugged and replaced with a new one. If you replace your standard automatic shifter with the optional Sport Automatic version you won't regret it. The electronic module that provides all the cool upgraded features is integral to the shifter part that you will replace.

The full upgrade to SAT includes adding the paddle shifters - which requires the paddles, a new steering wheel, and some wireing. If you are not interested in the paddles, you can get all the functionality of the SAT for a whole lot less money and work.

I paid about $600 for all the parts.

Part Number: 61319204093 SHIFT BOX, GEAR SELE $251.38

Part Number: 61319208271 SELECTOR LEVER HANDL $149.55

Part Number: 61319142869 SPORT SWITCH $55.21

Part Number: 51166960879 COVER, LEVER $132.17

Below is a pic of my new shifter. You will see the leather boot shift handle, the sport button, the new trim, and the part you cant see is the actual shift module below the trim.
For those of you who have seen my radar detector controller, you might recall I had it where the sport button is. In this pic you will see I relocated the controller to the ashtray trim in front of the shifter. Finally, if that iDrive controller caught your eye, yes that is the new one from the 2009 and up cars installed in my 2008. See the CIC retrofit threads for info on that.
Attachment 117922

Step 1: Read rsyed's original DIY:

Attachment 117921

Step 2: After the hardware is installed....

Option 1 - Drive the car and enjoy most of the goodies. Your done.
Option 2 - Code the car via NCS Expert
- Change the VO to remove the automatic transmission $205 and add the SAT $2TB
- Use the Expert profile and code KOMBI. Your done.

Other notes:
The trick here was to allow the SAT to work properly without the paddles. You changed the VO for SAT but didn't code everything. If your dealer codes your car for something else later, it will see the VO and code your car for the paddles and this will make your shifter think something is wrong and will disable the manual and DS shifting modes. What the dealer code will change is the EGS module and the only thing in there it will change is the value for paddles - turning them from PADDLES= wert_00 to PADDLES=wert_01. It will depend on the experience of your dealer tech on if they will know how to disable the paddles manually or not.

One might think the SZL also requires coding. I did code the SZL and compared the before and after and there were no changes.

KOMBI actually has quite a few changes.

A VO option for no paddles would be great to know. If anyone figures out if it exists or not please contribute and help improve this updated version of the DIY.

This was a great improvement to the car. Only after I drove it did I understand why others have so many great comments about the Sport Automatic.

Cheers!