Dubshu

Ok well I found a problem with the scanner. I went into the transmission controls on my Foxwell scanner, the transmission position shows to be correct as I shift thru the gears, however I can check the actual gear and it shows to be in first gear when it's in Park, nuetral, and drive. It will actually try to move in nuetral. Could I have gotten the shift arm back together wrong when I put my valve body back it?? I double checked when I dropped the pan again and the plunger was positioned like the one in the picture on this post, and another from youcanic.com that I found. Does the plungers physical distance out of the valve body determine it's gear? I didn't mess with any of that or the shift cable when I disassembled, but I didn't pay attention to the plunger distance out of the valve body, could that be causing the trans position problem??

Flguy76

First off great DIY thread, I followed it exactly in fact i had the same early model E60 2004 530 so my problem is I filled my trans and went to start it and it says its in gear. Im a fairly good wrench around a car, have been for years doing normal stuff from brakes to timing chains and belts, water pumps stuff like that, but this is the first i have ever removed the Mechatronix body, it was a little stuck on the square seal and when trying to gently remove it I moved the shifter selector now it was connected to the shifter hardware but while removing it was part way off and the selector wasnt connected to the outter portion I had zip tied the gear selector level that is bolted to the case so it would stay in the same position that way when the mecha body went back in it would line it up with that and thought i would be good to go. how can i get my mechatronix back in park? I have INPA and tools, can i just drain and remove the pan again and have my laptop hooked up and move that selector till it registers park? or is there something else that i have to do now that i tried to start the car. UGH to bad i cant reprogram it in INPA or something so i dont have to take it back apart. So frustrated with myself right now, Please Let me know what you think.. thanks again..

balbs

KyleB! Thank you so much! For the past few months my car was having lurching issues when downshifting before coming to a stop. About 2 weeks ago I got the dreaded transmission fault light just coming down a freeway off ramp. The car would not start off in 1st gear. Also once I put it in park, it would get stuck and can't go to D. Luckily I found a trick to go under the stick to lift a little lever to manually remove it from Park.

I managed to get the car home and then began to order the parts mentioned on this thread. I bought the solenoid kit from thectsc.com and the gaskets kit with fluid from fcpeuro.com.

I printed out the first 2 posts on this thread and gave that and everything else to my mechanic. $285 in labor. After he was done, I used Carly form BMW and did the transmission reset.

My car's transmission is buttery smooth again! Thank you!

PaoChe

Hey all,

Just thought I'd post my experience with my '04 525i with m54 & zf 6hp19 and roughly 110k miles. Got the dreaded 4F85 a few times. Limp mode 3 or 4 times. Not even driving hard. Under-revving if anything, leading to downshift from 5 to 4. Typical e-clutch stuff. Interestingly I found my adaptations were super weird. Very low pressures. Like -900mbar. A ZF tech I contacted was dumbfounded. He said there's no guidance on anything below -650mbar. Usually when the transmission detects slippage it ramps the pressure UP, not Down. Anyway, the ZF guy said whole new trans, $7k. Hah ok right. This is not a 550i or M5. Soo not worth it. Decided to go for new valve body and solenoids.

I do my own basic maintenance, oil changes, brake pads, but transmission was beyond my comfort level. Found an awesome guy in Houston willing to help out. He frequents the SpoolStreet forums, username Matreyia. Anyone in Houston, TX needs help with their car, look him up. Great guy. Neurotic about doing everything perfect and by the book. No cutting corners. He appreciates others that are also serious about their BMWs. Really cool guy.

We started with a fluid change and new filter. Never had it done. Drove 100 miles. This wasn't expected to actually fix it but mainly wanted to flush and remove any debris with fresh fluid and filter. Also gave him the opportunity to open the trans to check the plate ID on my original valve body so I could order the correct replacement. There's dozens to choose from, you must get it right. After about 100 miles of light mixed driving went back for new mechatronic seals/sleeves and brand new valve body and solenoids. Got my Valve Body from Revmax. Much easier than rebuilding the original with a sonnax kit. Make sure to get the foam insulation around the solenoids, it's critical to prevent shorts. Also always replace the sleeve for the wiring harness, don't reuse the old one. New fluid, filter again. Adaptation drive. Need to pay attention to which TCU software version you have, the adaptation reset and re-learn drive is slightly different based on your TCU software version.

Immediately it felt like a new transmission. After about 1k miles it's still much better. Never had another slip or limp mode. 2-1 clunk is gone. 1-2, 2-3 are perfect. 3-4 is and always has been temperamental, even back at 40k miles it would do weird things, so that is to say it feels like it always has. 4-5 is a bit, distinct. It's noticeable But no slip so that's good. 5-4 is smooth. 5-6 is imperceptible. 6-5 is imperceptible as well.

I'm still not certain that the e-clutch bushing isn't worn. That seems to be the root of the issues for everyone. But clogged solenoids and valve body will exacerbate it and impair the transmissions ability to adapt and apply pressure accordingly. The guy that did my trans service actually had his zf6hp21 modified with custom, metal full round bushings rather than the stock ones which are plastic/teflon/composite and more horseshoe shaped if I remember correctly.

​​​​​Overall I spent somewhere around $1600 for parts and labor, which included 2 visits with 2 fluid changes and all the adaptation driving. If I get another year or two out of my aging e60 that's $1600 well spent.

Flguy76

Glad it worked out for you, i got my solenoids and foam backing and im about to put them in. Which version software do you have? Which process did u used cause i just use inpa for th reset.. should I be doing that start speed up the down and stop etc..? Dk u have a link i can read before I do the install? Thanks bro

PaoChe

You'll need to check your tcu software version using a OBD tool or something that can scan for error codes and such. Usually they can give you hardware/software info for things like the tcu. You'll need it to clear the old adaptations as well. I've attached a pdf with the adaptation drive procedure for the various software revisions of the tcu.

TGreene

Lots of great info in this thread. Thanks to all of you who have posted, and who have followed up with your results so that the rest of us may learn.

169k on a 2004 530i and the transmission was slipping and having a hard time knowing what gear to be in. I decided to replace seals/sleeve/fluid/pan. First time around I did not have the sleeve all of the way in so I tried to start it without the harness plugged in - no crank or anything. Lots of error messages.

Dropped the pan, dropped the mechatronics to make sure no pins were damaged, put it back up and got the sleeve much further in, confident that I have it all the way seated. The sleeve locking tab slid up into place without too much effort, harness connected/twisted into locking position without resistance. Gear selector and slider are mated up as they should be. Got back into car, still tons of errors and it won't even try to crank. Replaced the battery just in case since it was giving issues before, no change.

Three questions: Will the car crank over if the harness/sleeve is installed correctly, but there is no pan or fluid?

If I trigger transmission faults by trying to start the car without the mechatronics harness connected, if I connect it properly will those faults go away and allow me to start the car? Or will I have to clear the transmission fault codes with INPA/an alternative even if I have the harness plugged in properly the second time?

Is there anyway to troubleshoot the mechatronics/EGS on the bench beyond a visual inspection for bent pins at the harness connector?

Thanks for any response, and good luck to all.

seanjordan20

Clear the codes.

Skelly

New owner of a fairly hi-mileage 2009 528xi.
I've read through most of this thread and some others.
The transmission has gone into failsafe mode a few times, I cleared it by shutting down and restarting, then going into DS Mode where it worked fine.
I also have this symptom, but ONLY when I first start the car. After a few times it will go into gear, but usually slips, then goes into fail safe mode. After the car is warmed up, I can park, and restart the car and it doesn't fail again.
I pulled codes 4F81, 4F83 and A830.
I assume the A830 is due to a bad shifter or the wiring? Strange that it only fails when the car is cold?
If I've gathered the proper info, it's time for a pan, filter, sleeve and fluid change, along with possibly the solenoids??
How much harder is everything to get to since this is an AWD?
Anything else I should replace while I'm in there?

Thanks!

Сarlin_Garfield96

I am also looking for an answer to this question. If you have already solved this problem, please describe the solutions.