sbriggs

Hi guys,

this is my first post on here and have done a lot of research but not coming up with anything similar to my problem.

Problem is, is when driving along normally in 'D' the auto box just feels horrendous! it never seems to shift smoothly at all and when you are on light throttle and say going up an incline it doesn't seem to want to change gear but it will just sit laboring at about 1200 rpm. you can push the throttle pretty much half way down before it changes down a gear where as before you only needed to touch the throttle and it would shift nicely and briskly accelerate. When it does finally change down it will sit at about 2500 rpm and the revs don't rise much above this but speed increases slowly as if a manual clutch was slipping, and sometimes the revs dip slightly and pick up again and if it does manage to get 3000rpm it accelerates perfectly normally (fast and with power). Also when it changes down once theres really no sense that its changed but when you put your foot down further and it changes down one more you can feel it has 'bite' and you can feel the change.
In manual mode in 3rd it feels like the transmission slips. If the revs are at say 2500rpm and you floor it, it instantly rises to about 3-3500 until it actually starts to accelerate!

Taken it to BMW who done a fault diagnostics and road test and because there is no fault codes the according to them theres nothing wrong. told them the gearbox sump has a slight leak and they said it wasn't leaking enough to worry about. BMW customer service was excellent but seem incompetent if the car doesn't give them a code to tell them whats wrong!

2nd thing,

My idrive screen keeps fading to a white/grey screen. been doing it daily for the past few days. Sometimes turning the car off and on again solves it but not always then the following day it may be fine?

Any help at all would be brill as i now hate this car and currently would never buy another BMW again!

Cars done 50000 miles and full BMW history

sbriggs

Forgot to say, car also has after market 19" wheels as appose to the 18's and has quad exhaust system. Whether that makes a difference or not?

ciphin

For the transmission issue -- it could be a learning issue. Something that has worked in the past on other models is to reset what the car knows about your driving patterns. When in the car put it into accessory mode (car doesn't start, but all electronics start up). Then hold the gas pedal down for about 30 seconds. After that, start the car. That should clear all of the driving history and may give you better performance.

As for the iDrive issue. Haven't heard or seen that before. That could be a number of things -- failing computer, poor display connection, overheating, etc. BMW or a certified technician will likely need to see it happen first hand in order to better diagnose the issue.

Todd

sbriggs

Arh yes the infamous throttle reset! i have tried that but made no difference to my car what so ever.

i will try post up a pic of the idrive screen when i find a camera.

Bad Debt

Do your research on the mechatronics issues with the 545i. I bet that's your leak and your problem.

sbriggs

So this mechatronics, is it generally a case of it needs replacing or can the sleeve thing just be replaced, new sump gasket and oil level corrected? From what i can tell a new mechatronic unit is well over £1000 for part alone. My warranty only pays out £1000 per claim and im suspecting worst case bill could be £2k+!

Bad Debt

pretty sure the sleve itself can just be replaced. I had the whole unit done under CPO.

sbriggs

Ok that doesn't sound too bad. Can i ask what kind of symptoms you were getting with your car?

Bad Debt

Couldn't stop smoothly, car would surge forward at times when doing between 35-40.

Bad Debt

How can they a say a slight leak is nothing to worry about? That's just plain dumb.