Have 2008 535D sports auto and have loved the car until recently. We had bad snow in IRL a few weeks or so ago and since my gearbox has been terrible. (Mentioned snow as spent most of this time driving in 2nd & 3rd with alot of tyre spinning etc - however this may be totally irrelevant)

The car now aggressively shifts down gear and sometimes doesn't change up sitting at 3-3500rpm . Sometimes you think someone has rear ended you as it jumps whilst stationary and throttle response is crap. It feels sluggish on up shift but all these faults are temperamental. The car is simply not as slick and sharp as it was previously.

It has been i n with BMW mian dealer, was checked for faults, but none present/stored. BMW cannot sanction any further investigation unless fault is displayed on their system (however as i drive the car everyday I cleraly notice the drop in performance - BMW technician drove car and noticed no issue - frustrating to say the least, but I can appreciate the difficulty he may have in noticing an issue.

Please somebody help as I am quickly falling out of love with an amazing car.

 

My 535d is currently with my mechanic, fixing my problem of zero power beyond 3400 rpm. I also thought there was an issue with the gearbox, as well as engine, but have now found it is the wastegate on the large turbo that is stuck in open position. More info on this thread: https://5series.net/forums/topic/108...9#entry1290819

I was hoping it was the brittle vacuum hoses that would do the trick as that is apparently a common problem on the 535d which my mechanic has confirmed. Try to read the thread and see whether this might have something to do with it before you determine whether it is the gearbox. And if it is, you should try the 25-sec trick for gearbox resetting.

 

Whats the general pull off like, are you noticing any turbo lag? If so I would say it is a possible stuck waste gate.. If BMW have checked they can rule out the switches and sensors but as mentioned above it could be a stuck valve.

It could be a split hose somewhere, get your indi to do a smoke test on all the pipes and intercooler hoses.

Your gear shifts will be harsher if its not boosting properly but give a bit more info on what its like driving up to 2500 rpm and 3500rpm from standstill and from 1,500 up to 3,500 rpm look for signs of hesitation or jerking

You may also want to check the engine is getting up to temp as the oil going to the Gearbox is warmed up via a small radiator attached to the main rad. If your cars struggling to get up to temp it may be impacting on the flow of oil in the gearbox due to the cold weather..

 

The actual power seems fine, mabye small lag but that was always present. It just seems the gear box cannot make up its mind when to shift up. The shifts are delayed which seems and sounds like the engine has to work much harder to get the required power/pull out of the engine. Progress made in traffic/spirited driving is just not as sharp and smooth as it previously.

This car has only 33k miles on the clock, I just am at a loss as BMW say the cannot do anything unless a fault shows on their system. Would all the above mentioned problems (vacuum hoses, turbos valves etc, oil temp) surely not throw up some kind of fault codes if present - after all this was supposed to be the best diesel engine in the world.

Did anyone with gearbox issues ever actually get a fault code displayed!
Went down the route of trying to sort a niggling power issue with a 320d before and without some sort of fault code it seems to be an extremely expensive and seriously frustrating route.

Think another trip back to the BMW dealers is required to request back to back drives in mine and another 535d.

 

I'll keep an eye on this thread if you dont mind mate.

Hope you get to the bottom of it as cheaply as poss.

 

Ya hopefully Dean - Spoke with BMW dealer again today - said that BMW PUMA System didnt have any similar faults on the system (PUMA - BMW database type system that keep records of all difficult cases so every dealer can access info on unusual problems etc). Course of action is now .....
1. Wait until dealer gets another 535d in stock so both cars can be driven back to back so accurate comparison can be made on their performances.
2. BMW head technican/Enginner due to visit the dealers at the end of Jan - he will inspect & drive my car and comment/give his views.

Unfortunately there seems to be very little I can do as no faults were detected by the BMW diagnostic computer. Not that happy about having to drive the car for another 3 weeks in it present state, the drive just hasnt the same enjoyment.