sl55amg

First off I would like to thank this community for all the great knowledge and help. I have been able to learn so much about these great cars.

I tried searching around but couldn't find much about the specific issues I have been experiencing. First a little background. I own a 2004 525i automatic with 33,000 miles and at first I started noticing the car would hesitate to go from 5th gear into 6th. Sometimes when it finally would the car would kind of 'pulsate' as if I am assuming the transmission was slipping between gears. As above, thanks to you guys I found how to reset the 'learning' period of the auto box (the hold down the accelerator for ~30 seconds when the car is in accessory mode trick) and that slipping feeling has gone away. Now however I sometimes get a 'lurching' or 'kicking' gear change when shifting up from 5th to 6th. Just curious what you all might think may be the problem and if there is anything else I need to be aware of. Oh and there are really no other issues I can bring up, all other gear shifts seem butter smooth except the occasional kick from 1st to 2nd when on a gradual inclines and moderate acceleration.

Another quick question. Granted I know I have a low mileage car and plan on keeping it for many years, do you guys recommend doing a differential gear oil change and transmission oil change and is the later even possible on my year car because of the sealed "lifetime" transmission units? and any other preventative maintenance?


Thanks in advance for any comments, I really appreciate the advice.

Shlooky

Mine on occasion does the pulsating effect in 5th gear, but it's very rare. I took my car to a local indy shop and the detected a slight leak in transmission oil. Over the years I had lost 3 liters of oil (total 6 liters), so they topped it off and all is good.
This is a flaw in the automatic tranny, however BMW will not acknowledge that. Make sure your tranny software is upgraded, the fluids is topped off, and ask BMW to reset the adaptation parameters.

Good luck.

nagos420

Agree with the poster above, check the transmission oil level

sl55amg

Thanks for the replies.

I guess I have a rather dumb question. I cannot find a dip stick for the tranny (because it's a lifetime unit??) so how do I check the transmission fluid level?

Thanks again

luigi524td

You must have one of the lowest mileage '04 e60's on the planet. While it's possible your transmission oil is low (w/o a dipstick the measurement is best carried out by a trained BMW indy mechanic) and a transmission oil drain/refill might help I recommend you first try to reset the transmission's adaptive learned information with the "infamous 25 second reset" - http://forums.5serie...ic+transmission

If it continues to stutter in the 5-6 shift you may be driving very conservatively and the car simply can't make up its mind to go to the higher gear or stay in the lower gear. If you experience no other transmission shift issues you should consider driving in "sport" mode around town. That will permit your starts from stop in 1st gear and keep you in 5th gear for light mid-speed cruising.

Lastly, while Ab-Use may kill a car, in my experience NO-USE will sometimes cause different issues with BMW's -- they are meant to be driven!

sanjsanj

I've noticed that in D, the car actually starts from 1st, not 2nd as many people on here think... it only starts in 2nd when using the Manual mode.

sl55amg

Thanks luigi524td, and yes I know surprisingly low miles! I bought the car ~6 months ago with 19,xxx miles on it! and have since been pouring miles on it and will continue to do so.

I have not noticed the stuttering problem since the "infamous 25 second reset" and I also had the impression that as you put "driving very conservatively...the car simply can't make up its mind to go to the higher gear or stay in the lower gear." However since the reset now I am having the rather harsh kick in gears changes and wanted to know what you all have to say.

So thank you again for the advice, and if there is anything else I may be overlooking please let me know.

luigi524td

That may be specific to the diesel e60.

luigi524td

You're welcome ... not sure what you mean by "harsh gear changes" ... so much depends on how the car is driven and what you are "feeling" ... don't expect buttery smooth shifts if you are driving aggressively - it's a BMW not a Buick. As long as there are no accompanying unusual noises or jolts so sharp that they cause neck pain "crisp" shifts are normal. If you find yourself lifting off the gas as you run through the gears it'll confuse the transmission's 'brain'. Give the reset technique a chance to re-learn your driving style. If the shifts remain harsh or there are any other symptoms it may be necessary to have a QUALIFIED BMW tech take a look.

coolbema

Right guys im new to this forum so sorry for any mistakes. I owning 530i 2007 few days back while changing engine oil mechanic found transmission oil was leaking "probably" from sump pan gasket. I contacted local bmw dealer but they put me on long appointment of 13 days so decided to carry out work at some reasonable workshop. After researching i found "BOSCH" workshop usually works for Mercedes in my region (Dubai). I bought all original parts from BMW oil sump with gasket, sealing sleeve, shell 1375.4 atf 6 qts. The mechanic carried out the work smoothly apart from changing seeling sleeve where we got stuck about half an hour to place it back( there is one lock under seeling sleeve which was not locking after changing sleeve) finally he done and we ran through gears during filling at appropriate temprature. It took exactly 6 qts back. A day later i noticed that it has little hesitation or slam in changing between 5 to 6 gear. sometimes it feel like very faint braking and releasing style between 5 to 6 gear once it changed the car drives smoothly. reast of all gears are shfting smoothly even in sports mode. Im bit worried what it could be need a resetting or reprogramming after changing atf. I already made appoitment with BMW dealer.
Any body can advice.