pjk0159

I went in to the dealership earlier this week to drop off my car due to jerky auto transmission issues.

Today they called me and confirmed the problems I was experiencing (specifically, hard jerk upon stop, high RPM gear change from 4th to 5th).

Now this is the weird part:

My SA advises me that BMW *requires* that they perform a transmission fluid flush first, and that I must pay for it . Does this make sense? My car transmission is still under warranty (acknowledged), and I feel as if they're trying to avoid a costly transmission swap.

Has anyone experienced similar problems with their tranny, and had to deal with this fishy warranty fix/deal? I haven't authorized them to do so yet, but if they insist this is my only option, should I call BMW HQ?

-oh so frustrated e60 owner

Tommy_statefarm

yes, you should call another Bmw deal and explain to them the problem your having to see what kind of answer they'll give you. if its the same respond as this current one than it true.

or call HQ to get things a little more clear but you must get transfer around a million times before your able get to talk to someone...

I would. I got a deal bed with my wife 5 too..

atl530i

I had the same problem with the hard jerk upon stop in my 07 530i. My excellent SA at Global BMW in Atlanta had the transmission replaced in 2 days. $50 CPO copay and I was out the door. No arguments. No questions. Just great service.

atl530i

To directly answer your question. I do not believe your SA. I think he is lying to you. If you are experiencing a problem and they have replicated it then there is no more question in what should be done. New transmission. Remember to be nice to them but firm. You paid for a nice car that still has warranty if your tranny was acting anything like mine it is not right and should be fixed. If you weren't under warranty they would tell you how the tranny HAD to be replaced NOW nothing would be mentioned about fluid. You should be treated the same under warranty or not. Just because you have warranty you should expect no less service but more. You are/should be a valued BMW customer.

AchtungE60

If it's under warranty you do not have to pay for anything, no matter what it is...unless you have a CPO, but even that should cover it.

AchtungE60

No this is not true. BMW franchises give SA's canned responses to give customers until they puch and insist. OP - If you have a warranty then they should fix but not on your pocketbook. Period.

Persian_535i

Service advisors get paid off commission and customer feedback, sounds like he's trying to charge unnecessary bullshit to line his own pockets.

pjk0159

Hi guys. Thanks for all your inputs on this matter!

I switched my SA and the new adviser finally confirmed that they will replace the transmission.

One thing that bugs me is that it took one entire week for them to tell me that the replacement would be covered (I dropped off my car on 12/4). The new adviser was very honest. Turns out BMW has their own special techies to verify if a warranty service is required (especially expensive ones), and that they were trying other ways to avoid replacing the transmission. Although I'm glad they finally agreed to do so, it's quite unsettling that they were trying to get around it. Additionally, the transmission is on backorder, so I would need to wait a MONTH until my car will be repaired. jeez.

Side note: I also turned in my car for weird rumbling and shaking upon cold starting. It literally shakes my car a bit and sounds like its gonna die (lasts about 3 seconds). Anyone else experience this? If so, did you get it fixed under warranty?

toyota2bmw

Rule #1, the SAs are mostly sales/customer service people trained to "UPSELL" on every visit you make to the stealership! Even if you go in for a warranted repair, they WILL find some excuse to tell you something needs replacing or needs service that is conveniently NOT covered under warranty. You just need to have the balls to say NO. Find a good indy mechanic in your area and get second opinions whenever you can.

There is a forum member who is a VERY competent mechanic when it comes to our cars. I trust him with both my Bimmers. As matter of fact, I just had him do some work on my E65 this past weekend. He is pretty local to you and he won't try to rip you a new one and he charges a fraction of what the dealer would. With that said, take your rough idle problem to him. PM me and I will forward you his contact info.