HELP!! 2008 528i - Transmission Fail Safe Error / Limp mode comes and goes
 

Hi Everyone,

I just picked up an 08 BMW 528i from Auction in an AS IS type of sale. The car is beautiful and overall well kept, which made me risk buying it with 150K miles on the odometer.

Drove the car about 30 miles on the highway after I picked it up and it drove absolutely amazing. I was literally mad at myself for not buying one sooner! Well.. that was short lived when at about 45 mph the Transmission went into limp mode and the transmission fail safe / failsafe error light came on. I pulled over, turned the car off, then back on again and the error immediately went away. Drove another 20 miles and again it happened. The next day it happened again and again.. to the point where I had it towed back home.

I feel like i've been had but like I've said it was an AS IS sale, so it is what it is.

My question is... could it be something else other than the transmission itself that is causing the error? When the transmission is working normal, it shifts and pulls like a brand new car. Then it goes into limp mode. I took a video of it and put it on youtube located at the link below.


Any help would be greatly appreciated!

How much did you get it for? Well if you know BMWs then you know that this is common. Before you bought it research would of helped you to make a better decion. Meaning you know what you were getting yourself into.

Now! The good news is you are not dead in the water. A lot of use have had the same issues and have successfully fixed it with out the BMW price tag to go along with it. I hope you know how to turn a wrench because it will save you a lot of money.

You know have a car with 150K on it from an auction. When you buy any car from off the street with 150k meaning not a dealership you must do what? Change all fluids, spark plugs check the brakes at min. If you have not done those things then start there. You may have a car that is just low on fluid which is the easiest fix and where you want to start. Once you do the required maintenance on the car which you have no history of then come back if issues arise.

We are here for you and will walk you through what we can but help from you is needed also. And now that you have a BMW and I know you do not want to pay the big price to keep it maintained you need a few programs that will assist you in troubleshooting issues that come up (BMW ISTA/D Rheingold, INPA, ISTA/P) start with INPA since that is what everyone uses. When on the forum you will need to post the BMW specific codes not generic ones.

I have a 2008 528xi that exhibited the same symptoms, and the problem turned out to be a bad Crankshaft Position Sensor, nothing related to the transmission at all. It's a $30 part located on the driver's side of the engine block directly above the starter motor. The dealer quoted $800 to replace it from above, after a lot of disassembly of the intake system. If your a little handy, patient, and have e-Torx sockets and a good safe set of jack stands, you can replace it from below yourself.

You need to read the codes to make sure this is the problem you are having. Also, be careful not to mistake the Crankshaft Position Sensor for the Camshaft Position Sensor(s), which are a lot easier to replace. Both can be abbreviated as "CPS" but you need the lower one, if you're having the same problem I did.

Good luck!

Mike