Sonny007

Hi all

I just bought the 535d m sport lci 2009 with 62k miles

Well what can I say, the car really does pull like a train and is my first performance car since the e46 320i

All was going well until I got on the motorway doing about 80MPH and when I floored it, boom, I get a warning on the dash saying 'Transmission failure safe drive moderately '

I pulled over, restarted the car and the warning message had gone.

I got back on the motorway and doing about 70 MPH and this time noticed that the Rev meter was sitting between 1600-1800 and struggling to move (steady foot on the gas pedal). I pressed the paddle shift to check which gear I was in (without shifting) and the car was on sixth gear.

I floored it, felt the power for a bit got up to around 90 MPH and you guessed it, that same error message pops up again. Also I realised that the car continued on 4th gear and won't shift up

I pulled over, restarted the car after 2 minutes and Again, the message disappeared and I drove back to London (200+ miles) cruising between 70-80 MPH and making sure I dont rev too much no matter how tempted I felt.

I have to say, very disappointed and was hoping for a fun drive back


Anybody have answer or have been in similar situations?
I've done a bit of googling and there's a list of reasons from battery issue to tranny problems

I really hope it's nothing to serious

Thanks guys

Sonny

Sonny007

I have just had car read and there are two codes showing up

4F83 ratio monitoring clutch c
4F85 ratio monitoring clutch e

KyleB

Welcome to the forum, and welcome also to the ZF transmission problem club.

All of your answers are in the DIY section of this forum.

BostonJon

so that happened immediately on the way home from purchasing it? did it come with any sort of warranty? i'm wondering if it had this problem when they sold it to you and they had cleared the codes so it would test drive ok

Sonny007

Unfortunately I bought the car private

Sonny007

Day two of ownership-

I took the car to my trusted mechanic first thing and got the following two fault codes

4F83 ratio monitoring clutch c
4F85 ratio monitoring clutch e

Faults cleared. Put the car on the ramp and underbody of car looks almost new. Everything looked in very good working order with no leaks

Under the bonnet the car was recently serviced but the air filter was not changed. The filter was clogged up with at least 3 inches of black dirt! Replaced the filter and drove around town for a couple hours then took her on the motorway. Once reached 70mph I floored it and took it all the way to 110 mph with no faults coming up. Did this a couple times more without any problems
I'm stumped! And really confused. Don't want to get my hopes too high.

I will take it for another test in an hour and report back. Hopefully this was just a glitch in the system and don't get that scary message back.

If I do then it's Gonna need tranny replaced. Got a quote from my Indy who can supply and fit second hand gearbox for £1050 with 6 months warranty

Really like this car as it really pulls like a train and I want to keep it.

BostonJon

that's a bit strange. i hope that solves your problem! i'm wondering if the previous owner had issues with the trans and decided to sell it.

I would be wondering what else the previous owner neglected if there was that much dirt in the air filter.

btw - i think you can replace the clutch packs without replacing the entire transmission.

Sonny007

How much you reckon that would cost?

I hope the previous owner spends the money in good health! Never met anyone who could be so deceitful! Karma will do justice...

Sonny007

Right guys, 2nd test today.

1st attempt Drove around for an hour and headed towards the M11 (motorway/freeway) and kept it at 60mph on normal drive mode then floored it and it bulletted all the way to 110 mph without any faults.

2nd attempt SD mode (shifted gear lever to the left) kept it at 70 mph for a while then floored it again all the way 120mph and again no faults. I even shifted gears using paddle shift and changed between 5th and 6th gear no problems

final attempt Sports mode- went from 65mph and took it all the way to 130mph and kept it there for 30 seconds and yup you guessed it, error free.

I was quite pleased with the performance and pray that the transmission failure messages I got yesterday was in error. Drove all the way back home with a smile and had great fun too.

Could the fault have been really triggered by the very bad air filter?

http://tinypic.com/r/2enssvs/9

jtbgonesailing

Not knowing just what service history your car has, with less than forthright previous owner, I would change every fluid in the car. Especially the transmission and filter/pan. Cheap insurance in the long rum.