ive recently started driving my car in manual mode since its the best way to avoid a lag/delay in acceleration. anyway, ive noticed that when i come to a complete stop my car only automatically shifts down to 3rd which means i have to shift down to 2nd myself before going again for the car to accelerate normally since 3rd is too high to start off with. on my previous 3 series it shifted down to 2nd on its own which was just right i think. is this normal or is something wrong with my transmission?

ex: cruising in fourth gear on manual mode and come up to a stop, i don't physically shift down myself but let the car do it automatically while im slowing down. car only shifts down to 3rd forcing me to shift down to second manually for it to have enough torque to accelerate away from the stop sign.

thanks

 

I think I remember reading that this is normal for the V8s. the I6s shift down to 2nd but the V8s shift to 3rd.

 

in my 530 if i let it down shift automatically coming to a stop, it downshifts to 2nd. but i normally will downshift manually myself.

 

Since I have an '08 550i with the sport automatic, its operation is probably different.
It does something interesting. In manual mode without the sport button pressed (new on '08 550i's I think). It drops to 2nd and starts in that. With the sport button pressed, it drops to first. Unfortunately in traffic where most people creep to a stop, it drops to first just before a complete stop and jerks a bit. If I can pull up at a reasonable speed and stop in one motion, there's no jerk. Or I can come to a stop without it pressed and then press the button while stopped, putting it in first.

I guess because of the large amount of torque, relatively low 2nd gear, and the torque converter, a 2nd gear start is fine. Certainly in traffic, after about 1 second off the line I can keep up with anyone. If I start in first in traffic, I need my hand on the shifter since it winds out pretty quickly and I need to shift since its so low.

To your question, 3rd gear seems not right.

 

Read this thread.

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=29366

 

Same tranny in 550 and 535

 

I have 2004 545i and mine shifts from M2 when starting from a complete stop using the manual mode.

 

+1

 

My 2004 530d shifts to M2

 

so youre saying that when youre in manual mode and you come to a complete stop lets say from 4th, your car downshifts itself to 2nd? i understand the inline 6's go down to 2nd but i would like some more feedback on what the 4.4l are doing? im getting mixed reviews, some say theirs goes down to 2nd while others are saying 3rd.