azwdct

To all who provided advice on my smg, thank you. It appears, however, that the problem is worse than originally thought. The car was taking a couple of seconds to shift gears. It almost felt as if the transmission would shift to neutral, then kick into gear. During the upshift process, the car would drop approximately 5-10 mph in speed, even in automatic mode. The dealer agreed that there was a problem, so the car, with only 50 miles on it, is in the shop while they try to determine the problem and solution. The dealer seemed concern that there was a problem with the software. The dealer has been great to deal with, I just find it frustrating that the vehicle is in the shop already. Has anyone had the same problem or does anyone have any idea what the issue may be? Thanks again.

Iceman

Good luck, I hope they find the problem!

alohalc

only 50 miles and in the shop already ? if they can't fix this problem, they better replace your car .

gomac

The stars are against us!!!!

Iceman, Working through a German dealer while the car is under Warranty do we get a loaner or do I have to click my heels to remind myself I am not in Kansas any more!?!

yogibear458

I experienced the same issue between 1st and 2nd gear when I test drove a 2004 545 SMG. During that long shift delay (1-2 seconds) pressing the accelerator didn't increase the engine rev.

But it shifted much faster, particularly between 1st and 2nd, when using the paddle or running in Sport mode.

I was unfortunate to have a service manager to tell me that was normal !! I called BMW Canada and some rep told me that he couldn't tell me how fast SMG should shift between 1st and 2nd gear. I ended up getting the conventional auto.

Sounds like you have a service manager that cares. Good luck.

azwdct

I hate to say it yogi, but if they come back and tell me it's normal, I'll give the car back. I had a friend drive with me in the car when we were with the service manager and he said it was the worst driving car he's been in. I hope they can fix the problem soon b/c I am really looking forward to driving the car.

Rudy

It's clearly not normal behavior. Either something's messed up with the mechanicals or something's messed up with the software.

Iceman

If it's warranty stuff you'll get a loaner. If you have a good dealer you'll even get one when you bring your car for service, on some dealer ships this isn't free, but on a good one it is.
My car is a lease, so I'll get a loaner even for service. BMW financial services gives you two coupons for loaners while you get service per year...

But all that is for regular German cars/dealers...
Can't speak for the mil...

But for warranty stuff, like recalls or fixes, you should allways get a loaner everywhere in the world, since it isn't your fault that the car is malfunctioning...

azwdct

Here is an update and a description of the problem. What concerns me most is the fact that the dealer is saying this is normal b/c this is the transmission is learning how I drive. Essentially, here is a description of the problem and lastest update:

At the shift point (particularly first to second and second to third) the transmission seems to shift into neutral for a full second (i.e. the car loses power and momentum) then slips into gear. During this process, the car noticeably hesitates, drops 5-10 mph in speed and jerks the occupants forward until it finally shifts. It does this in both manual and automatic mode as well as sport mode. The service manager just called me and told me that the car was doing this b/c it was "learning" my driving habits and suggested I drive it aggressively. I explained to him that I was driving it aggressively and, in fact, drove it with the sales manager yesterday when he agreed there was a problem. I asked the service manager if he had driven the car and he explained that he had not, but he was basing his assessment on the fact that there were no open service bulletins on the car.

Rudy

I'm not aware that the SMG is "adaptive" and learns anything at all. I think only the Steptronic adapts to your driving style.

If you put it in sport mode, mash the pedal to the floor and shift it at redline without lifting the gas pedal, the car should simply "buck" or kick a during the shift (passengers heads will certainly react to the momentum change but that's just physics at work). The whole shift should be a second or less.

If anything other than that is happening, something is wrong with your car...