I got in my car this morning, put my car into drive and drove out of my driveway. But once is switch it over to the steptronic side, it did not respond. The car said it was still on "D". I thought it was just a glitch or something so i restarted car, kept trying to shift the gear, all that good stuff but nothing seemed to make it work. My car is 06 530i. Anyone have a clue what is wrong with my car?

 

Loose connection? Fuse? Do you have warranty?

 

my car is no longer covered under warranty .. lol that is one reason i am trying to figure out the problem before taking it to a dealership

 

It's all drive by wire. The shifter is just a big switch. Most likely the connector is loose OR a wire is broken OR the shifter is broken internally. It could be worse, an internal transmission problem, but I think that is a lot less likely. I just Googled your problem and found a guy with a 3 series that had the same problem. He got a used shifter at a junkyard and replaced it himself and that fixed it. Another poster said the dealer wanted $1300 for a new one installed and the part was $400.

 

Maybe I'm completely misguided but wouldn't the old, mechanical, steptronic be installed in this '06?

 

It's all shift by wire for the ZF six speed auto. The differences are minimal between LCI and initial release.

 

Ah ok, always thought the mechanical link was discontinued with the advent of the LCI shifters.
Some time ago I browsed around somewhat and read this on Bimmerfest (excerpt):

The selector lever position display is located in the instrument cluster.
- GWS: Gear selector switch
> E60, E61 from 03/2007
> E63 from 09/2007
> E70
The gear selector switch is configured as a control unit in its own right. With the gear
selector switch, the transmission is no longer actuated mechanically, but rather
electronically.
[more ...]

and

Parking lock
The parking lock locks the transmission output shaft. The vehicle is prevented from rolling
unexpectedly. The parking lock is designed to provide a reliable brake on gradients up to
32 %.
> E53, E81, E83, E85, E86, E87, E90, E91, E92, E93
> E60, E61 until 03/2007
> E63, E64 until 09/2007
When the vehicle is stationary, the parking lock is engaged purely mechanically via the
selector lever (Bowden cable from selector lever to mechatronics module).
> E65, E66, E70
> E60, E61 from 03/2007
> E63, E64 from 09/2007
With the electric version of the parking lock, the parking lock is applied and electrically
secured via a mechanical spring system in the transmission.


Am I misinterpreting all this? Better info/links would be appreciated as always. Thanks

 

I don't know what those guys are talking about or if it is relevant. The ZF auto trans for the e60 is nearly identical for LCI and pre-LCI versions. The one in the LCI version is slightly faster shifting and BMW changed the shifter to separate out the sport mode to a button rather than integral with the shift lever. Could be a change in the parking lock, but that has nothing to do with the electronic shift control. If you are really interested in the internals of the car and are into DIY, get a copy of the Bentley srvice manual. It costs around $100 and is very informative.