OK, so my 05 530 which has been regularly serviced was taken for a 15min ride today then the car sat for an hour or so. Coming back home all was well, let the car idle for 20 min while I dealt with some things with the wife. Left the house, half mile later the car really shifted into about third in a much higer rpm, but i didnt pay too much attn to it. Half mile later I slowed for an exit ramp, then on accelleration it shifted hard again. I stopped in the middle of the interstate (no cars coming), and started off again. Immediatedly the trans fault error came on advising me to drive moderately. I drove back home slowly and a few hours later drove the car again and all is good.

What the hell?

Pleas help!!!!!!

PS-the car has 105K miles on the clock.

 

it could have just been a glitch. have you ever changed the trans fluid or checked the fluid level? that'd be the first thing i'd check.

 

Had the dealer change fluid about 5-6k ago. Been running smooth.

 

If there had been no other symptoms like banging hard between gearshifts, delay engaging when shifting into reverse or "d", frequent gear hunting, or other iDrive errors it might be a random error code ... worse yet, it could be the start of something worse. Is it possible the trans oil change done by the dealer is a culprit ... go back and have them check to see if the the fluid level is low or if something wasn't buttoned up properly and is leaking ??

Hate to say it but BMW automatics are a weak link in the whole drive train - especially after crossing the 100K mark.

 

Is there not a low fluid warning in iDrive?

 

We get warnings about lots of stuff but not this one!!

 

A 25 second Transmission reset is ALWAYS a good idea, try it today!

 

+1 & LOL

OP - try the transmission reset first. If that doesn't work you can take it to the dealer and pay for diagnosis...I say this because they're going to tell you that you drove 5-6K miles without a problem and you signed a waiver that they're not responsible for any tranmission related failures if they change the fluid over 100K mi. and it's hard to prove there was any issue since their the ones looking for the issue and if they find an issue they caused they'll just cover it up. So If you do go the dealer route, i'd say go ahead and go to a different dealer because they're in competition and they will most likely give you a good diagnosis and point the finger at the other guy. And you'll have to pay and then go try to get reimbursed from the original dealership.

 

Do you have any transmission errors coming up in the idrive? If not, reset the adaptive transmission to flat to see if this resolves. The dealer should have done this after servicing the transmission. But why would you want to service a Lifetime Oil transmission? Tehehehehe

 

Why did you idle your car for 20 minutes? You could have easily turned the car off then started it again 20 minutes later.