Anyone reading this should check out this thread of mine.

545 in the shop

I am not being critical of the SMG, I personally love it. I will have to see what happens though.

 

While stuck at a gas station and in need of a flatbed, I called bmw roadside assistance and my plea for help was answered by "that gas station does not exist." I continue on the phone for a good 20 minutes at 3:00 in the morning and nothing. I then call AAA and get a tow truck within 30 min.

 

While stuck at a gas station and in need of a flatbed, I called bmw roadside assistance and my plea for help was answered by "that gas station does not exist." I continue on the phone for a good 20 minutes at 3:00 in the morning and nothing. I then call AAA and get a tow truck within 30 min.
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Indeed, AAA has better roadside assistence network than BMW. If, a big if, I ever needed a tow again, I will certainly call AAA first.

 

Does BMW still use Cross Country? Just curious -- I haven't needed to call them for many years and I do have a AAA membership for other cars, etc.

 

I read your post and it seems that we have the exact same problem. The car won't start. Dealer don't know what to do. Replacing everything SMG related...etc.

Please keep us posted on how your buy back goes. I am afraid that I might need that info later.....

Perhaps our transmission are from the same batch when they were produced. My car's production date is 10/04, what is yours?

 

Iteresting to see what happens with you two, as I have not had any problems so far with the SMG. Knock on Wood. Mine was produced a little after yours Speedracer, so I am curious to see what happens.

Good luck to you bmwin14rsm, guess we will have to wait and see before join you on a drive.

 

I'll keep you posted CRRobert.

One thing I notice is that the SMG is adaptive to your driving too. Just like the Steptronic. I never thought that was possible with SMG because you, as the driver, are the one who initiate the shift. But on my service order, it says that the dealer reset the adaptive data from the computer. The car felt smoother between shifts. No feathering on the gas was required. Now, it's back to normal. Although I have adapted to the new art of smooth shifting, I still like the car to be smoother on its own.

 

I'm confused. I, too, didn't think that it was possible to have "adaptive" behavior with the SMG. What I find interesting is that the TIS document that I posted here (and updated today, by the way) I couldn't find anything about the system being adaptive anywhere in it's 58 pages. (It's interesting to note that the TIS document on the Steptronic mentions the adaptive control right away on the summary page.)

Something tells me that this may be another case of dealer confusion and the SMG does not have any adaptive behavior. The smoother shifting may be a function of the driver adapting...

 

Rudy,

I am quoting my service order word-by-word below. Let me know what you think:
P = Problem reported
A = Action taken

P: Tow in, Customer states dead battery. Car refuses to start.
A: 1628 Found fault code 4F6F hydraulic pump faulty as per PUMA SOP trans. SV1482
Remove and replace transmission. 2300626 installing SMG replacement gearbox.
Re-taught transmission, relearned transmission, and taught in clutch curve.

Appearently, clutch curve is adaptive, or controlled by software so it's programmable.

 

Interesting. Thanks for the details speedracer. Now I want to know more details on what the SMG adapts to!

For the record, TIS does state that after replacing the SMG transmission, the tech needs to "perform adaptation using DIS tester" so there must be something being "learned" by the unit...

RA__Installing_replacement_transmission__GS6S53BZ_SMG_.pdf