Joshua Stein

New user here, so I don't know if there's already a post on this. Anyway, I had a BMW E46, totaled by a driver on their phone, and looking for another older BMW. I know the risks and maintenance costs and familiar with the cars, but more so with the E39 and E46. I'm trying to get something newer, 3 or 5 series wise around E9X/E60 generation and had a question. While I would prefer manual, the market is tricky to find one in. Saw a 2 owner BMW 525i (2005) with the M54 motor, which I like because it has an actual dipstick, and I know how to watch out for cooling issues. Only problem is there's a transmission fault. It seems like the ZF 6 speed's used were more problamatic, with the idrive display and dash have a trans fault on display (red exclamation mark with gear around it). My question is, what does a trans fault range from, can it be minor, or is it more catastrophic (for my wallet at least). The owner said it just needs a transmission fluid replacement, and is getting it drained and filled this weekend, but I don't buy it. Could it just be the trans fluid, or is it likely something else? I'm likely going to pass on the car because of it, but worse comes to worse, I'll have my mechanic (who specializes in german cars) look at it before any purchase can be made, but I would like to be informed because most E60 5ers I've seen usually have had some sort of trans issue either now or in their past whether its the TCM module or something worse. Thanks!

JayArras

to the forum, Joshua! As a newbie, I'd suggest taking a crack at using the search function. Click Search above and then select Advanced Search and put "transmission fault" in quotes. This topic gets discussed fairly often, so I'm sure you'll find some useful information. If not, come back here with specific questions.