Perhaps these problems are unrelated (or maybe they are), but for the past few weeks, my 2005 SMG 530 has been having what I would call clutch shudder in the mornings....as I pull out of the driveway and give it some gas it sputters a bit almost like the clutch was let out to soon on a regular manual...over the weekend, when I attempted to start the car and back out of a parking spot, a warning light came on and I could not shift the car out of neutral. I restarted the engine and everything was fine.

Today however, I was leaving a parking lot and had a Transmission Fail safe mode message display and only gears R, N and 1-3 are available. I turned the engine off and on and the error went away but I still can't shift past 3rd. In addition, I now have a service engine soon light on with "Increased Emissions" as the only warning.

I've been too busy to get to a shop, but I'll be heading there on Monday now. Just curious if anyone has had a similar issue and what the outcome was. With some google-based research, I found anything from a sensor, to a pump to a new tranny....hoping the latter is not the case.

My car has 75000 miles.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Matt

 

With 75k miles, it might be your SMG pump.

 

Seems like it.

 

SMG pump is pricey. I hope you got warranty.

 

Anyone have a cost estimate to have a new pump installed....either from the dealer or an Indy? After additional research and these posts (as well as other posts) the pump seems the most likely, even though I don't know for sure.

 

My friend had a SMG hydraulic pump replaced for an E60 M5, and it cost the dealer on the invoice $10,000.00.

 

i don't think it's smg pump.
First, do you hear smg pump priming when you unlock the doors? If yes, then your pump is working.
SMG pump is the last part people replace.
I'm not gonna type everything, go to http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=231113
It's e46 M3 forum smg troubleshooting FAQs. There are no forum like e46 m3 forum regarding smg issues/diagnoses/fix.
The parts number will be different but we have a same design, so whatever you found the solution, it will be likely the same.

 

Is that the screeching / bussing noise I hear when you unlock the doors and the same sound I hear about 5-10 minutes after I turn the car off? I'll check at lunch to see if I still hear that noise or any noise?

Thanks for the link!

 

yes that is the sound of the pump
Do one more test, start the engine and listen for the pump working every 30sec- to a min. If you hear the pump working every a min or so
THEN your pump is good. The horror stories of smg is a bit exaggerated as dealers always tell you either replace the pump OR the whole tranny when $50 parts failed.
I'm sure you can fix it within couple hundred dollars.
Keep us updated!!

 

Awesome post.....yes, I just went to lunch unlocked the doors and heard the noise I've grown to enjoy hearing for 5+ years now...I also noticed that it continues to make the same noise about every 45 seconds or so....so that's a good thing!!!

Here's the weird part. Drove to a local autoparts shop to use their code reader....found two codes...

P1887 Check Engine Code
P0700 Transmission Control System Malfunction.

I know these are fairly general, but thought I would find out.

However, on the way to the store, I no longer had the shift limitation and could freely use any gear without any problems, hesistations etc. Then, it gets even more weird....after leaving the store, the SES light was still on. Turned the car off for 15 minutes to grab lunch. I now have no warnings, no lights, nothing. Everything appears normal and holding down the check button indicates "All Systems OK"

So over the last few weeks, I've had the following warnings come on and then disappear:

ABS Warning - Use Caution when breaking....stayed on for five minutes and went away.
Tranmission Error - Car would not shift out of neutral....turned off an on and worked fine.
Transmission Fail Safe - went away after about 4 hours of non-use, but did cause me to not shift past 3rd.
Service Engine light - went away about 15 minutes after tranmission problem cleared and worked normally again.

Perhaps I have something sending faulty codes? Low battery? Who knows now. I'm sure my shop can figure it out. I'm glad, or at least I still hope, it's not the pump.

I really appreciate the help all have provided. If you have any thoughts on the every growing list of codes, let me know. Otherwise, I'll updated sometime after I hear back from my shop on Monday.

Thanks!