Is this normal...? Auto tranny

[makken]

Hey guys.
I haven't driven the 540i in a long time (order of months).

Anyways, we just got an Inspection done on her by the dealer (don't know which, my dad took care of it =\ ). I took it out for a bit for the first time since then. I was driving around town for a bit and I noticed something weird. Everytime i let off the gas, the revs would drop down to idle, even if i was going ~40mph. I then took it to the freeway, and when i let off the gas at around 75mph, the revs stayed at ~2500. Apparently it only seems to disengage the gears when its running 1st 2nd 3rd or maybe 4th gears.

If i get on the gas petal again after its gone to idle, the revs will quickly climb back up to what it used to be.

We have a '99 540i sport w/ steptronic tranny.
I haven't tried it in the steptronic mode yet; I may later this week if i get the chance.

[randell]

i've been getting the same thing the past few months. 92 535i, when i start it warm it has trouble shifting into 3rd, i can feel it shift and then it doesn't seem to, but if i lift off the throttle the revs drop to like 1100, when it's in D and i'm at freeway speeds it won't go past 3rd gear, and when i let off the revs drop to about 2000, but when i wanna accelerate again when this is happening i have to rev it past the slack point until it grabs..

feels like a clutch slipping kinda thing, and now just 15 mins ago i was flogging it in frustration trying to get it to shift, and got a big thunk and a nice trans program message.. great. going into the transmission shop tomorrow, $$$ =\

[kendogg]

well, I don't know about your problems, randell, but, it sounds to me as if it's a clutch problem, but, I'm unsure if the SMG models have A clutch, or a torque converter. It sounds as if the clutch is automatically dis-engaging itself everytime you let off the gas. As to weather or not thast normal or not, though, I'm unsure, have never owned/driven one of those cars for you to kno, but, I just thought I'd give my input. Appreciate it, though, if somebody could come along and lmk if I'm on the right track, though. Good luck.

[makken]

yeah, it's exactly as if I disengaged the clutch if i was driving a manual, but this is an automatic, and as far as i understand it, it should stay in gear if you let off the gas...

[kendogg]

yeah, it's exactly as if I disengaged the clutch if i was driving a manual, but this is an automatic, and as far as i understand it, it should stay in gear if you let off the gas...


Automatic, or SMG?

[randell]

well i limped my car to the transmission shop this morning, and the verdict is the 3-4 clutch pack has burnt out (which is what i expected), so they're going to rebuild the whole thing

mine was a little more problematic than just having the revs drop when i lifted off, but what you're experiencing could be a sign of the beginning of clutch failure

[tjn182]

Yowza -- How much will that cost?

[randell]

they told me anywhere between $AU1500 and $AU3000, depending on how rooted it actually is when they take it apart... i'm expecting $3000! as of today though they've only just started work on it, so I won't see it again for at least another week...

[TheRide]

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[m5james]

Do I hear a 5spd manual tranny swap in the making.....just being the instigater (sp) here! :D

[JAlfredPrufrock]

I think we'd all be able to help your situation more if we were less distracted by your avatar. ;)

[makken]

asian girls > bmw ;)

[JAlfredPrufrock]

Don't make me choose! :eyecrazy