Transmission fault ...Transmission failsafe activated

[BMW Qatar]

Hello Everyone…
My car is 2006 BMW 525i with 53000 miles on it. I got the following message today.

“Transmission fault ...Transmission failsafe activated. Possible reduction is acceleration/ drive moderately! Have the problem checked by the nearest BMW service”

Before receiving the message I did feel that the gear shifting were slightly hard. After seeing the message I powered down the car for 5 minutes and restarted it. The message did not come again and gear shifting was smooth as normal.

Is this a serious message and did anyone else in the forum been through this??? Please share your experience.

Please note that I’ve not replaced the transmission filter or oil as BMW dealer says that transmission oil is for life and does not need to be changed. My warranty expired 1 year ago and my Water pump also went dead few months back. I can’t believe that the car is breaking after the warranty expired.

[BMW Qatar]

Any tranny GURU out there ???

[RossPirelli]

I had the same issue with my 07 530i shortly after purchased it. My vehicle only had about 40K miles or so at the time. I had the exact same message. I took my vehicle to a BMW dealership and they kept the vehicle overnight. I was advised that I had a bad battery. I can't see the relationship, but thats what I was advised by BMW.

[BMW Qatar]

Thanks for the reply RossPirelli... I actaully had a new battaery installed few months back from BMW dealer and they programmed it. so you're correct there is no relationship..
but did the new battery reslove your issue..

thanks

[RossPirelli]

The issue was resolved. However, not too sure that the battery was the cause of the issue.

[badabing82]

I had the same issue with my 07 530i shortly after purchased it. My vehicle only had about 40K miles or so at the time. I had the exact same message. I took my vehicle to a BMW dealership and they kept the vehicle overnight. I was advised that I had a bad battery. I can't see the relationship, but thats what I was advised by BMW.

I've been having the same issue with my 2004 525i. It sucks when you're in traffic and can't pull over! So all I did was also shut down the car and then restart it after 5 seconds and it went away. My BMW service advisor told me it could be that the transmission had remembered the driving habit from the previous owner.
So I reset the transmission memory today (12/20/2010) and so far it has solved the issue. The transmission shifts smoother and upon coming to a stop the trans doesn't jolt into 1st gear; so I guess I'll see what happens from here.


By resetting the transmission, I performed the following:

1. Turn the key to on positions, but DO NOT start the vehicle. If you have a push start ignition, press the start button twice.
2. Then press the the gas pedal in all the way to the floor for 2 full minutes. Yes, 2 FULL minutes.
3. Then with the ignition still on start the vehicle.

[ZX9RBART]

By resetting the transmission, I performed the following:

1. Turn the key to on positions, but DO NOT start the vehicle. If you have a push start ignition, press the start button twice.
2. Then press the the gas pedal in all the way to the floor for 2 full minutes. Yes, 2 FULL minutes.
3. Then with the ignition still on start the vehicle.

My understanding is that this does not reset the transmission, it does however change the adaptive throttle which will alter the way the car runs for a while. The cars computer keeps track of your driving habits and chooses how aggressively to apply the throttle. By doing the above "reset" you are really just fooling the car into thinking you have been driving at WOT for 2 minutes so for a period of time after doing the procedure your car will respond more aggressively to throttle inputs from you. In my experience, it is a dramatic change at first that slowly settles back to normal in a day or so but the backwards transition is much slower and therefore less noticeable.

[rafnhalf]

I have a similar problem on my 2007 525xi automatic. Yesterday I was going to work, then I wanted to make an overrun and it never shift to the next gear, the engine was running at 6000 RPM... as if I was in manual mode. I then spent in manual mode and I had to go this way, the automatic mode unresponsive. When I stop and go, the transitions between gears where made painfully with a strong shot coming from the back each times... as if the differential is badly hung. At the end of my day, wanted to backward, nothing ... as if it was in neutral position. For cons, I was able to go forward , but only on the third gear and I had to go home by the highway at 30Mph at 4500RPM! Someone there had the same experience? Later on I'll try the transmission reset so I hope to be successful caus I'm stuck with my girlfriend's old RAV4 for our Christmas family/friends tour!!! Many thanks for your advices.

[wastedcapacity]

I've had the same issue as the OP. It happened for a few days randomly then went away, haven't had the issue since?

[ADM944]

My 06 525i with 65,000 mi is at the dealer who says I need a new trasnmission, for some $3,700. I can't believe these expensive cars break-down so early. I am waiting to see if BMW NA will replace it for free. From this forum, it looks like these cars have bad transmisssions.

[carloz]

I have issue with battery as well....I do not drive long enove, far enough..only commutr to and from work about half hour daily in the city....have anyone tried hooking up a trickle charger permanently on the battery...and does it work,,,,if so how do you hook it up?

[Tandre]

Hello Everyone…
My car is 2006 BMW 525i with 53000 miles on it. I got the following message today.

“Transmission fault ...Transmission failsafe activated. Possible reduction is acceleration/ drive moderately! Have the problem checked by the nearest BMW service”

Before receiving the message I did feel that the gear shifting were slightly hard. After seeing the message I powered down the car for 5 minutes and restarted it. The message did not come again and gear shifting was smooth as normal.

Is this a serious message and did anyone else in the forum been through this??? Please share your experience.

Please note that I’ve not replaced the transmission filter or oil as BMW dealer says that transmission oil is for life and does not need to be changed. My warranty expired 1 year ago and my Water pump also went dead few months back. I can’t believe that the car is breaking after the warranty expired.

BMW Qatar,

In 2013, i have experienced the same problems. I have also been reading posts from other blogs discussing the same issues. The service department told me I needed a new ($7300) transmission. I believe this to be a software issue which will not be corrected by replacing the tranny.

[krosnovski]

I found the following thread quite instructive for e60 transmission malfunction related issues. Seems like a lot of people were experiencing the issue described, the dealer was prescribing changing the mechatronics on the transmission, which was quite costly, some members actually ended up paying $3-6k. However there were quite a few members who had spectacular success with just changing the EDS solenoids on the valve body instead of replacing the entire mechatronics. Just posting this here in the hope that it helps somebody looking through these forums for e60 transmission related faults.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=401524

(for solutions to the issue read Pg18 onwards)

[beshannon]

I have been posting to another thread but to summarize:

I had a trans fail message, went in for diagnosis, the fault said it was a loose shift selector cable connector. The dealer retightened the connector and all was fine . . . for a month

Went in again, this time the diagnosis was that my transmission has failed and I need a new one.

Two months out of warranty and BMW is paying but I am still not happy and I am pondering selling the car.

[krosnovski]

Sorry to hear about your trouble.

Do you have the codes from the error? Can you describe the symptoms more clearly (or paste the link for the other thread that you have been posting to). Details do tend to help other members who are interested in the issue and are trying to diagnose/fix similar issues on their cars.

One thing is for sure, the bmw dealer knows nothing, they are in the business of making money not fixing cars, take my word on that. I would have gotten an opinion from a good independent mechanic in the area, however, you are lucky that bmw is agreeing to cover this on their tab considering that your warranty just expired.

[beshannon]

Sorry to hear about your trouble.

Do you have the codes from the error? Can you describe the symptoms more clearly (or paste the link for the other thread that you have been posting to). Details do tend to help other members who are interested in the issue and are trying to diagnose/fix similar issues on their cars.

One thing is for sure, the bmw dealer knows nothing, they are in the business of making money not fixing cars, take my word on that. I would have gotten an opinion from a good independent mechanic in the area, however, you are lucky that bmw is agreeing to cover this on their tab considering that your warranty just expired.

From your other thread I had the following symptoms

Transmission cycling back and forth between 5th and 6th at 32 - 40 mph
The car would stutter/jerk when coming to a complete stop
Car would go into limp mode occasionally under hard acceleration or when manually down shifting (Code on file: 4F85)

I do not have any codes at this time as the car is still at the shop and probably will be into next week.

I am not sure why you say a BMW dealer knows nothing, that seems like a gross exaggeration to me. The local independent I have used before, while very good, has no interest in time or efficiency and I cannot just leave my car for them to "get around to it" after having a confirmed appointment.

In this case it is not about any mechanic at all, it is about a failed transmission after 22K miles. Clearly not unique or acceptable. And I am not sure that getting it replaced will make me feel better about keeping the car just waiting for the next thing to fail.

[krosnovski]

From your other thread I had the following symptoms

I am not sure why you say a BMW dealer knows nothing, that seems like a gross exaggeration to me. The local independent I have used before, while very good, has no interest in time or efficiency and I cannot just leave my car for them to "get around to it" after having a confirmed appointment.

In this case it is not about any mechanic at all, it is about a failed transmission after 22K miles. Clearly not unique or acceptable. And I am not sure that getting it replaced will make me feel better about keeping the car just waiting for the next thing to fail.

What I was trying to say is that the dealer told you outright, that the transmission is bad and needs to be changed. Now even the most juvenile mechanic will be able to tell you that there are more than a few components that go towards making a transmission, did the dealer even bother to find out exactly what has gone wrong? Is it the valve body, is it the TCU, is it the solenoids, is it the torque converter etc etc. But no, the entire transmission is bad and btw here is the bill for $7k. I am surprised how you can bear to stand up to this nonsense. Charging people $7k for something that could be fixed by 4hrs of work is preposterous. And this is the norm for everything that you go in for.

Personally speaking, the person working on your car being knowledgeable and considerate is more important than a loaner car and a flash air conditioned waiting area.

[beshannon]

But no, the entire transmission is bad and btw here is the bill for $7k. I am surprised how you can bear to stand up to this nonsense. Charging people $7k for something that could be fixed by 4hrs of work is preposterous.

As I have stated they are replacing it under warranty. What nonsense am I bearing?

Better yet, good luck with your view.

[beshannon]

BMW finished the car sooner than anticipated. They installed a brand new BMW transmission. I now have a two year, unlimited warranty. I am very pleased with the performance over the weekend, the car feels new, the shifting is quick and quiet and the entire car seems to move better.

So for the time being I am keeping the car but I am going to begin shopping as a backup plan. I will update if anything starts to go wrong again.

[DerekG]

My car will throw codes and trans faults when the batt is low or dead. The other day I was driving about 40mph and all of the sudden I got "Transmission malfunction, car can shift without brake applied" or something like that, the navi screen kept resetting itself....etc so I pulled over and turned off the car for a few minutes. When I tried to restart it the battery was dead. Started using a battery tender about a month ago on the car overnight a couple times a week and haven't had any problems since.

[e30ncsu]

If you have to run a battery tender when you are using your car every day, something is not right. You probably need a new battery.

[DerekG]

Yes of course....just waiting until the battery tender technique stops working. Although I think the main issue is the amount of short trips I take. My commute is less than 5 miles to work and then when you add the stopping and starting the engine when running errands I think the alternator is having trouble keeping up.

I'm thinking that's more the issue at this point than what I first thought, but we'll see what happens. I'm fine with using the battery tender once or twice a week instead of a $400 battery service at the dealer lol

[BillPAYET]

Hello Everyone…
My car is 2006 BMW 525i with 53000 miles on it. I got the following message today.

“Transmission fault ...Transmission failsafe activated. Possible reduction is acceleration/ drive moderately! Have the problem checked by the nearest BMW service”

Before receiving the message I did feel that the gear shifting were slightly hard. After seeing the message I powered down the car for 5 minutes and restarted it. The message did not come again and gear shifting was smooth as normal.

Is this a serious message and did anyone else in the forum been through this??? Please share your experience.

Please note that I’ve not replaced the transmission filter or oil as BMW dealer says that transmission oil is for life and does not need to be changed. My warranty expired 1 year ago and my Water pump also went dead few months back. I can’t believe that the car is breaking after the warranty expired.

Hello....
My car is a 530 2008 white, M series cosmetics, automatic. At 60000 km ( 37000 miles), when reconnecting Speed Control to recover set speed in a long climb in a thruway, the transmission disconnected and following image appeared :



"" Gear box" Transmission Damaged. Drive Moderately. It is possible to continue driving. Reduced acceleration. ¡ Transmission Damaged !

Stopped the car. Turned off the engine. Restarted it, shifted to Drive and continued my journey. This has happened three times.
Finally took it to the only dealer in Perú, whe evaluated car and replied the transmission had a Catastrophic damage and needed to be replaced. The cost about US$ 15,000 plus labor plus 18% sales tax.

I think this is outrageous. I bought the car from sole Dealer in country under warranty, and all services have been done by them. Unfortunately warranty expired three years ago. This is unbelievable. How can this catastrophic failure happen to a Series 5 at only 60 000 km (37000 miles) ??? driven as a family car by a mature individual ?

Will appreciate very much comments and suggestions on probable cause / fix of problem.

Bill.

[CICNAVFSC]

is this an SMG car or automatic?

[beshannon]

I think this is outrageous. I bought the car from sole Dealer in country under warranty, and all services have been done by them. Unfortunately warranty expired three years ago. This is unbelievable. How can this catastrophic failure happen to a Series 5 at only 60 000 km (37000 miles) ??? driven as a family car by a mature individual ?

It happened to mine at 22K miles and seems to be very common if you search the net, this forum and other BMW forums.

My update to my post above is that when the new transmission started acting up, I traded the car in.

Best of luck to you.