330Ci - Constant Limp Mode

[E46Convertible]

Hi, got a 2002 BMW 330Ci Step-Tronic, the car is stuck in constant limp mode, as soon as the cars started or ignition is turned on, the cog appears. Tried disconnecting the battery for a while and it still appears. I've got a BMW Scanner i used a very long time ago, got the Software off the official bmw scanner website and installed on a virtualbox windows XP SP3 on my macbook to try and read codes to see what the problem could be but i constantly get 'Hardware Faulty' within the software, have installed and uninstalled the drivers plenty of times to see if i could get it working but still nothing, tried it in all key positions, still get the same error. Was told the limp mode could be due to the gearbox oil so had the replaced. Still there. I've run out of all ideas what it could be and why the BMW scanner shows hardware faulty so have resorted to the forums. Any help would be much appreciated!

[MarcoZandrini]

I’m afraid you need to take the car to an independent shop that specializes in bimmers (beamers in your case). The needs to have all the proper BMW software. The problem could be something as simple as low transmission fluid.