What is code and dash warning for Low Trans Fluid Level

[Jaybird180]

What shows to the driver and what would a technician see when pulling codes of the transmission fluid level goes below threshold?

[jclausen]

There is no specific fault for low trans oil that I have ever seen, what's going on with the x5,

[Jaybird180]

We just bought this vehicle and it’s doing things it shouldn’t do. I’m hypothesizing on cause.
Technician says there are no stored codes and they’re unable (or unwilling) to be more specific as to what needs repair other than saying it needs a new transmission.

[jclausen]

So what is the transmission exactly doing or what is happening.

[Jaybird180]

When driving steady at 60mph then punching the accelerator, the engine spools up, and I think what's happening is the transmission wants to downshift but cannot and then it goes back to the prior gear. I can hear/feel this occurring.

It also fails to engage (slipping) from standstill then suddenly catches.

Friday I finally got it to show an error on the iDrive and snapped a pic of it (how do I upload to this forum?). It went into one of the protection modes and as I was trying to make the last few miles home it began to accelerate very gingerly until it would only slip, allowing the engine to rev high but wouldn't engage a cog. I was able to pull to the shoulder and shutdown.

A few minutes later I restarted and was then able to move it to a safer spot about 300 meters further where it then wouldn't go any further.

My wife got it to fail last week with similar behavior. What we're now discussing is that she also saw similar error message on the iDrive. We took it in and the tech said there were no codes. They did a valve body change a month ago. We bought this car 2 weeks ago but haven't been able to enjoy it. This IMO is more that used car teething pains. We're ready to tap out and asking the dealer for our money back.

What are you thinking?

[jclausen]

Get the money back

[Jaybird180]

Yeah, we’ve contacted an attorney. The dealer is gambling that we won’t pursue this. He’s sadly mistaken. I’ll do this pro-se if I have to.

[wrearick]

Good move.

My transmission had a known low fluid situation. The only indication was that when put in gear it would immediately jump back into Park.

[Jaybird180]

Due to multiple layers of everyone covering their own backsides, we are having the transmission rebuilt at our cost. Disassembly showed burned clutches. Reassembly indicates possible bad solenoids in the (allegedly) new valve body. Previously we had a problem going forward, now they can't get it to go in reverse. We'll see what the future holds for this adventure.

[MIKYZZ4]

I would like to announce a PSA:
Don't purchase ANY used vehicle without at a minimum a straightforward warranty/return policy,
along with a PPI, as you can see from this example yet again.
Jaybird, sorry you had to literally find this out the hard way.

[Jaybird180]

It's the laws in the state I purchased that is the problem. Talking with a friend, he says he doesn't even get his cars serviced in the State of Virginia, let alone purchase. We both live in Maryland and I think I will adopt that policy in the future.

The good side is that the attorney that we're working with believes we have a good chance of recouping our losses and he's even willing to take the case on contingent basis. Doesn't mean he automatically gets the job, but that's in his favor.

[Jaybird180]

I heard back from the transmission shop. They're done with the rebuild. They told me that there was a reassembly error on their part that caused an O-Ring failure and they found and replaced it. They warranty their work for 12months - 12,000 miles. I'm going to pick it up later this evening.

@mikyzz4 What's a PPI?

[MIKYZZ4]

Pre-Purchase-I​nspection

[Jaybird180]

We did a PPI, however we didn't know that BMW doesn't flash a code for low trans fluid level. That was an unexpected surprise.

Happy to report that I picked up the car today and drove it a good while, probably put 50 miles on it in regular light-light traffic as well as highway speeds. It's now parked in our driveway.

[MIKYZZ4]

I'm glad you were able to resolve the transmission issue pretty quickly,
If the rest of the vehicle is in good shape then it wasn't that bad of a purchase.
From your list of vehicles it seems you're pretty familiar with BMW ownership.

[Jaybird180]

It was an unexpected $4,032.79 expense (I was just running the numbers when I saw the email notification about this thread). I had already budgeted $1947 for post purchase maintenance, so we're in the hole on this one by $2 grand.

Some of the costs we'll recoup. The dealer owes us $611.42 that he hasn't made good on from an unexpected repair of the water pump (yeah, I now know that it's a known weak part of the car). I'll probably have to sue him for that.

Truecar has a guarantee that we can apply for that's worth about $600.

The aftermarket warranty company is trying to reneg on paying, but they're on the hook for $1,100. We'll probably have to sue them for that.

The attorney says that the shop that previously worked on the car might be legally liable for negligence. We can go after the full $4 grand plus punitive damages.

I never thought I'd have to sue a bunch of people when buying a car. I'll take care of the financials involved, and just hope my wife enjoys driving it and that she tells me about future idiot lights, shimmies, shakes and noises.

Hey- a guy can hope, right?

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