Transmission servicing

[naqvi]

I have 2011 750il. it has 89K miles. Few times shifted real hard from 4th to 3rd gear. I realized its a sealed transmission, but i see lots of people servicing or showing low on fluid. If there is no leak, how can it be low on fluid? Does this really requires to be serviced to prolong the life. Now I am very scered and not driving the car till i figure this out. I had a transmission malfunction light come on, resett the light, but why would that light come on along with Xdrive and anti skid catuion. There was no service required by BMW.

[jclausen]

You can service it, pan, filter take down the valve body replace the rubber seals, it would nice to know what the fault code was

[naqvi]

The fault code showing is 1D3901.

[White94RX]

A fault code without a description is useless. It's nothing but a random jumble of letters and numbers.

[naqvi]

This (1D3901) reads, Transmission electronic control EGS signal turbine speed malfunction.

[White94RX]

Never heard of that specific code description. But thanks for posting it. Isn't the torque converter considered the turbine? Maybe the it's slipping, or the lockup function isn't working properly.

[naqvi]

Is there a possibility for ametures to perform the repairs. I try to do most of the stuff my self, and some is being done by BMW. I changed my left CV joint, it was easy. Now right one is making noise. Transmission is big issue. I was going to service it my self. read lots of stories of Malfunctions. But i guess i was too late. What is frustrating, why BMW dont recommend servcing a sealed transmission which requires servicing.

[naqvi]

I took my car to BMW for transmission issue. Car was acting normal. Dealer could not duplicate the problem. The code (1D3901) showing is too generic for them to pinpoint specific reason. BMW told me they dont service transmission or perform any repairs. If transmission has issues, they replace it. They use to do servicing, but they quit due to liability. So, I am back to nowhere. I can order the servicing kit, the three seals and adaptor seal that everyone think has problem, but without knowing what the problem is, i dont want to service my transmission. The tech also made a note on ticket, car should be cold to be able to diagnose, not operating temperature. Not sure what that meant?? Any advise will be appriciated.

[BillionaireMind]

I have 2011 750il. it has 89K miles. Few times shifted real hard from 4th to 3rd gear. I realized its a sealed transmission, but i see lots of people servicing or showing low on fluid. If there is no leak, how can it be low on fluid? Does this really requires to be serviced to prolong the life. Now I am very scered and not driving the car till i figure this out. I had a transmission malfunction light come on, resett the light, but why would that light come on along with Xdrive and anti skid catuion. There was no service required by BMW.

My 2013 had the same issue: Car kept going into (Limp Mode)after "Drive Train Malf" light appeared for about a year,and BMW's fix was to change the spark plugs, which did nothing. Myself and a partner changed out the (Ignition Coils,Spark Plugs,Tranny Filter and Fluid),problem fixed! Be sure that you get your parts from FPC Euro,considering they have amazing deals and a "No Hassle" return policy,and a life-time guarantee on pretty much everything.

Hope this helps!

BNM

[naqvi]

Thank you. I have decided, I will service my transmission, change the oil, three seals and adaptor seal behind the Machtronic unit. I am gathering parts and then will find a place to put it on hoist to do the job. Car has been parked and l look at it everyday, too bad i am not driving it.

[westaussie323i]

I had a drive train malfunction after a high speed kick down at about 160kmh but its in for trans service today so will see what comes back with the report. 84k km on the clock on a 2010. I always service my transmissions but learnt an early lesson with an E38 and whilst the correct spec oil was used it made the box change like shit so was forced to use ZF fluid which cost more than gold. Sealed for life = 80k km at highway speeds or until the warranty expires

[westaussie323i]

Problem seems to be solved by the transmission service but a day on the dyno today should bring up the fault again if its another issue. According the shop the oil was very black and had another 10k km before due for change so I wonder if the main dealer even changed the oil when the previous owner had it done just before I bought it.

[naqvi]

Its frustrating.... BMW should service the transmissions if needed. If problem is oil, why not recommend changing at 80 or 100K miles. I cleared my codes, i realized i should not have done it. I took it to my dealer, they are super nice, not complaining about them. But, if transmission needs servicing it should be serviced. They checked my oil, intial thought was it may be burnt or low, which could be the problem, not sure why it would be low, there are no leaks. Anyway no fault found, they told me to drive it till it dies.... and they said we recommend replacing transmission. Car is grounded till i figure out how and what to change. Let me know how yours works out. Thanks

[westaussie323i]

All appears to be fine with trans service having been on dyno (60hp extra now) plus have hit redline several times now so fingers crossed it's solved the problem. One must assume that the techs at dealer cleared any codes....but that maybe too much to ask?

[naqvi]

Its almost 5 months, have not been driving my 2011 750 due to transmission scare. Short drives only. No hard codes showing. During drives, few times it slipped in certain gears. Yesterday, on short drive, 40 mph, Transmission Malfunction caution came on. Caution went away as I made home within a mile. It reset itself. I have ordered the transmission service kit, but not sure the problem is diagnosed properly. I took it to my dealer, they could not find anything. Took it to AAMACO transmission, they said, needs standard servicing, quoting me $189.00 for service, which I did not think they knew what they were servicing. I am fully capable of servicing transmission, but don't know what the problem is. Any help from anyone will be greatly appreciated

[Sleepyhead97]

Buy a 10 hand pump from harbor freight.. Stick hose deep inside transmission through fill hole. Pump out opd trans fluid. You will only get maybe 4 qts. Fill with proper fluid ( do ur research on that) when filling add the ADDITIVE LUBE GUARD, people will say dont use additives but this bottle is gold. Follow directions on bottle and trans fill procedure. You should stop driving it until its been drained and filled. Counter to popukar opinion, you do not eant pristine fluid. Old fluid has cluych material in it that helps transmission perform properly. If its still slipping add shudder fix (brand). Also a great product. If itd slipping these items get you going longer but there is no fix for a worn clutch bands.

Personally I would have dropped the pan already and inspected. But it seems like you are hesitant about the procedure. Do not let it intimidate you it's just a matter of keeping things clean having a good seal feeling with the proper fluid to the right level. There are many many YouTube videos on how to do this. Don't worry it's pretty easy to keep it clean. I recommend using the hand pump since if there is anything in the pan your transmission trash anyway so is the drain and fill I think would be good. Some Transmissions though really need clean filters. You may want to consider dropping the pan to replace that filter. In fact that's what I would do if I were you. But again since you seem hesitant you can try the hand pump and see if you get an improvement.

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And as proof that the lubegard and shutter fix work. I have 210000 miles on a General Motors transmission, also known as the autotragic Box. I have another vehicle my E34 with the original transmission at 166,000 miles. This one has a bad slip and has never had the fluid changed and it's 25 years. After adding lubegard and shutter fix, it's still drivable and only has a slight slip, but does not generate any transmission safe mode.

[naqvi]

I am not hesitant, I don't want to do it again and again. I wish I really know what is causing this to replace the right component.

[Sleepyhead97]

Well... You have options pick one. Welcome to the forum. Let us know what you decide.

[naqvi]

Well... I finally changed my transmission fluid. I ordered the ZF transmission service kit. I changed the four black seals, the black adaptor, Wire harness receptacle seal and filter. It was not too bad of job, for someone who has never done transmission servicing before. Removing old harness conduit was little bit challenging. Installing Mactronic back into slot was little bit challenging. Old oil was little bit dark but not too bad. There was grey sludge on filter surface, no metal shavings. The 4 rubber seals were seems like worn, the adaptor was not cracked but the square seals were flat on the old piece. I had instructions how to service the ZF transmission, and I followed them. Few questions for the experts. My kit came with 7 bottles of oil. When I drained the transmission, seems like only 4.5 quarts or so drained. After completing the servicing, I only used 5.5 quarts of new oil. According to instructions, I filled transmission with oil, started car to gain required temperature for transmission, operated the gear on various settings and while running open the fill plug, few drops should come out, if no drops then add oil, if too much oil, then it was over serviced. When I had few drops come out I closed the fill plug and turned off the car. Upon test drive car was very smooth. I used the car all day and it operated like new. On my last stop when I started the car and put it in drive, for three seconds transmission Malfunction caution came on and then went away. Caution did not come on or stayed again. No issues with transmission or shifting noted during rest of 6 mile drive. Any input on this subject will be greatly appreciated. During my initial start to take the car to shop low battery and discharge caution came on probably due to car not being driven for a month or so. No caution since I have been driving it all day.

[naqvi]

Need help with my transmission issue. The details are in previous thread. Today when I was driving, after 15 miles trip during braking for stop light transmission Malfunction caution came on. I reset the caution on display, no abnormal condition, car ran fine, again, at turn during braking caution came on, I checked ok on display and continue driving. Caution is gone and car drives normal. I am wondering if it is low on fluid. Can anyone please let me know what is the proper way to check the transmission fluid. Is it engine running normal temperature, and when fill hole is open, no fluid or few drops should come out? Thanks.

[naqvi]

I need help. Transmission on my 2011 750 xdrive was slipping. I ordered the ZF change kit, replaced the fluid and filter, along with adaptor seal and three other associated seals. Car ran smooth on test drive, at the end I took a right turn, there is a slight uphill road, and I pushed the car little bit, and there we go, the gear slipped, seemed like 2nd or third, I slowed down, and it slipped again. My transmission Malfunction caution came on and Chasis stabilization malfunction caution came on. I have already taken to BMW once and they could not find anything wrong. Can please anyone advise. Car went to safe mode, when I pulled in driveway, it will not go in park, D was flashing, I turned the car off and it went to P. Any help will be greatly appreciated


Thanks

[naqvi]

My mission failed. Changed tranny fluid, all the seals and adaptor. No help, its still slipping. Installed new battery, no help still slipping. Anyone with more knowledge please help. Next is Mactronic unit to change. Looking for one online.

[naqvi]

Hi Guys,
My 2011 Li 750xdrive is still grounded. I am thinking about changing all the solenoids, my transmission is still slipping, fault codes points to Machatronic unit. Anyone with any experience with changing this? I already serviced transmission once, so have good idea, how to do it. I called our BMW dealer, they don't have the part number for my transmission to connect to correct configured overhaul kit for the unit. I need transmission part number to purchase the correct unit. Car has been sitting for to months. Thanks

[naqvi]

Update:
Finally got my car running again. The transmission Turbine speed sensor needed repairs. It got repaired, and a valve in Mechatronic unit needed to be upgraded. I had to take my Mechatronic unit to two different shops, but finally I reinstalled the unit and serviced the transmission, and its running great. If anyone has the similar issue I will be happy to help.