Balky Shifter on 335 6-speed

[R Shaffner]

I'm trying to help a friend's son with his recently acquired 2015 335 6-speed x-Drive. He says it drives great, except the shifter is stiff in neutral. Doesn't have the normal left and right play. He took it to a shop that's supposed to know about BMWs. They took a quick look at the linkage from below and said the issue is probably in the transmission.

First, does anyone here know whether it's a ZF or Getrag transmission?

Second, is the shift linkage for that car like the linkage for earlier models (like those from the 90's and 00's)? If so, then it seems to me that the issue might still be dirty, sticky or worn bushings. My guess is a that a linkage refresh would help. Do any of you have insight to share on that?

Third, is this a known or common issue for that transmission. If so, what is the best way to fix it?

Thanks in advance!

[R Shaffner]

OK. I should have gone to Realoem and FCP Euro first. Looks like it's a ZF unit. Shift linkage looks real similar to the old ones.

The car was a northern car. Supposedly garaged most of the time. Has only 60,000 miles. I wouldn't expect such a car to have linkage issues. I wonder if something got misaligned.

I hope to get a chance to look at it in person before long.

[R Shaffner]

And...

I just learned that he has to use both hands to pull the lever all the way to the left to put it in reverse. That sounds worse than sticky bushings

[bmwdirtracer]

Hi my friend,

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=25_0572

I'd tend to suspect one of two possibilities. In order of likelihood, I'd guess:

1) the boy isn't familiar with a good shifter. If he's driven Japanese , or perhaps other "cable-shifter" cars, he might not be used to the on-center feel of a good BMW shifter.

2) maybe someone spilled a coke into the console, and gooed up part #8, or maybe a rat built a nest in the drive tunnel. I have not seen any issues with the shift linkages of these or other BMW manual gearbox rear wheel or all wheel drive cars.

[R Shaffner]

Thanks Chris! It's nice to get advice from someone who knows about all these cars.