Stick rests at 5th gear when cold

[///M3ryder NY]

Originally posted by Modena NYC
99M3White,

Which LI dealer are you using?

My recently purchased '98 from Competition BMW CPO is showing the "sticky 5th" but pops back after 1sec. I will try the "shift to 5th while cold" tomorrow and see if the detent disappears...

Assuming you mean competition in Greenwich, CT.....They replaced Paul e's tranny, under warranty, for this issue. His was a good bit advanced, but they're aware of the issue. If I were you I would approach them about it, say you know the problem will likely get worse, and push them to make good on it while you still have some CPO remaining.... Afterall, you did just buy the car, if they have an interest in keeping you a happy customer, perhaps they'll do it as a preventive measure.... If it's sticking AT ALL when cold, chances are it will progress further....

[///M3ryder NY]

how many miles do you have?

[Modena NYC]

///M3ryder NY


Hey, actually I purchased the car from Competition BMW in Smithtown Long Island. Related? Basically, they are just across the sound from each other...I will check again today (sitting outside at work and its cold) if it has any advanced symptoms...i'm inclined to think it doesn't. 46k on the clock.

[///M3ryder NY]

Modena, maybe you were one of the lucky ones then!!! 46K was right about where Paul e. started to notice his symptoms VERY advanced... ie., completely losing the 5th gear gate!!! If you haven't even noticed stickiness yet, perhaps you've been spared!

[Modena NYC]

This could be true...but it still freaks me out. You know what they say about peace of mind. I will have some time over the next few days and since I will be visiting the folks for Tgiving, the car will be sleeping outside in the cold. I will perform some tests and report back. As it is now, if i leave the shifter in neutral and then push to the right (closing the 5th gear detent) the shifter will still come back on its own, but much slower than it will if i were to push to the left. This is the only thing I notice as of now...

[99M3White]

Modena NYC,

I used Competition BMW in Smithtown. When they first looked at it they decided it could be fixed by pulling the transmission and replacing two springs (I don't have the details, I'm at work now). The next day when I went to pick it up, I moved the shifter over to fifth and it stayed there. Their fix did nothing and they did not bother to check it. I showed them that the problem still wasn't fixed and they had to look into it.

They called me back later and said that I need a replacement transmission. Which is basically what I tried to tactfully tell them at the beginning. They installed a remanufactured transmission under warranty and so far (about 4000 miles) that problem seems to have gone away. This was done at about 49500 miles.

A word of advice - if they need to keep you car overnight, insist that it be kept inside the workshop.

[Modena NYC]

Good news. Thanks.

99M3White, could you email me at ajdelacam@yahoo.com? I have a few more Q's and i don't want to whore up this thread.

I think i will most likely try to get them to replace it anyway sometime before my CPO runs out, which is in late Feb.

[Modena NYC]

Just did all of the "tests" for this on my car. Nothing. The build date is 11/97 but the car is a '98. Everything seems normal...:eyes1

[KnightRider/AMG]

Wow, I just noticed this thread, and a few weeks ago, I left my car outside when it was getting kind of cold, about 45 degrees. I started it up, and realized I was having the same problems as described in the first post of this thread. Now I stumbled upon this thread with 634 posts. Can someone please sum up the information for me, and the possible fixes/solutions?

[clumpymold]

I believe there are no easy fixes.

You either:

1.) Live with it
2.) Replace tranny.

Correct me if I'm wrong though.

[Modena NYC]

I believe that is it...what clumpy said. But i have yet to hear what happens if you just live with it...does it really get bad??? I think probably EVERY M3 has this problem in some way.

[///M3ryder NY]

Not entirely true guys, if you read through the thread, there is a fix that was outlined in an issue of ROUNDEL a while back. I have a copy of the article in a PDF file. It requires a competent mechanic to go in and fix some small part in the tranny. It's not particularly diffiicult, supposedly, but some people on the board have done it and IIRC, they weren't all that pleased with the results....

PM me with your email address if you want the PDF file.

[clumpymold]

Yeah, I think I remember reading that as well.

Do you think you could email me the pdf file?

My email's: cx3@sbcglobal.net

Thank you!

[Modena NYC]

Me too.

email: adelacampa@ferrariusa.com

thanks.

[DSK M3/4]

link to roundel article:
http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums...4274668&page=1

[BMW M Power]

dsk - do you know the names of any dealeships in so cal that have replaced the tranny under warranty.

[cpandrewschmidt]

Cant really read through all these, but are there any dealers around Wis. that have replaced this. If they say they wont fix it would you guys have them call one of the stealers from far away that has to prove it has been done? I plan on taking my car in over x-mas break

Andrew

[clumpymold]

Originally posted by BMW M Power
dsk - do you know the names of any dealeships in so cal that have replaced the tranny under warranty.

Yeah, or how about just any that you recommend? I doubt will have any warranty left.

[DSK M3/4]

i want to say someone went to crevier (santa ana) to have it done, but don't hold me to it. for anyone out of warranty, my shop (autowerkes in huntington beach, 714-842-2277) knows about the problem and the roundel fix; they think it will be pretty easy to do it. when i get my clutch done, i will have them do the roundel fix at the same time. i will just live with it until then, i guess.

[///M3ryder NY]

email sent fellas..

[clumpymold]

Alright, how cold does it have to be for this to happen? How can you check this besides actually DRIVING in 5th? Can I just shift to 5th and see what happens?

I shifted to 5th when I just start my car and it seems okay.

[bdub]

Originally posted by clumpymold
Alright, how cold does it have to be for this to happen? How can you check this besides actually DRIVING in 5th? Can I just shift to 5th and see what happens?

It doesn't have to be cold, and you don't have to start your car.
While in neutral, push the shifter all the way to the right (under fifth). Then let go. If it stays there without springing back, well then, there you have it.

[NiTE]

My tranny just started doing this recently. I've gone through most of this thread and there doesn't seem to be any real method to fixing this problem, other than a new tranny, or is there?

[DSK M3/4]

Originally posted by NiTE
My tranny just started doing this recently. I've gone through most of this thread and there doesn't seem to be any real method to fixing this problem, other than a new tranny, or is there?

http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums...4274668&page=1

and i only notice the problem when cold- which means <60 degrees. and yes, you can check for the problem while the car is off.

[clumpymold]

Originally posted by bdub
It doesn't have to be cold, and you don't have to start your car.
While in neutral, push the shifter all the way to the right (under fifth). Then let go. If it stays there without springing back, well then, there you have it.

Hmmm, this doesn't happen for me. I tried testing this and it did NOT stick. Nothing. Could this be a result of NOT driving in 5th gear often when the vehicle is cold? I know the previous seller lived out in "the middle of no where away from freeways" so maybe he never even went into fifth. Would avoiding fifth altogether solve this problem (before it occurs)? Or maybe he had it fixed already?

I've got a 7/97 build date 1997 M3/2 if that helps. How many BMWs (M3s specifically) does this affect? Percentage?