Gearbox Lazy?

Canyon · Dec 4, 2007

Noticed something strange or ( normal to some) with the gear changes on my Diesel. starts and runs well, changes gears but holds on to them a bit longer than usual. Not sure if it using 4 th gear ( 30 mph is 2100rpm) on a flat road, Kick down works fine - meaning it will shift down a gear quickly and will hold on the that gear until 4500rpm and then changes( normal? i don't normally drive it like that so I am not sure!)
I had the levels checked about a month ago and they seemed fine. Unfortuanatly I have no idea when the oil was last changed. it has 90K on the clock.
Its annoying as it drives around like its in 2/3rd all the time and it is drinking lots of fuel!
What should I do?
Change the oil and filter?
testbook or similar to see if theres a fault?

I did a search some people have had this problem before, but no solutions were posted back...apart from changing the oil and filter. Should the service kit be LR or Britpart?

lanmjdun · Dec 4, 2007

Sounds exactly how my DSE Auto behaves. It shifts to 2nd at about 15mph, 3rd at 30pmh and then 4th after 40mph then the torque convertor locks-up at 48mph. All these changes come in around 2300rpm. If I don't give it a bit more gas it won't go above 40mph, it's so slow!!!

I hope changing the gearbox oil will do something for mine, but realistically I don't think it will, I'm almost resigned to just driving like an old fart. It's definitely quicker shifting after its warmed up though.

Abe · Dec 5, 2007

Morning Canyon

I was in the same position when i bought mine

Wasnt sure if &/or when the transmission oils were last changed
My answe was a general answer and i got a full a large service done & insisted that the filter on the main box was changed too
as some of the previous links here mention - you will never get a full oil change as there is a large residual of oil that remains in the box - some seem to have suggested a further oil change a little later few 000 miles to catch the remaining oil oil.

What i was warned about by the main dealer several times is not to drive the transmission hard from cold i.e let it warm up. they mentioned that they had had transmission problems from owners with the std BMW 2.5 & the auto boxes - Thinking on it - it could have been that because of the under-powering on the std BMW motor & the fact that until the std motor was warm it would be hard on the transmission.

I dont know if anyone does this too but on a cold morning (cold start) i run the vehicle in the sport mode as it seems to put less strain (changing) on the main box - drive it gentle til the motor has warmed up and then knock the sport setting off. What i have noticed doing this is when driving you dont get such a hard 1st to 2nd change up

Canyon · Dec 5, 2007

Abe said:
Morning Canyon

I was in the same position when i bought mine

Wasnt sure if &/or when the transmission oils were last changed
My answe was a general answer and i got a full a large service done & insisted that the filter on the main box was changed too
as some of the previous links here mention - you will never get a full oil change as there is a large residual of oil that remains in the box - some seem to have suggested a further oil change a little later few 000 miles to catch the remaining oil oil.

What i was warned about by the main dealer several times is not to drive the transmission hard from cold i.e let it warm up. they mentioned that they had had transmission problems from owners with the std BMW 2.5 & the auto boxes - Thinking on it - it could have been that because of the under-powering on the std BMW motor & the fact that until the std motor was warm it would be hard on the transmission.

I dont know if anyone does this too but on a cold morning (cold start) i run the vehicle in the sport mode as it seems to put less strain (changing) on the main box - drive it gentle til the motor has warmed up and then knock the sport setting off. What i have noticed doing this is when driving you dont get such a hard 1st to 2nd change up

Your right, the old oil is still in the torque converter even if you drain it.
I don't normally rush off in the mornings just after I start it up, I do exactly as you described- slowly and no excessive revs-I have tried the sport button thing to but it still drives the same. It feels like something is sticking or something is being restricted( maybe pressure) before it changes gear- but this is happening even when the engine is at normal temperature.

The Mad Hat Man · Dec 5, 2007

expensive option - but yu could always change the oil a couple of times - allowing sufficient time for the "new" oil to mix with the "old" oil.

Canyon · Dec 5, 2007

UPDATE***I called half the countries LR "Specialists" and I got a mixed diagnosis, most of them wanted to change the G/box oil and filter for the hell of it. ( i think a lot of head scratching was going on), I then turned to seek advice from some ZF G/box gurus. Most of these guys get gearboxes in and NOTHING is wrong with them!! mis diagnosis! Anyway 2 things I have understood is that the the G/box is electronically controlled and the gear changes are determined at set speeds (speed sensor) and Throttle position sensor. Which in turn means that the gearbox is actually fine, and the problem is a reduction of power output from the engine, hence the holding of the gears momentarily before changing. Other subtle things I noticed- on a hill the fecker will not hold in drive will actually start to roll back down. On a downward slope the gears will change more normally- meaning less power output from the engine required- but the speed is correct and less torque is required.
2 things I am going to investigate further, the Fuel filter- its rusty on the outside- i dont think its ever been changed! do you just screw it off and screw the new one on?
secondly the maf sensor- does anyone have the part number for this? is it serviceable?

Gearbox Lazy?

Canyon

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lanmjdun

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Abe

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Canyon

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The Mad Hat Man

Well-Known Member

Canyon

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