Puddleduck
New Member
Hello, since purchasing my un-modified 1996 P38 (2.5 BMW DSE auto) a couple of years ago this is my first post with a request for help.
After about 169000 miles the auto gearbox has finally given up – Not sure when or if gear oil and filter have ever been changed but oil on dipstick is still a red colour.
First indications of an intermittent problem appeared when accelerating on uphill gradients – severe jolting developed on kick-down between 4th – 3rd gears. ‘GEARBOX FAULT’ warning illuminated and limp mode activated (in 4th I think). After standing with ignition off for about 15 mins everything returned to normal and I could drive off without issue. Over time the symptoms began repeating with more regularity.
My local indy garage informed me their fault diagnosis equipment did detect the warnings, but they were unable to identify the root cause of the problem .
Last time it happened, even after standing idle, movement on level surfaces was reduced to a very, very slow crawl in either high or low box, and the vehicle is unable to move at all on even the slightest uphill gradient (engine revs freely but no drive in any selected reverse or forward gears).
At this stage, I believe the problem may be beyond just oil and filter change, so I’m asking if anyone has experienced similar issues and managed to rectify them without costly investment in reconditioning or replacing the gearbox.
After about 169000 miles the auto gearbox has finally given up – Not sure when or if gear oil and filter have ever been changed but oil on dipstick is still a red colour.
First indications of an intermittent problem appeared when accelerating on uphill gradients – severe jolting developed on kick-down between 4th – 3rd gears. ‘GEARBOX FAULT’ warning illuminated and limp mode activated (in 4th I think). After standing with ignition off for about 15 mins everything returned to normal and I could drive off without issue. Over time the symptoms began repeating with more regularity.
My local indy garage informed me their fault diagnosis equipment did detect the warnings, but they were unable to identify the root cause of the problem .
Last time it happened, even after standing idle, movement on level surfaces was reduced to a very, very slow crawl in either high or low box, and the vehicle is unable to move at all on even the slightest uphill gradient (engine revs freely but no drive in any selected reverse or forward gears).
At this stage, I believe the problem may be beyond just oil and filter change, so I’m asking if anyone has experienced similar issues and managed to rectify them without costly investment in reconditioning or replacing the gearbox.