BMW x3 2008 - Help, why is my gearbox going into safety mode?

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Sun 30 Oct 2011 08:14
BMW x3 2008 - Help, why is my gearbox going into safety mode? - zips
Hi, could the problem I have just be an electrical malfunction or is the gearbox finished? The car can drive normally in towns, out of towns when you get above 40/45 miles an hour it can start behaving erratically. When are you going up a hill and trying to keep at a steady 50, the revs go high, it comes out of gear and goes into safety mode. I stop the car, restart it and it drives off fine. Sometimes just before it fails the rev counter flickers. I took it four times to bmw garages who kept giving me the car back as all they did was stick it on a diagnostic machine and said there is no fault. After paying for the last inspection, it failed again 30 mins later and this time they say it needs a new gearbox and that is obviously not cheap. Before I agree to any work I just want to make sure that is actually the problem. Today the engine management light has come on too.

I've had the car from new, always been serviced at bmw garages with a full service history. It has done about 90,000 miles but I bought the car because I needed a reliable car to do that mileage, would never have bought it if that was considered to be a high mileage for a bmw. Got a letter from BMW Germany and bmw services here.

Edited by zips on 30/10/2011 at 08:20

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Sun 30 Oct 2011 09:52
BMW x3 2008 - Help, why is my gearbox going into safety mode? - zips
Meant

Edited by zips on 30/10/2011 at 09:57

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Sun 30 Oct 2011 10:11
BMW x3 2008 - Help, why is my gearbox going into safety mode? - gordonbennet

Has the gearbox oil ever been changed, ignore the handbook if it says sealed for life, both BMW and MB went down this route (and others) some years ago and have quietly reversed that advice when auto gearboxes started failing at a rate of knots, auto box oils should be changed every 40 to 60k'ish miles.

You need a good BMW specialist indy to look at it for you, i wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to visit a transmission specialist until a good make specific indy has looked at it.

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Sun 30 Oct 2011 10:34
BMW x3 2008 - Help, why is my gearbox going into safety mode? - zips

Once I was told that it needed a new gearbox I started looking on the net, I just wish I had done that earlier. I took the car back from the garage and got the oil changed 2 days ago but still have the same problem. I know I should have done it earlier with reading other posts, the oil was jet black and the garage I took it to (BVA auvergne) said the oil was useless and showed me the colour it should have been! I reckon I'm now going to do what you have also said and am looking at taking it back to the UK (I am in France but can't find a good independent bmw specialists here).

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Sun 30 Oct 2011 11:10
BMW x3 2008 - Help, why is my gearbox going into safety mode? - gordonbennet

Get me a pint, nay a quart of hindsight whilst you're at the bar would you, i could write a book on the stuff..;)

Just a thought, once back in the UK might it be worth visiting a good main dealer and see if they can prise some goodwill out of BMW, you appear to have a cpmplete and good BMW service history and you're under the magic 100k miles.

You have nothing to lose.

I'm not a BMW owner meself but our family have used PMW (independent BM specialist) at Chelmsford twice for swirl flap removal, excellent, knowledgeable with fair pricing and the owner is approachable by phone for good non commital advice, worth a call maybe to discuss your problem?

Edited by gordonbennet on 30/10/2011 at 11:11

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Sun 30 Oct 2011 14:06
BMW x3 2008 - Help, why is my gearbox going into safety mode? - zips

I've managed already today to arrange getting the car transported to the UK so it leaves Thursday.

I got in touch with BMW France as soon as I got told by the main dealer I bought the car from, that they wanted to change the gearbox. They offered about 1,600 euros for something that was going to cost here almost 7,000 euros and that is not a definite final bill ! I then wrote to BMW Germany but they wrote back saying because of the mileage that I should accept the offer. The car has been serviced everytime at the right time with the BMW garages. They are just not interested that 2 bmw garages could not find the fault and just kept handing back a car, which to be quite honest, shouldn't have been back on the road because it was/is dangerous to drive and I could easily have had or caused an accident.

The attitude here seems to be "can't find the fault so drive it until it completeley breaks down" and hopefully inbetween you won't have killed yourself. Not the service I expected when I bought the car.

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Sun 30 Oct 2011 15:35
BMW x3 2008 - Help, why is my gearbox going into safety mode? - gordonbennet
Not the service I expected when I bought the car.

Indeed.

Do please update us in due course, and the best of luck with the search for a cure.

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