2009 E90 320D At Gearbox issues

[The_Fish]

Hello everyone!

I have had my 2009 320D for about a year now, it has a software package and done around 160k Km.
For a while now (the first time It happened was right after getting software installed) when pulling away with intent, the car feels like it slips out of gear.

To try describe it to the best of my ability:

• When it shifts it feels like the gearbox (6HP 21) doesn't grab the next gear.
  • It misses the gear and if your foot is still on the accelerator, the revs climb, when you release the accelerator, the revs drop and the car finds the next gear.
• There is also an audible shudder when putting your foot down in a higher gear like in 4th or 5th.
  • It is also felt in the seat when this happens, but I suspect that this could be a bad joint somewhere in the driveline.
• There is also a weird hesitation on and off when traveling on the highway, it almost feels like someone is slightly pushing the accelerator pedal on and off continuously.
  • The first time I noticed this was when I was going along downhill, it happens with cruise control and with the right foot driving the car.

I know that the software didnt help this issue but surely the problem was underlying and the extra power just brought it to the surface quicker than the dealer intended.

I went to ZF Services South Africa and the quote I got made me want to set the car alight, R52,325.00 seems a bit steep and im not prepared to spend that kind of money on a car that I use maybe 20 times a year. (I work from home and mostly ride motorbikes around).
The (Very helpful) guy there said that there was an issue with the clutches and that depending on the damage the job would start at 20K working its way up to the initially mentioned cost.

Would anyone here know if there is a cheaper and still somewhat reliable alternative to doing this job? Surely there must be good secondhand boxes selling for a fraction of that cost.

Any help is appreciated.
Kind Regards

 

[husaindindar]

I had an issue on my previous car ie. E90 325i also at around 170k km. Under hard acceleration the shift from 4 to 5 used to be a hard thud and sometimes it never got to 5th and the revs used to spike up. If I left the throttle it would engage but If I kept accelerating, it would go into limp.

ZF also told me the clutch packs were out of spec. Rebuild at 40k!
I did an adaptation reset and done the re adaptation learning process on the highway.

After that the gearbox ran perfectly fine.

I'm not saying it will work for you, however as a last resort, you can try an adaptation reset.

 

[The_Fish]

I had an issue on my previous car ie. E90 325i also at around 170k km. Under hard acceleration the shift from 4 to 5 used to be a hard thud and sometimes it never got to 5th and the revs used to spike up. If I left the throttle it would engage but If I kept accelerating, it would go into limp.

ZF also told me the clutch packs were out of spec. Rebuild at 40k!
I did an adaptation reset and done the re adaptation learning process on the highway.

After that the gearbox ran perfectly fine.

I'm not saying it will work for you, however as a last resort, you can try an adaptation reset.

Thanks man! Is this adaption/re adaption something I can do myself?

 

[husaindindar]

Thanks man! Is this adaption/re adaption something I can do myself?

If you have INPA/ISTA software and obd cable. It is also possible with Carly for BMW.
It is a fairly intensive process to relearn the adaptations. You can google the 6HP adaptation relearn process. Can take up to 30km of quiet highway space.

 

[The_Fish]

Thanks for all the input all, so short of going to ZF there arent any other options I should look into?

 

[///M Individual]

Hi bud, I think a used gearbox will definitely work out cheaper. Shop around with engine importers, scrapyards stripping E90's etc. Enquire with the seller if you can have the gearbox inspected by ZF directly after purchase and returned if unhappy.

Even if the box checks out fine have it serviced with ZF either way before fitting onto the car.

Good luck!

 

[tman]

get a gearbox from a scapyard and hope its better than your current box

Unfortunately there is no cheap fix

 

[E-Male]

You can contact Jaco 082 496 9615....he rebuilt my 320d gearbox about 5 years ago, still going strong. I also have software on my car.

 

[Kish2604]

I would look at getting your stock file flashed back onto the car, if i interpret your post correctly these symptoms started immediately after your flash file was loaded. To me it sounds that the engine load parameters that the engine ecu will inform the gearbox tcu have not been correctly updated in the file resulting in the gearbox not being able to compensate for the additional load (torque) and resulting in the slipping/missing a gear. The surging your experiencing also points out to the file being "peaky" and resulting in this behavior.

i would go back to the last know setting that was working well before trying to throw parts at it in an attempt to fix. If you are not able to successfully engage with the tuner then BMW will update the car to latest software versions at a much more wallet friendly fee. Chat to the guys at ABM BMW if they are within your area for a booking.