Gearbox Replacement 320i E90 A/T (2011)

[NBaikie]

Hi guys,

I was just wondering if anyone could provide me with some advice on a current issue that I really cannot understand.

I have a 2011 BMW 320i A/T (E90) with 120,000km on the odometer.

About a month ago I was driving my vehicle when the red transmission light appeared on the speedometer's digital display. The vehicle immediately went into like a "limp mode" type of thing where the gears wouldn't change as smooth as what I was used to. I immediately drove the vehicle to the nearest BMW dealer and booked the vehicle in. A day or two later, I was contacted by a service consultant who informed me that they had completed a diagnosis on the vehicle and the diagnosis picked up that the transmission oil was low and had to be topped up - I was assured that nothing else was wrong with the vehicle so i gave the go ahead for them to do the repair.

About 3 weeks later I was driving the vehicle in some heavy traffic and noticed that the vehicle had a terrible jerk when it changed from 2nd to 3rd gear in low revs. I immediately took the vehicle back to the same BMW dealer and they informed me that they would have another look at the vehicle and see what the problem could be - they also told me that I would have to pay another R1,100 diagnosis fee so that they can run further tests on the vehicle. This makes no sense - since i already paid for a diagnosis when the vehicle was initially booked in?

Earlier today another service consultant contacted me and informed me that my gearbox was "on its way out" and the recommended repair was to replace the complete gearbox, which would cost me R91,000.

I would really appreciate it if somebody could advise me on the following:

1. How is a gearbox "on it's way out" when its only done 120,000kms? Isn't a gearbox made to last more or less the lifetime of the car? or at least much longer than 120,000kms? Especially since always BMW prides itself on its quality.

2. How is it even possible that a new gearbox can cost R91,000 when the retail value of the vehicle is not even R150,000?

3. Bearing in mind that a automatic gearbox comprises of many small components that work together inside the gearbox, when they say that my gearbox is "on its way out" does that mean that all the components within the gearbox are irreparable? and if so, how do they come to that conclusion?

4. Are there reputable gearbox repairers out that would be able to find the real fault or will they too quote me on a new gearbox? I somehow believe that I'm being taken for a ride by this BMW dealer because they don't really know what the real problem is...[/size][/font]

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Regards,
Nathan

 

[ray.dummer]

Howzit bud,

I feel your pain ....for example ,BMW says their transmission oil is lifetime oil....which in turn is actually 100k KMS / when your Motorplan ends :/

Speak to Nico (I think, can't remember) @ ZF Services - 011 457 0000

I'm sure they'll be able to help you out ... When I was there for the usual 30k km service interval for my gearbox, they were rebuilding the same gearbox next to me with new clutch plates, etc just because the person who owned the vehicle also thought "lifetime" oil, and so ja R15k later .....

Or speak to Gizmo , go to the scrap yards , get a secondhand one and DIY it

All the best bud

Sent from my WAS-LX2 using Tapatalk

 

[rash777]

Hi guys,

I was just wondering if anyone could provide me with some advice on a current issue that I really cannot understand.

I have a 2011 BMW 320i A/T (E90) with 120,000km on the odometer.

About a month ago I was driving my vehicle when the red transmission light appeared on the speedometer's digital display. The vehicle immediately went into like a "limp mode" type of thing where the gears wouldn't change as smooth as what I was used to. I immediately drove the vehicle to the nearest BMW dealer and booked the vehicle in. A day or two later, I was contacted by a service consultant who informed me that they had completed a diagnosis on the vehicle and the diagnosis picked up that the transmission oil was low and had to be topped up - I was assured that nothing else was wrong with the vehicle so i gave the go ahead for them to do the repair.

About 3 weeks later I was driving the vehicle in some heavy traffic and noticed that the vehicle had a terrible jerk when it changed from 2nd to 3rd gear in low revs. I immediately took the vehicle back to the same BMW dealer and they informed me that they would have another look at the vehicle and see what the problem could be - they also told me that I would have to pay another R1,100 diagnosis fee so that they can run further tests on the vehicle. This makes no sense - since i already paid for a diagnosis when the vehicle was initially booked in?

Earlier today another service consultant contacted me and informed me that my gearbox was "on its way out" and the recommended repair was to replace the complete gearbox, which would cost me R91,000.

I would really appreciate it if somebody could advise me on the following:

1. How is a gearbox "on it's way out" when its only done 120,000kms? Isn't a gearbox made to last more or less the lifetime of the car? or at least much longer than 120,000kms? Especially since always BMW prides itself on its quality.

2. How is it even possible that a new gearbox can cost R91,000 when the retail value of the vehicle is not even R150,000?

3. Bearing in mind that a automatic gearbox comprises of many small components that work together inside the gearbox, when they say that my gearbox is "on its way out" does that mean that all the components within the gearbox are irreparable? and if so, how do they come to that conclusion?

4. Are there reputable gearbox repairers out that would be able to find the real fault or will they too quote me on a new gearbox? I somehow believe that I'm being taken for a ride by this BMW dealer because they don't really know what the real problem is...[/size][/font]

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Regards,
Nathan

from my experience there are not many people around that actually knows these boxes including ZF themselves, from my experience with them recently.... i have someone that is coming tomorrow morning to sort out my gearbox problem on my 320d 2010.... you can message me and i will gladly pass the details on to you. 0826784660

 

[sash]

from my experience there are not many people around that actually knows these boxes including ZF themselves, from my experience with them recently.... i have someone that is coming tomorrow morning to sort out my gearbox problem on my 320d 2010.... you can message me and i will gladly pass the details on to you. 0826784660

This sounds like the BMW tech issue, get diagnosis, replace complete parts.

 

[rash777]

from my experience there are not many people around that actually knows these boxes including ZF themselves, from my experience with them recently.... i have someone that is coming tomorrow morning to sort out my gearbox problem on my 320d 2010.... you can message me and i will gladly pass the details on to you. 0826784660

This sounds like the BMW tech issue, get diagnosis, replace complete parts.

That's exactly how it is Sash.... they dont know so they say replace the box.... that is always the case when someone does not know how to repair something... replace it...

Thing is I almost went that route...:dunnoanymore:

 

[NBaikie]

Thanks for all your replies guys...

this proves my suspicions that the guys at BMW simply don't know how to fault find. All they do is quote to replace instead of actually trying to find the underlying faults - which many times can be a relatively inexpensive repair at the end of the day.

It's really sad how they operate because i'm sure there any many people out there that will go ahead with this type of repair when it is, in most cases, something smaller or inexpensive that is faulty.

The way I see it, thinking about it mechanically, a gearbox (especially an automatic gearbox) is made up of so many components that one cannot say the whole box is "on its way out" surely there is a possibility that it could be a component (like a torque converter etc) that might be causing the problem?

Regards,
Nathan

 

[tman]

Thanks for all your replies guys...

this proves my suspicions that the guys at BMW simply don't know how to fault find. All they do is quote to replace instead of actually trying to find the underlying faults - which many times can be a relatively inexpensive repair at the end of the day.

It's really sad how they operate because i'm sure there any many people out there that will go ahead with this type of repair when it is, in most cases, something smaller or inexpensive that is faulty.

The way I see it, thinking about it mechanically, a gearbox (especially an automatic gearbox) is made up of so many components that one cannot say the whole box is "on its way out" surely there is a possibility that it could be a component (like a torque converter etc) that might be causing the problem?

Regards,
Nathan

I must stress that this is not a problem unique to BMW. I have personally visited ZF, and loads of manufacturers flat bed their vehicles to them to diagnose and fix the gearboxes. This is unfortunately the norm for most brands.

ZF may be able to assist on an Auto box repair. As far as I understand they do not even attempt to open a manual box. Irrespective of the issue on the latter, you need a new box.