SMG Tranny problems anyone?

[BTM3]

Last night and today the little yellow warning light came on for the first time. Last night it came on, i didn't know what it was so i pulled over and pulled out the (bmw) bible. saw it was tranny related. Waited a little bit, started the car back up and it didn't come back on. thought it was just a glitch.

Tonight driving home from work, it came on again. i pulled over, waited, it didn't go out. pissed off, i had to get home anyway.. so i drove it.. i didn't notice any problems, tranny shifted smoothly. i went through all the different settings making sure it wasn't something with that.

i'm going to the dealer tomorrow morning to drop it off to see what's up. its got a little over 12k miles, i wouldn't figure that this kind of stuff would be happening.

has anyone else had problems with their SMG at all? or if you've had the same problem, any idea what it was? I don't kill the car when i'm driving (i.e. slamming through the gears with the pedal pinned) I just think its a little early for mechanical probs.

I'm supposed to be bringing it to the dealer for its second service at 12,500 miles next week anyway, but i don't want this to be major problem. hoping its not.

any input would be appreciated. thanks - B

 

[SilverM3forRob]

Was it the DSC light coming on????

 

[not_fast_but_furious]

what light are you talking about?

 

[BTM3]

The light is in the upper right hand corner of where all the warning lights are. When you first start the car up, it looks like a little yellow cog with an explanation point in the middle.

Update too. I went to the dealer on Friday morning to let them know about it. servicing told me that it may just be a computer glitch (as it wasn't on when i went to them - murphy's law). so they told me to just go home as i have a scheduled appt. later this week anyway.

Well, i go to have my car washed. As it was completed, the car would not restart. I couldn't get the SMG out of 1 into 0 to start. The car wash guys had to push it into a parking spot while i was on the phone with my dealer. As i was very upset, I went off because I had attempted to bring the vehicle in to them that morning and was told everything was ok. I was put on hold as the service manager who remembered me was getting roadside to come and pick the car up. As soon as I hung up with him, I heard the transmission click and don't you know... it went into 0. the car started right up. I don't know if something got wet or is loose or whatever. The light came on a couple of times over the weekend but no problems, its shifting ok. Just a pain in the ass, this type of stuff shouldn't be happening so soon.

I'll post what i find out from the dealer when it goes in on Wed for servicing to let any other SMG owners out there know if they come across the same type of problem.

 

[BTM3]

Follow up

Ok, just following up. I dropped her off at the dealer Wed morning. They called me later in the day to tell me what's going on. Apparently the transmission was losing pressure??? Its supposed to be around 70-90 and it was dropping down to 20 (whatever that means). I guess it was a big enough deal that its requiring a completely new hydraulic system(?) I'll be getting it back next week as this part had to be ordered. The mechanic said its not a common problem with the SMG's but happens occasionally. Its fully covered under warranty so no issues there. I'll let you know what happens after I pick her up from surgery ;-)

On another note, they gave me a new 325 as the loaner. I don't want to say I'm beating on it by any means, but it is a lot of fun to not really worry about the car like I do with the M. Aside from the ride being a lot softer, but not in a bad way - its still very sporting. I can definitely tell the difference between the M and the base 3 series.

You get what you pay for and the M is a true and true thoroughbred. I really notice the difference when I floor this car, its more of a leisurely pull as opposed to an all out sprint with the M. Its nice to play around and compare.

Dealer had a few of the new 5 series on the lot too. They're pretty sweet looking.

 

[BTM3]

follow up.. got her back from the shop Wed. they replaced the hydraulic (?) thing, whatever it was... apparently there was a recall too on something in the SMG's. I didn't know about it, but he said its something minor and they replaced that too.
Its noticeably shifting quicker.. previously, when i would shift it would lag (i'm talking milliseconds) but it wasn't immediate... it is now... the regular mode seems to shift as fast as when i used to put it in sport mode and smg (special) mode... everything seems smoother.. so much fun driving again... i realize what i miss after driving the 325 for a week. the M is so instant in everything it does... so for any of you who have an SMG, check to make sure yours doesn't require the recall. All of this stuff was covered under warranty too.. fyi.

 

[silvere46m3]

i believe they replaced your hydraulic unit for the smg. the smg is a hydro-electrically operated. this unit operates at a 70 - 80 psi. if this pressure drops below 45psi, you will no longer take your car out of gear.

the unit is bleeding off pressure (internally), so they replaced your unit.

 

[BTM3]

yeah... i'm not sure, i know he said the hydraulic unit. but, aside from that... i'm not a mechanic...