[rogerxp]

Following on from my previous thread I thought I’d update you all with the current position.

My car still jumps out of first gear, admittedly only occasionally, however with my warranty due to expire on 13th April I thought it was time to take action now. I agreed with the Dealer to wait and see if the problem continues to reoccur which it has.

If you remember the Dealer originally investigated this problem but couldn’t diagnose it properly without taking the gearbox out. If however there was any sign of wear & tear I would be liable to pick up the tab (£350 labour to take out & replace plus another £650 for the clutch if I agreed to change it). Obviously BMW are just covering their backs with this one however perhaps being a little over zealous.

Having asked you guys, and a couple of independent garages for their opinions, I was pretty confident to head back to the dealer and tackle them again on this issue in an attempt to pin them down to admitting that the clutch, no matter what condition it was in, couldn’t cause the jumping out of gear. They have pretty much now conceded to this fact.

Went out this morning with an engineer, having spoken to the Service Manager (the only one I will deal with), and also talked with the guy in charge of warranty claims, and all three have said the clutch cannot cause the issues.

So, it’s booked in for 2 days on 8th April (nicely before my warranty expires on 13th) to have a new gearbox installed. They have obviously not said that this will absolutely be the outcome as they do need to ‘play the game’ as it were with regards to following procedure but seems that they are on my side at least.

They will also confirm the current condition of the clutch as, whilst they are in, I might consider getting that replaced too (I’m on 47k miles & 3 years old); saves some of the labour on removing the gearbox as it’ll already be out.

So, looks like I’m getting there eventually, but I’ll still only be 100% relaxed once I drive away on 10th April with a new gearbox and no bill (or new gearbox & clutch but only a bill for the clutch). Time will tell.

[dxb335d]

Roge, looks more promising that previously. Just a shame you had to go through some stress to eventually get there.

[rogerxp]

NOW SORTED!!!

Just collected my car. Apparently the flywheel was leaking oil which has meant a new flywheel, whole new gearbox and a new clutch. Total bill... ...£4,900.

Luckily my warranty still had 4 days to run!!!

Begs the question now whether to bother renewing my warranty. I mean what's to go wrong now (apart from the engine)???

[jjbirch]

you never know £39 a month with breakdown service is less than a few £££'s