[LaLakers91tc]

Bump, just had this happen to me as well... I hate it... I use D/S and M all the time and it feels like I'm driving a true auto once again...

Anyone have any advice on the fix... I definitely need this repaired soon.
6mt for sure on the next car

[eduardomi]

Originally Posted by LaLakers91tc

Bump, just had this happen to me as well... I hate it... I use D/S and M all the time and it feels like I'm driving a true auto once again...

Anyone have any advice on the fix... I definitely need this repaired soon.
6mt for sure on the next car

Let me give you a few pointers as I am STILL suffering the "NO DS mode" headache and have tried most things on these forums.

The "NO DS" things can be triggered by a number of things, being the most "famous" (or infamous I should say):

- A faulty PRNDL board
- A broken wire on that same board (blue harness)
- A broken wire from the loom right below the shifter plate (most likely a blue wire)
- Someone once mentioned a "solenoid valve" on the gearshift assembly.

The most successful fix is:

- Getting a new gearshift assembly: $450 + Labor (around $900)
- Finding the broken wire and either soldering it or splicing it. (free)
- Replacing the PRNDL board (around $35-$50 on ebay).

In my case, I have tried everything but replacing the complete gearshift assy. for obvious reasons.

Interesting find: While playing with the gearshift and shifting it from D to the DS mode I hear a click and found it comes from a contact sensor...could that be culprit? maybe but I have no way to access it or replace it as I doubt I can find that off the shelf or have bmw sell it to me.

Anyways, try what I outlined above and search for one of my posts where I posted pictures and a link to a DIY for this matter. Good luck!

[LaLakers91tc]

Originally Posted by eduardomi

Let me give you a few pointers as I am STILL suffering the "NO DS mode" headache and have tried most things on these forums.

The "NO DS" things can be triggered by a number of things, being the most "famous" (or infamous I should say):

- A faulty PRNDL board
- A broken wire on that same board (blue harness)
- A broken wire from the loom right below the shifter plate (most likely a blue wire)
- Someone once mentioned a "solenoid valve" on the gearshift assembly.

The most successful fix is:

- Getting a new gearshift assembly: $450 + Labor (around $900)
- Finding the broken wire and either soldering it or splicing it. (free)
- Replacing the PRNDL board (around $35-$50 on ebay).

In my case, I have tried everything but replacing the complete gearshift assy. for obvious reasons.

Interesting find: While playing with the gearshift and shifting it from D to the DS mode I hear a click and found it comes from a contact sensor...could that be culprit? maybe but I have no way to access it or replace it as I doubt I can find that off the shelf or have bmw sell it to me.

Anyways, try what I outlined above and search for one of my posts where I posted pictures and a link to a DIY for this matter. Good luck!

Thank you!
I really appreciate it. I plan on taking the center console apart this weekend and I pray that it is simple as a wire that needs to be soldered, but your list will be a great help if it isn't that simple.

[tibra1]

MT FTW

[LaLakers91tc]

Just following up for those that might be experiencing a similar problem.

I did the work in about 45 minutes today, and it was a lot easier than I expected.

I followed the DIY instructions on removing the center console.
The leather boot took a slight tug to come out, the shifter popped out with some effort while in neutral as well, the center console trim also comae out easily with upward pressure. I unplugged all the necessary harnesses and saw this



The white wire are the bottom position of the assembly was cut through

the purple one was also stressed and almost seperate.

I went to strip the wire to solder it, but turns out that the white wire was broken elsewhere as well! It came right out of the cloth wrapping. I took 6 torx screws out (3 big ones holding it down, t30, and a couple t10 I believe on the side holding a plastic cover over the wires) and pulled the assembly up to have easier access



Afterwards, I cut open the cloth that was wrapped around the wires and saw a pretty horrid sight. All of the wires were coming apart! There was exposed copper everywhere and we were close to coming apart.



I spliced in some wire to replace the broken section on the white wire, and then to prevent these from coming apart, I doused them in hot glue to keep the wires in place, and intact. and closed everything up again nice and tight. The procedure to take it apart was easy enough, and putting it back together was simple.

I tested it out and everything worked!
I hope the hot glue holds up for some time.

[eduardomi]

Thanks for taking the time and posting pictures of your problem. I hope my write up was helpful

I just bought a used gearshift assembly on ebay for $100 and I was going to try my luck today on replacing it but my buddy's shop is full so I will try on Monday.

What was your problem exactly? Because many people seem to be experiencing variations of the same problem for example, this is mine:

Whenever I move the shifter from "D" to the left, the small led on the PRNDL indicator (not the one on the dash) also moves to the left to the +- position. However, on the DASH the indicator stays in D, not DS.

When the shifter is tilted to the left, I can use it UP and DOWN to go through the gears and in the dash M1, M2, M3, etc is shown. The same goes for the paddle shifters the work like a charm but after a while of not using them (shifter or paddles) they car goes from a "M" mode to normal "D".

It seems like Manual mode works well but is the DS that is not engaging.

Was this your problem? Different variations of the same problem require different approaches like checking cables, checking PRNLD switch or in the worst case scenario replacing the whole gearshift assy.

What was your problem?

Best

-k

[LaLakers91tc]

Originally Posted by eduardomi

Thanks for taking the time and posting pictures of your problem. I hope my write up was helpful

I just bought a used gearshift assembly on ebay for $100 and I was going to try my luck today on replacing it but my buddy's shop is full so I will try on Monday.

What was your problem exactly? Because many people seem to be experiencing variations of the same problem for example, this is mine:

Whenever I move the shifter from "D" to the left, the small led on the PRNDL indicator (not the one on the dash) also moves to the left to the +- position. However, on the DASH the indicator stays in D, not DS.

When the shifter is tilted to the left, I can use it UP and DOWN to go through the gears and in the dash M1, M2, M3, etc is shown. The same goes for the paddle shifters the work like a charm but after a while of not using them (shifter or paddles) they car goes from a "M" mode to normal "D".

It seems like Manual mode works well but is the DS that is not engaging.

Was this your problem? Different variations of the same problem require different approaches like checking cables, checking PRNLD switch or in the worst case scenario replacing the whole gearshift assy.

What was your problem?

Best

-k

My problem was that I would move the shifter to D/S and the little light next to it would not come on, and the dash would still say "D" and it didn't respond when I tried to shift it up or down either, so complete loss of D/S & M functionality

[Lshaw]

bump! I have a paddles harness for my m3 wheel/paddles....this should be fun

[GTiceman]

LaLakers I am having DS/M problems and your pictures are the clearest yet

Hoping to be able to look at my shifter on Sat/Sun

[samchoi604]

Do you guys slam the lever very hard to change to DS?

[Lshaw]

Nope, car has 50k and i have a paddle shifter harness with m3 wheel/paddles. I took a decent look at the wires earlier today and i cannot see anything visibly broken. i couldnt get enough slack to check the bundle of wires either.

My car wont go into DS mode, when i attempt to use the manual mode, the car usually reverts back to D right away.

Any advice would be great! No more warranty...

[beirutvet]

LaLakers91tc....your pictures and instructions were EXCELLENT. Once I pulled everything apart, I immediately located a break in the insulation in the grey wire. When I have more time this weekend (and get some supplies) I'll set about checking the rest of the wiring and making repairs. Thanks again...my hat is off to you!!

[onebadsha]

l3n1356 - was your issue ever resolved? I am in the same boat - when I play with manual mode, it reverts back to D within a few seconds.

I too am at about 50k miles, so being out of warranty on this can't be good.

[E91AWD]

LaLakers91tc Terrific photos.Thanks for the great info.

My 2007 E91 just developed this problem. I shift it into DS and can shift it manually, but it spontaneously reverts to D. I can still shift manually but the auto will not return to DS. I don't shift manually a lot and only have 50K on my car, so apparently this is a defective design problem. I don't want to pop $900 right now. What is the risk of letting this go for a while? If I put it off and live with D mode, could additional problems arise that might cripple the transmission?

[E91AWD]

@ LaLakers91tc. Thanks for the help. I went into my dealer and pulled up you photos on my iPad. I Explained the problem, told them it was a design defect, showed them your photos and asked that it be handled under BMW Goodwill Policy. They contacted BMW NA and got a replacement part. They charged me $168.00 in labor which was just fine with me. They told me the part subsequently redesigned.

[GoRomeo]

Another happy member here...DS mode is back!! I fixed it last night. 3 wires were cut. I spliced them together and problem solved. Not sure why my wires were tucked in between the shifter in a very thight space. I pulled gently out of the tight loop and was able to have more space to work on. Thanks to this DIY saved me lots of $$$ :-)

[ripper0306]

I have the same problem...
I lost my "Sport" Mode...

I tried the to replug cables but no results.
I'll try to investigate more but I need to remove the center console to have more access to wires.

For those who had this problem, Do you remember when switching to DS (with the problem) if the M/S+ light was on ?
My M/S light still works when I put the lever on DS.

[GRLPWR]

This happened to me yesterday, and after several hours of researching the 'net, I found several posts regarding the wires. Took it to my shop, told the tech what to look for and, yep, the first wire poking out was the white one. I told him to remove the cloth tape and, yep, more stressed wires. He, too, cut/nip/solder each one, heat wrapped them, then tucked them at the bottom of the shift assembly (instead of sticking them back beside the solenoid on the right side of the assembly) so it would give the wires more slack during the back-n-forth movement.

These forums are great resources (despite the drama they create too).

Originally Posted by LaLakers91tc

Just following up for those that might be experiencing a similar problem.

I did the work in about 45 minutes today, and it was a lot easier than I expected.

I followed the DIY instructions on removing the center console.
The leather boot took a slight tug to come out, the shifter popped out with some effort while in neutral as well, the center console trim also comae out easily with upward pressure. I unplugged all the necessary harnesses and saw this



The white wire are the bottom position of the assembly was cut through

the purple one was also stressed and almost seperate.

I went to strip the wire to solder it, but turns out that the white wire was broken elsewhere as well! It came right out of the cloth wrapping. I took 6 torx screws out (3 big ones holding it down, t30, and a couple t10 I believe on the side holding a plastic cover over the wires) and pulled the assembly up to have easier access



Afterwards, I cut open the cloth that was wrapped around the wires and saw a pretty horrid sight. All of the wires were coming apart! There was exposed copper everywhere and we were close to coming apart.



I spliced in some wire to replace the broken section on the white wire, and then to prevent these from coming apart, I doused them in hot glue to keep the wires in place, and intact. and closed everything up again nice and tight. The procedure to take it apart was easy enough, and putting it back together was simple.

I tested it out and everything worked!
I hope the hot glue holds up for some time.

[F32Fleet]

Chalk another win for Germany and their requirement for biodegradable wire insulation.

[DetectiveLoki]

I just ran into this problem yesterday. I can engage in DS mode and is able to shift up, but not shift down. I guess I will be opening this thing up to repair over the weekend.

[Luky]

Originally Posted by DetectiveLoki

I just ran into this problem yesterday. I can engage in DS mode and is able to shift up, but not shift down. I guess I will be opening this thing up to repair over the weekend.

I have the exact same issue. Will upshift but not downshft from the stick. Paddles work fine up and down. I still have CPO warranty until Jan 29 2014 and took it in for this issue last week. They said the Tech did not find an issue with this (taking it back tonight with pictures from this thread showing where to look at the wires). I am just worried because the service advisor had said something about the wiring harness not being covered under the extended warranty? Is this wiring part of the shifter assembly or part of the wiring that leads to the shifter? I have read threads where they replaced teh entire shifter assembly to fix the issue so it makes me think it is not part of the wiring harness...

I did get two new turbos + wastegates, new injectors, new plugs, new rear brakes/rotors, they pulled the intake manifold to clean the carbon build up out, a new washer fluid pump (was leaking) and an oil change (from extended service plan) out of the deal so far... for a $50 deductible. Not sure if I should be happy to get a bunch of new parts or mad that they needed to be replaced under 6yr/100k miles? I have about 86k miles...

[DetectiveLoki]

Originally Posted by Luky

I have the exact same issue. Will upshift but not downshft from the stick. Paddles work fine up and down. I still have CPO warranty until Jan 29 2014 and took it in for this issue last week. They said the Tech did not find an issue with this (taking it back tonight with pictures from this thread showing where to look at the wires). I am just worried because the service advisor had said something about the wiring harness not being covered under the extended warranty? Is this wiring part of the shifter assembly or part of the wiring that leads to the shifter? I have read threads where they replaced teh entire shifter assembly to fix the issue so it makes me think it is not part of the wiring harness...

I did get two new turbos + wastegates, new injectors, new plugs, new rear brakes/rotors, they pulled the intake manifold to clean the carbon build up out, a new washer fluid pump (was leaking) and an oil change (from extended service plan) out of the deal so far... for a $50 deductible. Not sure if I should be happy to get a bunch of new parts or mad that they needed to be replaced under 6yr/100k miles? I have about 86k miles...

I am planning to open it up this weekend to see if any of the wire broke. (I hope it's the wire that broke because I'm out of warranty)