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[Frosty Kush]

Hi all,

I've recently purchased a BMW 335I 2008 E92, and maybe a few months into owning the vehicle I've ran into some issues, I've phoned countless of mechanics and even contacted the BMW service asking for information but I'm getting a lot of mixed opinions and not really getting anywhere with my issue, well I'll try and explain briefly from A to Z exactly what I've been experiencing and hoping some of you might have some answers or ideas on what I should do next.

So basically the first thing that happened after of few months of driving the car a "Transmission Malfunction" message popped up on my dash, when I started to lose gears my transmission is "Semi-Automatic" just to clarify. I would hit 2K rmps when I would lose my gears, I brought it to a local garage in my town to discover that my clutch has gone bad and that it would need to be replaced what I've discovered is that it's cheaper to get a whole 2nd hand transmission than a new clutch pack including the labour. so basically I went searching for a transmission when I came across a breaker from England which gives warranty for most of their 2nd hand parts and I got a transmission for £475 + £40 postage with 90 days warranty, the transmission came a few days later and got it fitted by my local mechanic the same day. I went to the garage to collect the car spoke to my mechanic just to clarify how things went with the fitment as per him everything went accordingly, BMW certified transmission fluid has been put into the transmission which cost him £60, and the old filter "transmission sump" is what they call it I'm assuming was used of my old transmission. we got into the car we maybe drove it a few miles around the town hitting maximum 50mph when everything seemed fine, I took the car home and maybe after a few hours I had to drive to another town which involved driving on the motorway. as I got on the motorway I hit 100mph when I thought I'll give it a bit of gas and went up to 120/130mhp when suddenly I got a "Transmission fault" message come up on my dash. When I seen the message I freaked out straight away, stopping the car on a slip road, when I came to a full stop I relized that my dash still showed me that I was in 6th gear while I was in a full stop. I put the car out and put the car on aqain when the fault went away, I slowly started to move away from the slip road when I started to feel the gears were not as smooth as they were before and it would change the gear before it even hitting 2k rpm while it would slightly jump about but the car would still be drivable. I drove the car back straight away before I even made it back to the house the "Transmission fault" came up on the dash again, resulting the car to get stuck in 5th gear this time. it seems that once the fault comes up it gets stuck in the current gear. when I brought the car back to the house I contacted my mechanic who responded straight away, came to my house and did a diagnostic, from what was happening realistically my gears were getting stuck, diagnosis showed that the gears are slipping. a strange gurgling noise started coming from the transmission and basically this is were I'm at. I've tried countless different threads and just people in general for some information to understand what could be causing this issue but I have received a lot of different opinions. I'm more less sure that the transmission that I bought is in good condition as I contacted the seller they have advised that the transmission was removed from a fully working vehicle before it being shipped to me. also it came with 90 days warranty so I really don't see a reasons in them selling me a faulty transmission.


Opinions I've received from different people Mechanics/BMW owners.


1. The transmission was not coded using "NCS Expert" apparently replacing the transmission some type of VIN codes need to match in order for it to work properly. But I've been getting mixed opinions, some say it had to be coded 100%, others say if it worked fine to start with it shouldn't need coding. my mechanic specially said it doesn't need any coding at all, as long as it's put in properly and calibrated.


2. Faulty transmission, but the evidence from the seller shows that it's unlikely the transmission was faulty.


3. My mechanic used normal BMW certified transmission fluid which cost him £60. When he contacted the seller for the transmission the first question they asked is what fluid was used, he advised that the fluid used was the specific the high end stuff which costs around £208 without VAT. Then he rang BMW explained the situation the first question they asked is what fluid was used.


Conclusion
So at the moment I'm trying to think what should I do next, rather than blowing money on things and hoping for the best. I've ordered the top shelf transmission fluid, ordered a new filter which goes under the transmission that acts as a sump, and I'm gonna replace the mechatronics sleeve. I would greatly appreciate if someone could give me some feedback if it's the right move at this stage, or should I do something else. I've did my research all over the web couldn't find anything specific related to my issue, but I'm trying to get as many opinions as possible, to maybe pin point where it would be best to go from here.

Thank you ladies & gentleman for reading, awaiting for your response

[floydarogers]

You posted a transmission problem in the wheels and tires forum; admins should move it, or OP should re-post.

The ZF fluid costs $40-$50 per quart, and it takes 7-9 quarts. It's strongly advised to only use ZF Lifeguard fluid; anything else is suspect.

Did they change the transmission oil pump? Did they change the torque converter?

It's weird that the "new" transmission is exhibiting the same problems as the "old".

Don't have much more advice... sorry.