Car staying in 5th gear.

[Johnny330zhp]

ok so I just took my car out with haven't driven it in a few weeks and I started it up to let it warm up a bit and noticed on my dash about 1/4 inch to the left of the (D) drive light an (!) with a ring around it lite up. then i put it in drive and it seemed to be in a high gear and won't shift out. I didn't take it to far just around the block and can't get it to shift out. The reason I think its 5th is because I put it in manual to try and shift it out myself and the number 5 shows up and when i manually shift the number changes but the car itself doesn't. It never shifted weird before, so I'm not sure whats going on. Anyone know?

[Meric]

I think its time for you to change your tranny fluid.

[danewilson77]

Auto = Change tranny fluid....and do filter kit.

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330i-M54_3.0L/Drivetrain/Transmission/ES2523327/

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/227020_x600-1.jpg

[Johnny330zhp]

would this have anything to do with not driving it for a few weeks? It drove fine before that.

[az3579]

would this have anything to do with not driving it for a few weeks? It drove fine before that.

How many miles on the tranny?
It sitting like that could mean sediment or other crap stuck in the fluid bunching up when sitting. Then when the car gets used, it probably picks up all that gunk and distributes it in higher concentration from it sitting for a while. It's a possibility.

[Johnny330zhp]

well on the car it has 147,000, I'm guessing thats whats on the tranny as well.

[danewilson77]

well on the car it has 147,000, I'm guessing thats whats on the tranny as well.

Yeah... That fluid should have been replaced at 100k miles.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Johnny330zhp]

I need to call the guy I bought it from, I know before I picked it up he changed oil, water pump, pulleys, front tires and I think thats it so. Im hoping its nothing to crazy. I've never bought such a high milage car so I feel like I'm walking on egg shells

[danewilson77]

I need to call the guy I bought it from, I know before I picked it up he changed oil, water pump, pulleys, front tires and I think thats it so. Im hoping its nothing to crazy. I've never bought such a high milage car so I feel like I'm walking on egg shells

May also get lucky with a tranny flush, by someone reputable.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Johnny330zhp]

Yea he did give me the new Batt when I had that lil problem few weeks back when I first got the car so who knows. ughh I just hate this feeling

[Johnny330zhp]

ok so I was going to go to 711 and I thought maybe Ill try my car again. Got in it started it up no lights and it shifted normally, wondering if it could be electrical? Even still I'm going to change the tranny fluid anyway but just thought I would update this thread.

[Hermes]

I just want to say its interesting that it defaults to 5th now. My E32 would default to 3rd when it had tranny issues (don't ask why I know)

[Rock Nova]

ok so I was going to go to 711 and I thought maybe Ill try my car again. Got in it started it up no lights and it shifted normally, wondering if it could be electrical? Even still I'm going to change the tranny fluid anyway but just thought I would update this thread.

A couple of weeks ago my car gave me that same light, only my tranny went into limp mode or something because I still had all gears but the shifting was HARSH. Mine ended up being a bad crank position sensor. But during that little episode I pulled over to glance at the owner's manual and it had a little blurb about if you get that warning light to try turning the car off for 10 (or was it 30?) seconds and try to start the car up again to see if the warning light goes away and normal performance resumes. Sounds like that was the case for you.

[WOLFN8TR]

My tranny occasionally won't up shift when accellerating hard. Usually stays in 4th gear, switch to manual mode and it will shift to 5th. I have 104,000 miles, so I'm hoping it just needs new tranny fluid. I've researched this topic and found alot of info saying "NOT" to flush the tranny, just warm up the tranny slightly then drain it.

For those of you that have done this how did you go about it? Did you take it someone to have it done on a lift? Getting the car high enough to get under there to change the oil and run it thru the gears to check the level would be sketchy.

[Johnny330zhp]

@ Rock Nova, Yea when I bought my car it didn't come with a manual so thats good to know. I remember reading your post a few weeks back but that your problem was a lil different then mine, I'm hoping if this happeneds again that I can just shut it off for that 0.30s. I was going to change the tranny fluid myself but I think I rather just have it done at the shop instead of dealing with the headache myself.

[nike001]

John, I'd recommend taking some time out of a non-busy day to take the ZHP to a nice highway and cruise for a bit just to get everything moving.

If you were confined to only walking around your bedroom every now and then, you'd want to stretch your legs outside too, right? :)

[Johnny330zhp]

@nike001 are you sure this isn't or won't be dangerous to the tranny if there is something wrong with it or needs new fluid?

[nike001]

Try today and see what she does. If she's good again today then see how it goes, as it could have just been some sort of gremlin that you experienced the other day because our cars don't like to sit.

[Johnny330zhp]

Alright I hope i don't hurt anything doing this.

[nike001]

Alright I hope i don't hurt anything doing this.

If you don't feel comfortable doing it, then don't. Just do the fluids and go from there! I can tell you're uneasy about it, so maybe it's a better idea to just let it go until you get your new fluids.

[Johnny330zhp]

Its not that. I just would rather know that I won't damage anything further by doing this. In this case my biggest fear is that everything will be fine once I change fluides and if taking it up to 60 mph on the highway on bad fluids breaks something then ill just be pissed but if you say it won't hurt anything ill go and do it right now. The problem is I just don't know enough about trannys to know this answer

[midlandtech]

I'd swap fluids and filter and make sure to keep the old fluid. once it is out I would take a magnet and run it through all the fluid to see if it picked up any metal. then do as suggested and take it for a little drive to see if she feels better/worse/same.

[das boots]

I need to call the guy I bought it from, I know before I picked it up he changed oil, water pump, pulleys, front tires and I think thats it so. Im hoping its nothing to crazy. I've never bought such a high milage car so I feel like I'm walking on egg shells

Personally, changing tranny fluids would be one of the first I would do after purchase. No matter what PO stated on when he did a tranny tune-up or not. Always start fresh. And while the car was up, continue with replacing all fluids...diff, brakes, coolant. Wouldn't hurt if you change oil and filter again since you don;t know when or how many miles prior to purchase........my .05.

[az3579]

Its not that. I just would rather know that I won't damage anything further by doing this. In this case my biggest fear is that everything will be fine once I change fluides and if taking it up to 60 mph on the highway on bad fluids breaks something then ill just be pissed but if you say it won't hurt anything ill go and do it right now. The problem is I just don't know enough about trannys to know this answer

I wouldn't worry about it. If a tranny is going to fail, it's going to fail regardless of whether you do the fluid change now or do it later. I doubt it's going to fail.
Besides, there is no diagnosing it without driving it. For all you know, this could have been the only time it will ever do it for the rest of its life. A car sitting like that, especially a car with lots of electronics, is going to have one or two weird oddities after it starts up for the first time. An automatic car is definitely no exception; it's high electronic in the way it operates. Go out and drive it, and just make sure it gets driven regularly.

There's one thing I've learned going from my (then) 24-year-old E30 to my just over 7-year-old E46, and that is this: the car's got more electronics than you can shake a stick at. Weird glitches from a car sitting for a while is expected. BMW doesn't recommend letting the car sit for a while, and that's probably for this reason precisely.

The only two times I ever let my car sit for an extended time, the engine ran rough the first time I started it. I just drove it for a little while, turned off the engine, and all was fine after that, right up until the next time I let it sit for a few weeks without starting it. The battery draining while sitting could definitely cause these electronic issues.

If the car is going to sit, the very least that should be done is keep the battery on a tender and start the car up a couple of times a week (driving it would be highly advised, even if just around the block a few times). This will keep things from being in a static state; you want the engine internals and the transmission components doing their jobs just so they know not to slack off!

[iZHP]

^ well put BP.

[Hermes]

BP,

Your explanation is exactly why I've had my dad drive my car every once in a while since I've been out of town. I didn't want issues when I get back because it sat for almost two months

[Johnny330zhp]

Yea well thanks for the advice, so far It hasn't done it again since. Ive taken it out for short trips but have gotten it so about 50 mph cursing speed then back in the parking spot. Im just waiting for this weather to turn before I take it out everyday.