Automatic transmission issues- PLEASE HELP

toie36 · 03-10-2009, 04:41 AM

I bought a ti two weeks ago, and the transmission has been acting up. It only stays in 2nd gear (I do not want to try and rev it into 3rd-for fear of burning it out). Has anyone had this problem too? I want to believe that it is something electrical. I've checked the fluid level and it is fine. The car does it hot/cold. There are no leaks, and the car has 110,000 miles on it. The car was driven by a BMW enthusiast who told me " he just used it as his daily commuter and never abused it" The car shows little signs of wear. I do not want to take it to a mechanic because I am flat out broke. Does anyone know what it could be? Is this a common problem? THANKS EVERYONE!!

mohaughn · 03-10-2009, 05:31 AM

When you say it stays in second do you mean it won't shift up to 3rd gear? Is there a transmission fault light?

There are actuators that control shifting from one gear to another. My old automatic car would shift very hard from 2nd to 3rd, or some times it would just hold in second, then drop shift to 3rd. It was a problem related to the actuators and transmission clutches.

110k seems a little early for a transmission to go out, but I heard people talk about needing rebuilds as early as 80k. A rebuild is pretty pricey, in a lot of ways it isn't worth fixing an older BMW automatic transmission given the worth of some of the cars now.

toie36 · 03-10-2009, 05:36 AM

It will not shift up into 3rd gear
The fault code leads to a parking neutral switch. These transmissions do not have this sort of switch.

pnosker · 03-10-2009, 06:17 AM

What did you scan with? If somehow you got the car to NJ I would be more than happy to scan with a real BMW tool... but seeing as that's unlikely, I would change the transmission fluid filter and replace the fluid. Sometimes grime or crap can get in there and screw up the shifting... but that also can lead to much worse.

toie36 · 03-10-2009, 06:21 AM

I will change the fluid in the morning to be on the safe side.

toie36 · 03-10-2009, 08:14 PM

Changed the fluid... it is still acting up. Anymore suggestions?

pnosker · 03-10-2009, 09:03 PM

Did you ever have a radiator hose explode? I have a friend with an E39 and their coolant system exploded all over the engine bay and shorted out the transmission control computer. She had the same issue as you. It's possible your transmission comp is screwed up for some reason.

toie36 · 03-10-2009, 09:27 PM

I think your on to something. I suspected it was an electrical issue. The car seems to have overheated.

pnosker · 03-10-2009, 09:33 PM

What I would do is take a look at this: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/cata...cu_removal.htm

See if you see any residue from coolant (will be yellow, red, or green). If that's the problem, get a new transmision ECU online or from a junk yard. This could be something worth paying BMW to diagnose however. Shouldn't be more than 1/2 hour of labor for them to hook it up to a computer and pull codes. Or you could drive up to Jersey and I'll scan for you

... I might be going to NC for a few days next week if you could make it up there too

.

toie36 · 03-10-2009, 09:46 PM

I am going to do that right now. THANKS so much!!!! Hopefully I find some signs of coolant, so I do not have to spend a ton of money rebuilding.

It would be to hard for me to drive anywhere. I am getting ready for my DAT's, and my ti is my only method of transportation. I really appreciate your generosity though.

pnosker · 03-10-2009, 11:43 PM

Good luck! Thanks for donating to Embrace Kids for me! Hopefully that's the issue-- the auto comps are cheap.

toie36 · 03-13-2009, 09:46 PM

So, I found someone to pull up codes locally. The code that it brang up was "selector lever positioner (l2). Any ideas?

pnosker · 03-13-2009, 09:49 PM

Sounds like the sensor you have near your selector rod is bad. Thinks you're always in 2nd gear when it's set to D.

toie36 · 03-13-2009, 09:54 PM

Do you know what it is called?

CirrusSR22 · 03-13-2009, 10:10 PM

The "selector lever positioner" sure sounds like it could be that. It's sometime called a "PRNDL" switch, or "park, neutral safety switch". It has a number of function, one telling the car it's in park or neutral so the car will start (not it gear), activating the reverse lights when the lever is in reverse. It might also tell the computer what postion you have the selector lever in like D, 3, 2, 1, etc..... Like pnokser said.

I'd have one available in a few weeks for cheap as I'm taking out my automatic and swapping in a manual transmission.

Unfortunately it looks like it's integrated with the slector lever and not an individual switch. It's the yellow part on the lever assembly.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...6-1-422-852-M9

Part#1
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...20&hg=25&fg=15

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