E36 gearbox warning light

[alvin-g]

Hi there, i have 1996 E36 318i that is giving me the same problem as your325i. in the morning, or when the weather is cold, the gearbox warning light comes on. When the light comes on, the gear box goes in to fail safe mode that is when only the 3rd and 4th gear can be used. But when the light goes off during hot weather under direct sunlight, the gearbox works fine. All gears work smoothly and i have been told by BMW mechanics that my gearbox is in mint condition as gear shifts are very smooth with no indication of gear slips. But the odd part is when the gearbox warning light comes on, the modic(launch) cant seem to even detect the gearbox. But at the same time, when the light goes off the modic is able to detect the gearbox and it shows that there are no fault codes. This is always the case. I have so far changed the gearbox oil and filter, all solenoids have been replaced, gear shift wiring has been checked. The only thing that is left is the EGS(computer control unit for the gearbox). Im almost sure that the problem with my car is not because of the gearbox but that of the EGS unit. I have once tried to remove the EGS in the morning,before starting the car and applied direct heat on the EGS unit with a hair dryer. I plugged the EGS back and it worked fine as the light did not appear even when the weather outside was cold. So i strongly feel that u need to get your EGS unit checked out also. Plese feel free to contact me if u have any questions regarding your car, i know how stressful and costly it can be to have this problem. I have yet to replace my EGS unit as it will cost me between RM1000-RM1300. Anyways, i would like to advise you to be cautious of mechanics that go by the principle of "try and see lah!!!"...this would prove to be very costly as i have already experienced this very expensive lesson. So do keep me updated. Cheers mate!!

 

[MBizzie]

Hi,
I experienced no gear change this morning. Pulled to the side of the road, pushed to P, revved up the engine a bit, and drove off ok. Checked with other BM owner and told the gearbox is towards the end of it's life span.
Major problemo..................saw 5k to 6k.........mentioned!
Will start looking around for one E36 325i gearbox.......

 

[jarance]

tell me about it.. my gearbox failed after clocking 250,000 Km.. aiyoo.. makan roti for a year..

 

[Zul_84]

anybody here know where to get E36 328 gear box.....!!!
how much it will cost?
I want the cheap-cheap la?

where to get this thinggg?
warghhtgdf...waarghhh

 

[viewfinder]

Hi there, i have 1996 E36 318i that is giving me the same problem as your325i. in the morning, or when the weather is cold, the gearbox warning light comes on. When the light comes on, the gear box goes in to fail safe mode that is when only the 3rd and 4th gear can be used. But when the light goes off during hot weather under direct sunlight, the gearbox works fine. All gears work smoothly and i have been told by BMW mechanics that my gearbox is in mint condition as gear shifts are very smooth with no indication of gear slips. But the odd part is when the gearbox warning light comes on, the modic(launch) cant seem to even detect the gearbox. But at the same time, when the light goes off the modic is able to detect the gearbox and it shows that there are no fault codes. This is always the case. I have so far changed the gearbox oil and filter, all solenoids have been replaced, gear shift wiring has been checked. The only thing that is left is the EGS(computer control unit for the gearbox). Im almost sure that the problem with my car is not because of the gearbox but that of the EGS unit. I have once tried to remove the EGS in the morning,before starting the car and applied direct heat on the EGS unit with a hair dryer. I plugged the EGS back and it worked fine as the light did not appear even when the weather outside was cold. So i strongly feel that u need to get your EGS unit checked out also. Plese feel free to contact me if u have any questions regarding your car, i know how stressful and costly it can be to have this problem. I have yet to replace my EGS unit as it will cost me between RM1000-RM1300. Anyways, i would like to advise you to be cautious of mechanics that go by the principle of "try and see lah!!!"...this would prove to be very costly as i have already experienced this very expensive lesson. So do keep me updated. Cheers mate!!

alvin-g, since you've changed quite a bit of stuff around the gearbox, have you also checked and replaced a part call "pulse generator" (aka speed sensor) attached to the gearbox? You can check out realoem.com for your specific model and see if it has one. It has been reported as a problem for E34 gearbox according E34 site.

 

[infinityKL]

My car is having the same gearbox problem but I handle it very carefully.

The gearbox doesn't change smoothly from 2nd to 3rd gear. I "help" it change by lifting my right root/ accelerator when the RPM reaches 2500. My mechanic diagnosed it and it shows error code 100 and error on "Speed Monitor". I was told it will cost RM 3k -6k to service depending on severity.

Anyone can advise on price and workaround ?

ON THE CLOCK: only 130K when this happened!!!
**This is my previous post on another topic, but same problem....
Very true, although the feel of driving in S mode is just spectacular its not recommended to use it for no reason, as i had a problem after about a year always switching to th S mode for the "kick" of it. Also not recommended to switch to S mode during high speeds or RPM. This was mechs advice after fixing it!!

Experience: driving along jalan duta when a 325i E46 was getting close on my rear view mirror, i was up for it. K lets go and i switched to S and the instant torque excited me, E46 was close behind me though. After about 3 minutes, reaching speeds of about 170km/h, suddenly i felt just 1 very short and soft jerk and my Speedometer was going down gradually and i lost all the torque[obviously the E46 driver is a happy man]...Guess wat? The gearbox lite on the meter panel showed up [inside my heart im a dead man]. So i slowed down but kept on driving. Then i realise tat my gears were not changing at all[only on 4th gear] even after a standstill. Called my mech, ask me to off the ignition fr 5 seconds and restart the engine[so called reset]. It worked, but only on E mode[strangely]. Tried S mode, same thing after a minute or so...

The problem: took it to my mech, he stuck the watever computer u call it and it showed; Error 100 electronic speed sensor. Got it replaced RM380. Straight away took a spin up and down Genting all the way in S mode, Perfect!! But now i only use it when needed as my mech said eventually ur gearbox will 'kong' if ur fulltime or always on S mode.

Has anyone come across this problem? Pls share...cheers

Bro Alvin, I understand tat its been sometime now. Did u get it fixed? wat was the prob? how much did it cost? THX

 

[alvin-g]

Hey guys!..sorry it took me a long time to reply. I managed to get my problems fixed, turned out to be wht i expected, a faulty EGS. Replaced it and it works fine now(its been 6months already). Burnt a hole in my wallet though, total was RM 1300...cheers guys!

 

[SarJeePekAi]

My 1998 328i auto tranny decided to hi-rev-it at 109K km. S-mode very seldom used, seldom redlined or burn trafiklites. Signs were the higher revs the gears changed and sometimes up to 5500 rpm changes! Only once did the 'exclamation gear' amber warning icon appear. Got mech to wire up to diagnostics - nothing wrong! Still hi-rev changing persisted until last Sunday when any trace of changing vanished.... stuck in 2nd all night.... had to limp home in the wee hours!
Got mechanic to drive car to w/shop and operate the GM auto-tranny just 2 days ago. Lightly seared clutch rings were evident, wear'n'tear was the diagnosis. The w/shop was kind enough to allow me to buy the parts myself and quoted RM900 for overhaul labour. So far I have spent around RM1750 for parts and there will be a bill for the fluids to be used in the fill-up.
So as you can see, the mileage does not matter.... it's all luck of the draw. The car was pampered, serviced according to schedule and garaged 80% of the time. I read on a thread recently that the trouble time for BMW autoboxes is around 150K km, maybe it’s the weather here that accelerated the wear’n’tear or someone used the wrong ATF.... who can tell? Bad joss just cost me my Xmas hols in AussieLand!

 

[python_dev]

My Manual always in "S" mode never have the problem

 

[kimmun]

My Manual always in "S" mode never have the problem

Don,t say so early bro, i just broke my this morning, completely neutral on the 2nd gear. I sent my car to Raymond and still waiting for the replacement gearbox......sigh...help anyone:driver: :106: