What caused the TRANS FAILSAFE PROG

[Iylia H]

I had this on my e34 for a couple of times. The first time it happened was when I crossed a puddle of water, didn't expect it to be that deep. Had to drove all the way from shah alam to my home in subang jaya, with the trans fail. It was nightmare trying to get the car moving every time i encounter a traffic light. Arrived home, off the engine, and turn it on again, everything went normal.

The next few encounters, are all due to me driving in slow traffic, and when the road clears up and i accelerate, the gbox refuses to switch from 3-4. Can feel the gbox slipping, as the needle goes 4k in normal driving condition for a while. Like any other auto gbox, what i do is, i accelerate and pull my leg off the accelerator to force the subsequent gear in (did it over and over as gear still didn't shift). However it then followed with a loud thud and a jerk, and the car went into transfail mode. So what I do after that is stop, off and start the engine, and things turn normal again.

Since then, if the gbox decides not to shift, I don't force it to change by pressing and depressing the accelerator. I just let the gbox sort it out itself. After about 5 sec of constant 4k on the rpm, it will subsequently shift to the next gear. Suspecting the gbox cooling system is faulty, that's why it happens in traffic jams for me. Thank god, it has not happen for a long time now. Now I less rempit from standstill, preserving the gbox.

 

[smike]

Trans light comes on. Well not to worry guys. I had this problem and end up spending on the gear box. Well the truth is, under the gear knob there is an electronic unit which failed due to wear and tear. First thing is get that check out first. Now you can do this at Blue Green Motor Werks on the side of federal highway, ask for Nathan. Or any BMW specialist shop dealing in old cars. Don't listen to them if they tell, that you need to overhaul the gearbox. After changing that unit, everything is back to normal. The unit cost including workmanship is about RM180.00 only, that was done 3 years ago. Now maybe little more. If after changing that unit, and the problem persists, than the gearbox needs to be overhaul. Hopefully that is not the problem. :cheers:

 

[zib]

before reset, what was the error code displayed?

Trans Fail Safe Prog

MScope quoted me RM8k for a full rebuild with 2 years warranty or RM6.5k for 1 year warranty..

Else he advised me to change to a used gbox for 3-4k max..

In the end I opted for 1 yr warranty...hopefully will last me more than a year..

 

[dzuljazz2001]

thats too much bro .. I hv a hunch that its not your transmission which is faulty ..... pls revet to the above posting for clues to your woes....

Trans Fail Safe Prog

MScope quoted me RM8k for a full rebuild with 2 years warranty or RM6.5k for 1 year warranty..

Else he advised me to change to a used gbox for 3-4k max..

In the end I opted for 1 yr warranty...hopefully will last me more than a year..

 

[zib]

it is the clutches. Confirm gearbox gone. I went and saw the gbox dismantled.

The main shaft was badly worn and the clutches almost all gone. Well the car actually has done over 250k KM before the used car dealer or the prev owner clocked it..

I think no electric component can cure this. The rubber o rings inside many had hardened or perished causing pressure leaks everywhere inside the box..

Anyway..no chance of other possibilities to date..so agreed to overhaul it.

This I have anticipated when I bought the car almost a year ago. It is already 10 years old this year so can't be right if the gbox should last this long.

It was jerky and gave some humming noise before things got nasty..

 

[haywire]

it is the clutches. Confirm gearbox gone. I went and saw the gbox dismantled.

The main shaft was badly worn and the clutches almost all gone. Well the car actually has done over 250k KM before the used car dealer or the prev owner clocked it..

I think no electric component can cure this. The rubber o rings inside many had hardened or perished causing pressure leaks everywhere inside the box..

Anyway..no chance of other possibilities to date..so agreed to overhaul it.

This I have anticipated when I bought the car almost a year ago. It is already 10 years old this year so can't be right if the gbox should last this long.

It was jerky and gave some humming noise before things got nasty..

Sorry for you bro...hope this doesn't happen to me anytime soon...touch wood!

Did you take any photo?

 

[dzuljazz2001]

...eemmmm ... fyi zib, my car has clocked 335K and I hv no issues with the gearbox....the trans failure check lite popped up once and after the resetting done, its been more than 2 yrs without any prob ...

it is the clutches. Confirm gearbox gone. I went and saw the gbox dismantled.

The main shaft was badly worn and the clutches almost all gone. Well the car actually has done over 250k KM before the used car dealer or the prev owner clocked it..

I think no electric component can cure this. The rubber o rings inside many had hardened or perished causing pressure leaks everywhere inside the box..

Anyway..no chance of other possibilities to date..so agreed to overhaul it.

This I have anticipated when I bought the car almost a year ago. It is already 10 years old this year so can't be right if the gbox should last this long.

It was jerky and gave some humming noise before things got nasty..

 

[zib]

haywire, no photos taken even though I could have done so at MScope late afternoon.

dzul, well I think this could happen to anyone. This time it is my turn unfortunately..

I could have just changed with a used gbox but this could happen again as many forummers here advised me to rebuild rather than swap with a used gbox as the condition is unknown and how long it could last. At least by spending this kind of $$ I hope I can have a peace of mind for kms to come...if not years..

 

[dzuljazz2001]

... wish all the best then zib. hope your ride will be up and running good soon ... :top:

haywire, no photos taken even though I could have done so at MScope late afternoon.

dzul, well I think this could happen to anyone. This time it is my turn unfortunately..

I could have just changed with a used gbox but this could happen again as many forummers here advised me to rebuild rather than swap with a used gbox as the condition is unknown and how long it could last. At least by spending this kind of $$ I hope I can have a peace of mind for kms to come...if not years..

 

[Lithium2]

Trans Fail Safe Prog

MScope quoted me RM8k for a full rebuild with 2 years warranty or RM6.5k for 1 year warranty..

Else he advised me to change to a used gbox for 3-4k max..

In the end I opted for 1 yr warranty...hopefully will last me more than a year..

http://www.mudah.my/Auto+Gearbox+BMW+E46+E39+5hp+19+Recond-8971302.htm

Did you try asking this shop? Price looking good

 

[zib]

http://www.mudah.my/Auto+Gearbox+BMW+E46+E39+5hp+19+Recond-8971302.htm

Did you try asking this shop? Price looking good

No I didn't but thanks anyway. It wasn't in mudah when i was searching it 2 days ago.
They just posted this up yesterday..sigh..too late.

If they had put it up earlier..

 

[zib]

Collected my car from MScope lunch time today.

Back into action. All is fine now.

FYI They gave me 1yr warranty but I need to come for service for the first 5000km (not free). After that it needs to be serviced every 30k KMs interval.


Cheers

 

[wingzee]

How much is the total costs bro? M-Scope should be the best G/B speacialist in town.

 

[zib]

How much is the total costs bro? M-Scope should be the best G/B speacialist in town.

RM6500 with recon torque converter. The rest are new parts from ZF.

 

[huskar3399]

Service u mean change gb fluid?

Nice to know that your car is back in action.

 

[harbhajan]

Hi uncle, such a long absence la....are u joining melaka drive this weekend?

sori late reply,no got something up.tq

 

[zib]

Service u mean change gb fluid?

Nice to know that your car is back in action.

Yes that is to flush the small metal debris from the new parts.

 

[nitedevil]

Collected my car from MScope lunch time today.

Back into action. All is fine now.

FYI They gave me 1yr warranty but I need to come for service for the first 5000km (not free). After that it needs to be serviced every 30k KMs interval.


Cheers

Hi bro,

Glad to know everything is in order now, most important is peace of mind.


Cheers

 

[mick123]

..................The next few encounters, are all due to me driving in slow traffic, and when the road clears up and i accelerate, the gbox refuses to switch from 3-4. Can feel the gbox slipping, as the needle goes 4k in normal driving condition for a while. Like any other auto gbox, what i do is, i accelerate and pull my leg off the accelerator to force the subsequent gear in (did it over and over as gear still didn't shift). However it then followed with a loud thud and a jerk, and the car went into transfail mode. So what I do after that is stop, off and start the engine, and things turn normal again.

Since then, if the gbox decides not to shift, I don't force it to change by pressing and depressing the accelerator. I just let the gbox sort it out itself. After about 5 sec of constant 4k on the rpm, it will subsequently shift to the next gear. Suspecting the gbox cooling system is faulty, that's why it happens in traffic jams for me. Thank god, it has not happen for a long time now. Now I less rempit from standstill, preserving the gbox.

yesterday, wifey told me the car did this thing to her. it jumped to 4k rpm and the fuel consumption gauge also jumped to max >30l/km but then back to normal in an instant. this could be the start of a gbox problem

anyway, iylia, did that happen to you again and did you seek any opinion from your mech?