Automatic Transmission Issues - Help..

[atomicDog]

My 1995 525i touring wagon with 142,000 miles is starting to exhibit some transmission issues. First of all, the car hesitates to go into reverse. It will go into reverse, but it has a lag of about 2 - 3 seconds. In addition, when driving on the highway, the transmission seems to shift in and out of high gear more often than it should. I have changed the fluid and filter about 20,000 miles ago, but the problems persist. The lag of the trans going into reverse seems to be getting longer as mileage and time passes.

Is this typical of these transmissions at this mileage? Is there anything I can possibly do to fix these issues, short of a rebuild?

[Derek A.]

There is a kit availabe from BMW for what they call "pendulum shifting" There are a number of plastic thrust washers that disintegrate in the transmission and start to cause problems. The installtion of that kit requires that the transmission be removed from the car and paritally taken down. The longer that the unit is driven the greater tha chance that internal hard parts could be damaged. These transmission are not inexpensive to get done. I would start calling around to trans shops on quotes to have the unit taken down.

[Erich M.]

On my '95 525i sedan. Most noticeable when the car is cold. Like you said, it takes a couple of seconds before it will start moving. I have just concluded that this is a peculiarity of the tranny. My car has 117k mile on it. No pendulum shifting noticed yet.

[Russell]

my 95 does the exact same thing- Only after setting a couple days

[sbcncsu]

Hey atomicDog, Go to this page to see the cause of the slip you are experiencing:
http://www.bimmer.info/bmw/sbcncsu/index.html

I had this issue, along with a fluid leak and the "pendulum shift" or shift hunting between 50-60 mph.

The repair does not require an entire rebuild. Just get the kit from BMW that is in the service bulletin and have the repair completed. If you can, remove the transmission yourself and save a lot of labor charges.

HTH.

Scott

[atomicDog]

Scott, thanks for the update. I have no problem taking this unit out of the car, as I have all the facilities needed for that. I just have to find a competent shop to do the trans repairs.