It's Baaaack!! '04 330cic Steptronic slipping AGAIN
- Thread starter Kirby
- Start date
Add me to the list of those with the sliptronic issue. Just got a '04 CiC at the very end of december. haven't noticed the slipping until recently. the funny thing is its not even cold down here in Florida. I am gonna get it checked out at the dealer to see what they will do for me. It's pretty bad all the complaints about the tranny and no recalls or advisory to the consumers.
check out the noob
If your really with BMW NA and you want to some good, then go to the E46 forum and check out the "Sliptronic" thread. It's easy to find considering it holds the record on this board for views and reply's. Anyway, I brought my '04 330i to the dealership for tranny slippage on 12/29/03 and was told that BMW NA (i.e. YOU) are aware of the problem and were going to ship a "repair kit" to the dealership and they would call me when it came in. Guess what? I'm still waiting.
I posted the above on a 5 series thread when I saw a reply from a noobie calling himself "BMW NA Customer Relations and Services."
If your really with BMW NA and you want to some good, then go to the E46 forum and check out the "Sliptronic" thread. It's easy to find considering it holds the record on this board for views and reply's. Anyway, I brought my '04 330i to the dealership for tranny slippage on 12/29/03 and was told that BMW NA (i.e. YOU) are aware of the problem and were going to ship a "repair kit" to the dealership and they would call me when it came in. Guess what? I'm still waiting.
I posted the above on a 5 series thread when I saw a reply from a noobie calling himself "BMW NA Customer Relations and Services."
I do not have the patience to read this whole thread, so what I'm about to say may have already been said.
For a temporary solution to the slippage on cold starts, put the vehicle in M1, meaning pull the shifter all the way back, then to the left and bump down a gear till it says M1 in the display. It's my understanding that this puts the tranny in "sport mode" which engages another set of clutches, which can help with slippage.
I'm pretty interested to see if this works, I have a manual tranny so I cannot relate to this problem. Let me know!
For a temporary solution to the slippage on cold starts, put the vehicle in M1, meaning pull the shifter all the way back, then to the left and bump down a gear till it says M1 in the display. It's my understanding that this puts the tranny in "sport mode" which engages another set of clutches, which can help with slippage.
I'm pretty interested to see if this works, I have a manual tranny so I cannot relate to this problem. Let me know!
Took my car in this monday. the SA says he'll take a look. apparently no one at the dealership has knowledge/dealt with the slipping ... I personally find it kind of hard to believe even though its Southern CA and the weather can't get as bad as out east. Couldn't even get a loaner, had to get a rental car. The SA says he'll take a look and he called me just an hour ago. Says had to order a control. Have no idea what that is .... asked him about it, he mentioned its some computer control thingy, but I doubt it'll work, since everyone's solution seems to be transmission replacement or clutch patch. He says that if it doesn't work, it'll be transmission replacement. For those that got the clutch patch, hows that working out? What about the transmission replacement? Is there any official notice from BMW NA as of now?
O.K. folks the surgery is complete. Two cold starts with the new tranny and NO SLIPPAGE![[:p]](/images/smilies/tongue.png "Stick Out Tongue [:p]")
There is a noticable difference with the new tranny. The original one seemed a little soft in delivering power off idle. This new one gets with the program...immediate power delivery.
The funny part is the 325i loaner they gave us with 800 miles also SLIPS![[8]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_8ball.gif "Retarded [8]")
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There is a noticable difference with the new tranny. The original one seemed a little soft in delivering power off idle. This new one gets with the program...immediate power delivery.The funny part is the 325i loaner they gave us with 800 miles also SLIPS
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It seems so, since I'm going over the 2-4 weeks for the tranny bs... The SA did say they aren't any in the country right now, and that was over 3 weeks ago.
On the side note for those who entertain conspiracy-theory stuff, they could very well be stalling time, since the winter is almost over, and the sliptronic isn't such an issue when it's warmer outside.
On the side note for those who entertain conspiracy-theory stuff, they could very well be stalling time, since the winter is almost over, and the sliptronic isn't such an issue when it's warmer outside.
I believe this could very well be true. Let me tell you why. There were replacement trannys that were shipped as late as the November timeframe that did not resolve the problem. I believe there were a couple of people on this very board who experienced this, but my timing/memory could be a bit off. It appears to me that BMW may not have had their "arms around" the problem until November/December where they finally realized it was a defective clutch assembly. Therefore, replacement trannys had to be ordered with that latest fix. I would assume that there is a limited inventory and capacity for replacement trannys ... especially ones that are brand new in design. This is why a backlog makes sense to me. My dealer claims that I was one of the first to obtain a replacement tranny that truly corrects the problem. I'm still not so sure ... have an appt. at the end of Feb. to have the shop foreman test drive it. But if that is true, my tranny was ordered just before Christmas, arrived between Christmas and New Years, and was installed second week of January. That should give you an idea of timeframes when ... assuming what they are saying is true ... the first "fixed" trannys began to arrive.
I'll fill you all in when I take my car in on 2/24 as to whether it's really fixed or not. In the morning, when I shift into "D", the car moves forward at a very slow speed (doesn't even register on the speedometer), and I am able to get the rpms from 800rpm to about 1200 rpm with no further acceleration. Once I hit about 1300-1400 rpm, it does accelerate. So ... my question to my shop foreman is whether this is normal and whether it is slippage.
I'll fill you all in when I take my car in on 2/24 as to whether it's really fixed or not. In the morning, when I shift into "D", the car moves forward at a very slow speed (doesn't even register on the speedometer), and I am able to get the rpms from 800rpm to about 1200 rpm with no further acceleration. Once I hit about 1300-1400 rpm, it does accelerate. So ... my question to my shop foreman is whether this is normal and whether it is slippage.
second posting of my thoughts...
Steptronic National backorder??
This continues to get more ridiculous by the day. Allowing BMWNA to deal with this problem on a "case by case basis" is in their best only. Companies such as BMW have a planned protocol to handle customer satisfaction and quality control. We must understand that a calculation was made. Loss to gain ratio was determined. BMWNA knowingly continued to deliver a defective product. It is not simply a case of "do not worry it is under warranty". The contract, understood by reasonable people, is for a vehicle to be delivered free of defect. The onus is on BMW to exercise "reasonable care" to ensure the contract is satisfied.
Suggestion is for letter to be drafted by steptronic-affected parties and signed by all concerned. (This will soon become a resale issue affecting all owners) Strength in numbers is the only way to ensure positive resolution.
Interested to read others views.
Thanks
and thanks Larry E for the detailed status report
Steptronic National backorder??
This continues to get more ridiculous by the day. Allowing BMWNA to deal with this problem on a "case by case basis" is in their best only. Companies such as BMW have a planned protocol to handle customer satisfaction and quality control. We must understand that a calculation was made. Loss to gain ratio was determined. BMWNA knowingly continued to deliver a defective product. It is not simply a case of "do not worry it is under warranty". The contract, understood by reasonable people, is for a vehicle to be delivered free of defect. The onus is on BMW to exercise "reasonable care" to ensure the contract is satisfied.
Suggestion is for letter to be drafted by steptronic-affected parties and signed by all concerned. (This will soon become a resale issue affecting all owners) Strength in numbers is the only way to ensure positive resolution.
Interested to read others views.
Thanks
and thanks Larry E for the detailed status report
Update on my new transmission
I drove the car home 3 weeks ago after the transmission swap and it has been garaged ever since. I wanted to check out the new transmission, so I decided to drive the BMW today, snow has melted and the most of the crap on the road is gone.
I figured that after 3 weeks, it would drain down if it was going to be a problem. Everything worked fine this morning - no hesitation at all. BUT it will be 6 months until I am convinced it is fixed.
By the way, the battery was plenty strong after 3 weeks of no use. I mention this because of a few threads here concerning dead batteries. My car DID get the climate control software update back in December.
I drove the car home 3 weeks ago after the transmission swap and it has been garaged ever since. I wanted to check out the new transmission, so I decided to drive the BMW today, snow has melted and the most of the crap on the road is gone.
I figured that after 3 weeks, it would drain down if it was going to be a problem. Everything worked fine this morning - no hesitation at all. BUT it will be 6 months until I am convinced it is fixed.
By the way, the battery was plenty strong after 3 weeks of no use. I mention this because of a few threads here concerning dead batteries. My car DID get the climate control software update back in December.
Just came back from the dealer. 1500 miles on a 2004 325i. It's the classic transmission slip (as defined by everyone here), and they said they'd call me in a few days when the replacement transmission comes in.
They said that the BMW regional guy was out and mentioned that now they're leaving it up to the technician to determine if a replacement is needed, no questions asked...
They said that the BMW regional guy was out and mentioned that now they're leaving it up to the technician to determine if a replacement is needed, no questions asked...
Ok, as of Monday is officially 4 weeks since I took the car in and they claimed to have ordered the transmission. And their fix of putting it in M1 did not work, infact it slips worse in M1, the engine revs to 5-6k and then engaged at 4k and the tires whined..... I still think the best way to do it is to put it in d and wait about 10 seconds before letting off the break. So dont bother with BMW's stupid advice about putting it in M1 or sportmode or whatever...
Just bought a 325XI last Feb 1 and noticed the cold start transmission slip last week. Called the dealer and checked my car yesterday. They look at it and said that they need to replace the Transmission. There seems to be a defect in the hydraulics internally that is causing the cold start slippage. They said that my new transmission will be available by Monday.
I think there are already a Technical service bulletin (TSB) out already for this problem, If this is a manufacturing defect, they should have issue a recall already. My SA really knows what to asked when i reported the problem and so when the car goes in for service they immediatelly checked and issue an order for a new tranny right away.
I think there are already a Technical service bulletin (TSB) out already for this problem, If this is a manufacturing defect, they should have issue a recall already. My SA really knows what to asked when i reported the problem and so when the car goes in for service they immediatelly checked and issue an order for a new tranny right away.