Sliptronic Fixed !!!

Boston Bimmer · Mar 17, 2004

I have a 2004 330xi that slipped in first gear since almost day one when cold. Put into D, engine rpms go up, no movement from car for 10 -15 seconds. WELL - new transmission put in 24 hours ago, and the temperature around here has been about 20-25f. NO further issues with slippage, put the car in D and it took off without hesitation.

All I can say is that the dealer made all the difference in my satisfaction - Here is the email I sent to BMW NA and their response.

-----Original Message-----

To: ProductQuestions@bmwusa.com
Subject: Products and Services

Thank you for responding to my email. The service manager called me yesterday to discuss my concerns. I have no doubt that an attempt to fix my automobile will occur, and I have no
complaints with the service department at my dealership.

My issues are:
1) Why was a brand new vehicle sold to me with a known major defect ?
It is common knowledge via the BMW car enthusiast forums that this
problem has existed for some time with the defective parts coming from
a GM factory in France.

2) What are BMW NA plans to keep me as a customer ?

Boston Bimmer

(THEIR REPLY)

Dear Boston Bimmer:

Please be assured that the quality of our vehicles receives our
constant attention. Even in its most basic form, the motor vehicle of today
is a very complex unit. When the various comfort, convenience and
safety options are considered, the complexity increases. Despite our best
efforts, a problem may occur with a particular vehicle or component.

We work on a continual basis to improve our services. BMW is committed
to automotive excellence and superior service. We are here to work
with you and your BMW center. I have contacted your Service
Manager , who is to contact you and expedite this
repair issue. If you should experience future issues with your vehicle,
we will address them according to the New Vehicle Limited Warranty
guidelines.

Sincerely,
Customer Relations and Services
Representative
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SO
You can decide what you want about all this, all I can say is that I didn't get any BS from my dealer, and they know that customer service is all that separates the high end car dealers in the last few years
I can only hope others have a good ending to their troubles......

[?|]

donmbmw · Mar 17, 2004

Really glad to hear about your great news. I hope my experience is as satisfactory as yours

Kirby · Mar 17, 2004

Thanks for posting your experiences. It's good to hear that everything went smoothly for you; my dealer experience was good, just like yours. It's a shame that all dealers can't provide that level of service.

Dimarc · Mar 17, 2004

Sliptronic fixed

Glad you had the fix; mine should be coming soon. One question though-- For all the hassle you went through with your brand new vehicle, how did BMW address your question: 2) What are BMW NA plans to keep me as a customer? Looks like they fixed a problem they should have already done BEFORE they sold you the vehicle. Especially since they knew there was a problem in the first place. Is this really satisfaction

jarelj · Mar 17, 2004

My 330xi got the new tranny on Monday, and it appears to be 100% perfect now. I haven't driven it myself yet, as I'm out of town, but my wife is extremely happy with it. It's really "her" car, and she's the one that noticed the slipping, which sent me out on an internet search that led me to this forum. She says the slipping upon backing out of our garage and putting the car in D is completely gone and it now "takes off like lightning". I printed off the TIS, took it to the service advisor, and they replaced the tranny within a week. No hassle at all. I guess I have a good dealer compared to what some others have reported.

I will weigh in on the overall issue that many people are all riled up about with my opinion: Many have characterized this issue as a "safety" issue. I believe that BMWNA does NOT view this as a safety issue, they view it as a "nuissance" issue, which is why there has been no recall issued. My SA told me that they had gotten "several" X5's back with this issue, but mine was the first 3-series reported to them with the issue. I'd guess that many people have the issue and don't really notice, or have the issue and are just living with it, since it's not really a "safety" issue. Sure, someone could come up with some remote scenario where there may be some aspect of a safety concern with the slipping, but any reasonable owner (in my opinion) would consider this a nuissance and not a serious safety concern. Sure, it would be nice if BMWNA would step up to the plate (from our perspective) and issue a recall, but it will cost them a huge amount of $, and they'd be replacing a large number of trannys for people who would otherwise have never even known there was a problem, or cared. Again, since they don't veiw this as a "safety" issue, there's no reason for them to do so. I'll be extremely surprised if there is ever a recall issued for this, I'd guess they're just going to fix the cars for owners who notice the problem, and be done with it. It's a reasonable business decision for them, regardless of what the self-righteous among us might think. Again, just my humble opinion...... I'm still thrilled to own a Beemer, and we've really enjoyed the car so far. I can definitely see buying another some day.

theBMWenthusiast · Mar 17, 2004

glad that all the issues are giong good for you guys now...at least the BMW centers and BMW do alot to keep their customers...unlike some other car manufacturers....

Boston Bimmer · Mar 18, 2004

BMW NA basically told me to speak with my dealership - they did not acknowledge any responsibility. for a known major defect in a brand new car. As a person who runs a large company, i can tell you that this is the worst form of public relations, particularly for a company trying to increase market share.

IT is a danger to drive with the transmission slipping - as evidenced by one episode where i pulled out of a parking lot onto a busy street, and the car went NOWHERE as I put the pedal down and traffic was bearing down on me. Very scary.

All I can say is that it is fixed now

[:)]

jcrosi · Mar 18, 2004

To be Owner - What autos

I am a soon to be owner of a 2004 325I, Steptronic...........Waiting on delivery. Are the 325I affected by this problem?

Kirby · Mar 18, 2004

2004 325i was affected. The TSB lists dates of manufacture that were affected and provides replacement of the transmission. I assume that BMW would not continue to put bad transmissions in cars being built today. That would be foolish and a PR nightmare if they did. If yours is a new factory order, I think it's reasonable to assume it will be OK. If you are taking delivery off the lot, it might be another story depending on when it was built.

gizzy · Mar 22, 2004

Purchased my 325xi off the lot at the begining of this month and it turned out to have the sliptronic. It's too bad that I did not look at the message boards to see what kind of problems the 3 series was having. I would have waited and checked manufacturing dates on the cars that I was looking at.

Anyway, my new "improved" transmission is on air order and should be in my car Tue or Wed. I was very pleased with my dealer though this as they were very forthcoming about the TSB and assured me that they were ordering a new transmission as opposed to a remanufactured transmission for my car.

Besides, I've been having a blast driving the 330xi that the gave me for a loner.

LarryE · Mar 22, 2004

gizzy said:

1. Good to see that at least one dealer is being upfront about this.
2. What was your build/manufacturing date?
3. Don't be fooled. There are no "new" replacement trannys. They are all rebuilt/remans. Your dealer is just trying to placate you. I went through the same thing. Discovered with 1500 miles on my car. Insisted on a new tranny and not a reman. Dealer said don't worry, it will be new. Tranny was replaced, and on repair receipt was written "REMAN". They fessed up after the repair was completed.

Basically, there are no "new" ones, but what I was told about the rebuilt ones is that they internally have all new parts ... it's only the shell/casing that is used from the "old" one. Not sure I believe them, but frankly, I didn't have a choice. No matter how much I yelled and screamed for a "new" one, they placated me by promising me it would be a new one and then replaced with a rebuilt.

Boston Bimmer · Mar 22, 2004

One good side effect to all this - althought the car had plenty of zip before, with the "new" transmission i feel that the shifts are faster and it drops down to a lower gear faster than before. Other threads elsewhere have noted the same

cdotger · Mar 22, 2004

Boston Bimmer, The performance enhancement that you descrive might be due to the software upgrade they probably gave you when you got the new trans. I noticed a perf diff also after the software upgrade.

gizzy · Mar 22, 2004

LarryE

The manufacturing date was 11/03.

The dealer just gave me a call to let me know the transmission has been backordered and will be another 3-4 days.

LarryE · Mar 22, 2004

gizzy said:

This is helpful information to others. So we can see that once again, even though this car was sold just recently, it was built back in 11/03. Still supports the contention/assumption that the problem was corrected sometime in the December '03 timeframe.

996C2Cab · Mar 23, 2004

I am picking up my '04 325cia this evening from the dealer in which this car is being bought off the lot. The dealer told me that this car has a pre-price increase MSRP, so I am thinking that it may be manufactured with the defective tranny. I inquired about the defective tranny and the dealer said that this is a RARE occurance (not on this board). I can cancel my purchase before signing the papers or take a chance with this car. What should I do? I like the color/options of this car...

LarryE · Mar 24, 2004

996C2Cab said:

First thing is the check the build date (on inside driver's side door of car) and the tranny's country of manufacture (on sticker). If build date is prior to 1/1/04 and tranny is manufactured in France, likelihood is higher that you have the bad tranny (although not certain).

Then ... it's up to you. There are others on this board who refused to accept their cars and cancelled the order cause the dealer couldn't guarantee anything. That is your decision.

jarelj · Mar 24, 2004

Just tell them before you sign the papers, you want to keep it overnight on an extended test drive. Just about every dealer will let you do that if you're serious about a car. The you can check it out yourself on cold start in the morning. If it does slip, then get them to fix it before you buy it. Or just buy it, see if it slips, and if so take the TSB to the service department and have them order you a new tansmission. No biggie. [;)]

LarryE · Mar 24, 2004

jarelj said:

Only trouble is that his dealer already told him his options: "I can cancel my purchase before signing the papers or take a chance with this car".

jarelj · Mar 24, 2004

LarryE said:

I didn't read that to mean that those were the options the dealer gave, I assumed that's what 996C2Cab feels his options are. Either way, if you have a check dangling on a stick in front of the dealer, I'm sure there are more options. They're not likely to let a sale disappear due to this issue.

Sliptronic Fixed !!!

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