okay guys. i need some help here.

about a week ago, my transmission decided to fart and pop up the dreaded "trans program" message. there is no doubt something is wrong with the car, but how should i go about figuring it out?

Ammco wants 180 bucks to diagnos. and my usual mechanic (who i dont like too much and is a friend of my fathers) wants to do a whole transmissin rebuild.

i need some suggestions on what to do.


...and does anybody know some good S.F. shops to get a second opinion?

I hate to say this, but what about taking it to the dealer to diagnose? I used to get those warnings on my 750 and I could just shut off the motor and restart and everything was fine. I've heard it could just be the speed sensor on the rear or some other connections. Unfortunately, I don't know the cause of that problem as I no longer have the car.

I've read about that prob in BimmerCar mag. They said that the majority of the time, the culprit is a leak in the lines near the trans cooler. It lets air? in the system and triggers the fault message. If you trans isn't slipping, grinding or clunking then I don't see a need to do a rebuild. Anyway after the rebuild if that message pops up, then you won't be happy I bet.

I agree with beast, if i were you, i'd spend some dinero to get it checked by the actual dealer, if it does indeed turn out to be a broken tranny they'll let you use that diagnostic fee towards the repair (which will be crazy money at bmw, so that may be of no use).

I wouldn't trust anyone but a certified bmw tech to diagnose a tranny problem.

my transmission is actually slipping. and shifting at weird points.


....something weird to ponder about. when he opened up one of the bolts on the tranmission pan, the fluid was a little brown, yuck. so mayb i do need a new transmission.
my appointment with bmw is on the 14th, and its 22 miles away. bmw of sf didnt have a open slot until november.

i may take it to www.ericfcs.com to have them look at it. I dont know where else to go. :bawling



edit: thanks for your input so far.

Read here:
http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/trouble/TransProgram.asp

and here:
http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=6836

And then go call Kirt Koeller.

read the bmwe34 long time ago. didnt help. ill call or email kirt tonight.

Read here:
http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/trouble/TransProgram.asp

and here:
http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=6836

And then go call Kirt Koeller.

dude you probably saved this guy some mula, great links!

read the bmwe34 long time ago. didnt help. ill call or email kirt tonight.

doh :(

doh :(


hehe, i would be happy right now if bmwe34 helped me =). i hope this kirk guy is good, but i dont know what to say. wouldnt it be weird if i just called out of the blue?

hehe, i would be happy right now if bmwe34 helped me =). i hope this kirk guy is good, but i dont know what to say. wouldnt it be weird if i just called out of the blue?

NOt really that post is from today, call and say you have tranny probs. Do it now. My brother had a 1995 540, had 58k when the tranny went out on him.... sigh.

i am going to call him after school. hopefully they are still open...

58k...are you serious? what happened? seems awuflly early.

i am going to call him after school. hopefully they are still open...

58k...are you serious? what happened? seems awuflly early.

He had owned it for about 2 months, so i dont think it was anything he did, they are shitty GM tranny's, i sure hope my 98 doesn't have the same tranny.

Yes, seriously, call Kirt. He's the best, and it's what he does. I don't know for sure if he can help on your tranny, but it's worth a shot.

I just got my 325 is back from the dealer. I have 147700 miles on it and didn,t know the previous service history on the car. But what was happening was that the car would slip around turns going fast and when it was cold also didn't shift the way I thought it should. Anyway I took some advise and did,nt change the tranny fluid just yet and invested in going to the dealer, spent $180.00 for them to check the ATF. They said that there was hardly any fluid in my trannsmision, they installed it and it runs great..Also they said to can back in a week so they could check for leaks... they installed some die in the tranny that would shoe up for leaks with a black light... The car runs great Hope this helped you :D

i am going to see what my mechanic says today first. he is suppose to hook it up to transmission scanner. haha, and i cant find a phone to use and call that 800 number here at school :shifty

okay, well....its been confirmed. i need to rebuild. he wants 2600 and i have another place at 2400. those prices seem reasonable?

does anybody know what code 100 is for the transmission?