Help! I'm about to freak out! I'm starting to have what appears to be a transmission problem with my '97 528I. The shifting on the car has deteriorated in a matter of a day. When the car is in drive and starting from a stop it's as if the car is starting in second gear. Also, the indicator light that shows "D" to let you know the car is in drive is not on. Actually, the light is only coming on for Neutral "N" and 3rd "S 3" and 1st "S 1". It doesn't show when the car is in park, reverse or drive. Now, it doesn't show any of the indicators. The transmission warning light comes on and off intermitently. I just bought the car last month, hence the reason for freaking out.

I'm fairly new to the bimmer world as this is my first one last month. It has a few performance upgrades, Bilstein shocks, H&R Springs, aftermarket(not sure which) cold air cone intake, M5 aerodynamic kit. I wasn't told that it had a chip/software upgrade but I've come to the conclusion that it does because the screw on cap to the 20-pin diagnostic port says something to the effect of the car is equipped with performance software and not to run an "EPROM" check on the ECU without contacting Dinan first.

Sorry for the long winded post but I wanted to make sure I gave all the details. So, does anyone have any ideas what the issue is or has anyone had a similar experience? How can I tell if their is a performance chip in the car as that is a whole new world to me as well? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will be calling the dealer I bought the car from tomorrow. Good thing I got an extended warranty with the car......

Thanks.
Angel

Although no one responded, I figured I let you know what the dealer has told me. The mechanic did a diagnostic check and there was a default code for the selector lever. The order is in for the part and it cost $270, is that about the right cost for that part. The owner wasn't around so I still don't know if he is going to try to stiff me with the bill. I'm just happy it's not anything major, at least for now.

Just out of curiosity how may miles does you car have on it?

The car has 65,800 miles.

Latest update, if anyone is interested. Since I've taken the car to the dealer, I have yet to duplicate the problem. I'm happy it did occur while I was at the dealer. The car has been driving just fine since then. We'll see what happens in the next couple of days as I'm still waiting to here from the dealer as to who's going to pay for the repair...

Although no one responded, I figured I let you know what the dealer has told me. The mechanic did a diagnostic check and there was a default code for the selector lever. The order is in for the part and it cost $270, is that about the right cost for that part. The owner wasn't around so I still don't know if he is going to try to stiff me with the bill. I'm just happy it's not anything major, at least for now.

That would have been my best guess, I was playing around with my gears to figure out if the signal to the dash came from the lever or from the computer... Couldn't really tell, but it appeared that there was no delay, meaning that the lever was probably the culprit.