the car is a 95' 540ia, 140,000mi, engine replaced under recall at 88,000mi. Friday i was driving, nothing hard, just normal driving, went up a hill where the speed limit drops from 55 to 40 for about a block, and i saw my rpms jumps about 500-700 and the car made a lot growl from the right bank like it was a miss, this happened a few times, always at speed, always in 5th gear, always going up hill, what am i looking at, i have been driving the car in S4, and if on the freeway when up to speed i put it in MD and i dont get any problems.

Motorwerks BMW (dealership) that did the engine said it might be a loose belt, they changed the fluid and filter about a month ago and didnt see anything to bad, i didnt know they had belts in the autos.

Anyone run into this before?

No, sorry.
Nice sig though.

not helping me at all there

Sounds like your torque converter locking and unlocking. Without going into serious detail it sounds like no big deal, don't worry about it. Check fluid level just to be on the safe side.

Sounds like your torque converter locking and unlocking. Without going into serious detail it sounds like no big deal, don't worry about it. Check fluid level just to be on the safe side.

im not very good with transmissions, but wouldnt that eventuly wear it out?

does it feel like its reluctant to downshift? like it wants to go into 4th but it doesnt? if so, I have experienced that w/ my 540ia.

Did your RPMs drop or increase?

Driving the car in S4 for very long is an exceedingly bad idea. The trans gets very, very hot. The next time you do it, touch the delector shaft, it will be very, very hot. Far hotter than if you left it in A D.

The trans as a whole is meant to operate almost exclusively in A D mode. I have found that operating it in any other mode for any time above 30 min will cause problems. The M mode, for example, puts a lot more stress on the torque converter than A D mode.

they will incresase it by about 700rpm, and latly i drive in AD up to freeway speed and then go to MD and it hold just fine

someone school me on these modes....

The terminology changed throughout production, but the theory is the same. People get confused by the wording, though.

The period electronically controlled transmissions have three modes: Automatic/Economy, Sport, and Manual/*. These cars use the two character alphanumeric display, directly next to the check control on the dash, to relay gear information to the driver. On factory manual cars the display is blank. The first character denotes the program, the second denotes the gear. Upon startup, early cars will show "EP" -- economy park. Most late cars will show "AP" -- automatic park. The transmission program switch next to the shifter generally changes the program (although the program can also be changed by gearshift position).

Generally, Economy/Automatic is suitable for all driving, and it's what the car should be in, pretty much all the time. Sport mode bumps up the shift points to take advantage of rev range and eliminates the top gear (overdrive and converter lockup). Where people often go wrong is in their understanding of Manual mode. It carries the same function as shifting an American car into L or 2 -- it holds the car in that gear. It is not meant to be used for sporty "manual shifting", it's not a manumatic. It's suitable for creeping along in traffic jams, snow/ice hazards (hence the *, snowflake, used to depict it on the switch in later cars) and climbing or descending hills. Starting from a dead stop in M1 (or M2) is the only way to get the car moving in manual mode without taxing the transmission.

The 5hp-30 valve body is the weakest point in the transmission. Having extra pressure on the poorly designed check balls isn't going to do it any good. I don't follow the OP's description, symptoms or diagnosis, but if it is an actual transmission issue, I'd first confirm that the correct fluid was used when it was changed (and that the unit is full), then I'd rebuild the valve body if the symptoms indicated needing it.

the shift colume has 4 forward modes, 2-3-4-D, the number modes put the car in sport mode (hold lower gear, higher rpms ect) using only upto the number gear selected, D uses all 5 gears, in a relaxed states, no high revs, typicly below 2K rpms and is just normal crising, but there is a swich next to the shift lever that lets you shift between auto and manuel modes, in M mode it locks it into the selected gear, in auto, well thats pretty stright forward, so if someone says S3, its sport mode using upto 3rd, MD is manual mode, locking in 5th

Why bother to put it in MD when it will do the same thing in AD, (albeit at a significantly lower operating pressure, extending the life of the trans) unless you goose it?

Why bother to put it in MD when it will do the same thing in AD, (albeit at a significantly lower operating pressure, extending the life of the trans) unless you goose it?

becuase it doesnt slip it MD

The value body was the biggest problem with these transmissions. A local BMW shop said there is a modification you can do to them so they aren't so weak.

What would that involve?

What would that involve?

Rebuilding the valve body with a larger reverse check ball. The stock one is too small and plastic. The ball shrinks with time, resulting in 1st and reverse being engaged at the same time. Very bad, as one might think.

ryan- If your trans is slipping, and the fluid is ok, you may have killed the clutch packs or the torque converter.

That process would take a bit of $$ wouldn't it?

That process would take a bit of $$ wouldn't it?

Well, yes and no. The kit to rebuild the valve body is pretty cheap, around 100$ or so. Not really shocking, considering it is a set of gaskets, springs, and the check balls. The problem is labor. There are a few FAQs detailing the process (including an excellent one on Shogun's site) but there is no denying it is pretty tricky.

You really don't have to worry one iota about it, though, as you use the 4HP-22, rather than the 5HP-30. THe 5HP-30 is the trans that had this problem. Your trans should be relatively trouble free, as long as you change the fluid regularly. (every 30-40k miles or so, to be conservative)

Xatlas is correct. The parts are not expensive. Its the labor involved with doing it. If you do it yourself then be careful and take your time.
My oil cooler on my tranny leaked water into my tranny destroying the torque converter and tranny.
The kit to rebuild the tranny was only $220. But then I discovered 2 of the 5 solenoids on the tranny went bad from the water. If I replaced the 2 solenoids it was $350, but the pack of 5 was $500. I went ahead and replaced all 5.
Rebuilt Torque converter $500
New Oil cooler $600
I also did the value body mod.
Then filter and gaskets and 19qts of fluid $290.
About $2000 total when all said and done. Most Shops quoted $4000 to do all the work and labor. Saved myself alot of money.

Woah that's a fair amount.
+1 for doing it yourself it seems.

Yeah, I thought it was going to be a simple rebuild. Didn't know the water had pretty much gotten into everything. The car drives like a dream now though.

Xatlas is correct. The parts are not expensive. Its the labor involved with doing it. If you do it yourself then be careful and take your time.
My oil cooler on my tranny leaked water into my tranny destroying the torque converter and tranny.
The kit to rebuild the tranny was only $220. But then I discovered 2 of the 5 solenoids on the tranny went bad from the water. If I replaced the 2 solenoids it was $350, but the pack of 5 was $500. I went ahead and replaced all 5.
Rebuilt Torque converter $500
New Oil cooler $600
I also did the value body mod.
Then filter and gaskets and 19qts of fluid $290.
About $2000 total when all said and done. Most Shops quoted $4000 to do all the work and labor. Saved myself alot of money.


Is there a write-up on the valve body mod anywhere? I've never heard of anyone doing one on a 4hp22, does it give firmer shifts?

if its really that much my car is simply going to get parted out and im getting something diffrent

Xatlas said above that there is a few write ups detailing the process. Also I think the mod was just for the 5hp30z tranny.

Ryan86242 if what is too expensive your going to part car? If rebuilding the tranny? Don't worry about the value body mod it isn't neccessary. There is many poeple on this forum running this tranny to 250k with no problems.