[sahil.propel]

Hi,
I own a BMW 520D (Mfr - 2012). I have been facing a lot of issues with the car and somehow BMW is not able to solve them. The latest issue is with the drivetrain. While driving normally, even at gentle acceleration, the car sometimes shows a message - Drivetrain malfunction, drive at low speeds. It comes on for a few seconds and goes away and the car drives normally. I showed the problem to the BMW dealer (Krishna Automobiles, Ludhiana) and they said that it may be due to the air filter being choked. I got the air filters replaced but the problem did not go away. Last week, on my way to Delhi the car drove normally for about 200Kms with the Drivetrain error appearing and disappearing repeatedly. But consequently, the message showed up and did not go away. I lost power on the vehicle. It did not go beyond 2000 RPM and top speed of about 100 KMPH. The gears were changing but the power peaked out at about 2000 RPM. The engine was making a weird growling noise which was totally abnormal. Once I got home, I parked the car overnight and the next day the error was gone and the car was driving normally.

I have become increasingly frustrated with this car. For the record, I had unusual vibrations in the car for which I paid 2.5L to get the fuel injectors changed. On some occasions there is extreme vibrations and engine knocking for about 30 seconds at startup and BMW has no clue whatsoever about the problem. The car is pulling towards the left after repeated cycles of balancing and alignment and BMW has no clue what is causing the problem.

Can someone please suggest or if someone has experienced any of the above problems with their vehicle, please let me know how to get it repaired.

[Turbanator]

While driving normally, even at gentle acceleration, the car sometimes shows a message - Drivetrain malfunction, drive at low speeds. It comes on for a few seconds and goes away and the car drives normally

I had experienced this once about 2 Years back on my 530 , but after restart it went on own . Are you having this problem intermittently or did this happened only once in which case you can probably simply ignore .

I had unusual vibrations in the car for which I paid 2.5L to get the fuel injectors changed.

I own a BMW 520D (Mfr - 2012)

Why will you pay for injectors - this must be covered under warranty , how much is ODO reading on your car , don't you have a BSI pack ?

The car is pulling towards the left after repeated cycles of balancing and alignment and BMW has no clue what is causing the problem.

Yes , even mine pulls maybe something to do how roads are laid . Have you changed Alloys / Tires ?

[Maverick5490]

Hi Sahil, is this by any chance a Used BMW? The transmission error is a major one. Try to get the software flashed, if it resolves then would recommend to sell the vehicle, else the next step would be replacing the transmission which is in the range on 7 lacs.

As pointed out by Turbanator, if its 2012 manufactured, the repairs should be covered under warranty.

[Sahil]

Damn, this is quite a coincidence. We share the same name and the same problem on the same car :

Although my 520d (e60)is a 2009 model, this weekend the car was coming from Pune to Mumbai and on the highway the transmission malfunction message, drive slow showed up. I wasn't in the car but the driver said he felt the car at one point was raising the rpm higher than his throttle input. He stopped the car and restarted it, the error went away and never came back nor was there any rpm rising issue anymore.
Once the car reached Bombay I sent it to the workshop but error code never showed back up during the trial and car was running perfectly. However the codes were found in the system and deleted for the time being.
I have continued using the car for the past 2 days without any problem whatsoever, I even played around with different transmission modes like sport and manual a few times without an issue.

@Maverick- What could be the issue here? My car is out of warranty so I am hoping this isn't going to land up being a part replacement job. The car has been sparingly used, just done 34000kms in 5 years so don't see why such a major part should fail.

[Maverick5490]

Originally Posted by Sahil

@Maverick- What could be the issue here? My car is out of warranty so I am hoping this isn't going to land up being a part replacement job. The car has been sparingly used, just done 34000kms in 5 years so don't see why such a major part should fail.

The stop and go driving profile in City driving kills the transmissions. A software reset re-learns the Gearbox adaptations and the errors are cleared. If you start feeling a jerk when the gears change under normal driving conditions, pretty much means the transmission is kaput. So it really has to do more with driving profiles.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

The stop and go driving profile in City driving kills the transmissions. A software reset re-learns the Gearbox adaptations and the errors are cleared. If you start feeling a jerk when the gears change under normal driving conditions, pretty much means the transmission is kaput. So it really has to do more with driving profiles.

There is no jerking whatsoever.

There is a trick to reset the gearbox which is found on all BMW forums:

- Insert the key. Press the start stop button twice without pressing the brake so all the lights on the speedo turn on, but not the engine.

- Press the accelerator all the way down for 30 seconds.

- Then start the car by pressing the brake or turn it off completely.

This resets the transmission to re-learn your driving type etc. Do you think this would do the job instead of sending the car to the workshop for a software reset since the codes have already been cleared.

Have decided to use the car until the weekend myself to observe any reoccurrence of the problem.

[Maverick5490]

Originally Posted by Sahil

This resets the transmission to re-learn your driving type etc. Do you think this would do the job instead of sending the car to the workshop for a software reset since the codes have already been cleared.

Have decided to use the car until the weekend myself to observe any reoccurrence of the problem.

This would only clear the adaptations, but the software in the Transmission control unit would play a bigger role.

Nonetheless try the Acc pedal method once and see, if the warning does not appear then no worries.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by sahil.propel

Hi,
I own a BMW 520D (Mfr - 2012). I have been facing a lot of issues with the car and somehow BMW is not able to solve them.
===========
Can someone please suggest or if someone has experienced any of the above problems with their vehicle, please let me know how to get it repaired.

Exactly the same issue we faced, first time around Navnit motors BLR took us for a ride, replaced the GB control module which costs about 1.8 Lakhs. Worked fine for about 4000 kms/couple of months before the car went into limp mode. This time around it was handled by KUN BMW of Coimbatore, but then we had escalated really well with BMW and the technicians supposedly assisted from factory.

Apparently the issue needed a complete software upgrade costing Rs 169, yes hundred and sixty nine and car ran absolutely issueless till 52000 kms which is about 20k plus kms.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Exactly the same issue we faced, first time around Navnit motors BLR took us for a ride, replaced the GB control module which costs about 1.8 Lakhs. Worked fine for about 4000 kms/couple of months before the car went into limp mode. This time around it was handled by KUN BMW of Coimbatore, but then we had escalated really well with BMW and the technicians supposedly assisted from factory.

Apparently the issue needed a complete software upgrade costing Rs 169, yes hundred and sixty nine and car ran absolutely issueless till 52000 kms which is about 20k plus kms.

Attachment 1284453

That is appalling! Did they return the 1.8 lakhs they charged for basically nothing.

[sahil.propel]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Yes , even mine pulls maybe something to do how roads are laid . Have you changed Alloys / Tires ?

Changed the tyres. But even after trying with original tyres from BMW agency the problem does not go away.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

That is appalling! Did they return the 1.8 lakhs they charged for basically nothing.

Nope it was under maintenance package, so we also never bothered. But yes dealer made a killing out of it.

[Turbanator]

Changed the tyres. But even after trying with original tyres from BMW agency the problem does not go away.

I got mine checked today again & made it point to see balancing & alignment reports while they were working . Will update you once I drive this in evening . My driver picked this from workshop and says its better now . You can meet Mr. Gurpreet who heads showroom and escalate the matter , normally these guys are helpful and try to solve issues .

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Apparently the issue needed a complete software upgrade costing Rs 169, yes hundred and sixty nine and car ran absolutely issueless till 52000 kms which is about 20k plus kms.

This seems like a logical and cheap quick fix. Thanks !

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

This would only clear the adaptations, but the software in the Transmission control unit would play a bigger role.

Nonetheless try the Acc pedal method once and see, if the warning does not appear then no worries.

Since the codes have now been deleted would Navnit be willing to update the transmission software based on no records of a fault? Is there a software name/type in particular that I should ask them to upgrade?

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Since the codes have now been deleted would Navnit be willing to update the transmission software based on no records of a fault? Is there a software name/type in particular that I should ask them to upgrade?

They just upgraded to the latest firmware available then. Apparently minor changes are pushed by factory regularly, typically these are to be done during service. But most often dealers hold it till you limp to the garage for obvious reasons i suppose.

In the whole process i had a long conversation with the KUN BMW Service manager, what he mentioned was rarely (less than 5%) there is a hardware glitch in these cars and all it needs is a software reboot. I will go by the theory since the car was trouble free till we sold it after about 1-1.5 years and 20k + kms.

[srishiva]

Reminds me of the joke which detailed what would happen to a car if it was made by Microsoft, how it would hang, would need a reboot etc ! Glad these guys are doing it by themselves :(