[vsberto]

Thanks for the update really glad you managed to sort this, were you also getting the error codes and/or Drivetrain warning and vehicle going into Limp Mode?

Thanks

Yes, i think the issue of BMW with AISIN automatic transmission is luck of ATF change.
BMW doesnt require to change it, but if you like you'r car and want to serve you long. I would recomment to all BMW and non-BMW owners to replaces al fluids and filters, even if it is not required by service interval.

I did replaced all fluids that i could, ATF, brake, antifreeze, haltex, rear diferential etc..

 

[beadlebodle]

a collective complaint for a handful of cars ? if there are more do you have supporting data ? this happens with all cars of all makes, some have serious issues and the whole lot are condemned, but nobody says anything about the thousands that dont have issues

To know the stats someone has to organise, thereby collecting the data; can't see BMW doing that for us. A handful is not necessarily unimportant e.g. if it represents a high proportion of a specific subset of cars. But it shouldn't be misused to condemn all BMWs, I agree.

 

[PAS593]

I had a BMW 2018 X1 with, the same issue (drivetrain error), after paying a £520 inspection fee, they said it was the gearbox issue, which requires 10k to be fixed. Need some advice here, it only has 44k, I can't afford to pay 10k for gearbox repair.

£520 inspection fee seems steep was that at a main dealer? A diagnostic check should be around £150-200 no more? Be worth getting a quote from a local gearbox specialist to change the ATF as Bruce suggested and also what vsberto has done? I am on booking mine in now as a last resort....

 

[PAS593]

To know the stats someone has to organise, thereby collecting the data; can't see BMW doing that for us. A handful is not necessarily unimportant e.g. if it represents a high proportion of a specific subset of cars. But it shouldn't be misused to condemn all BMWs, I agree.

Interestingly on this point VW lost a class action lawsuit against them in the US in relation to the VW Jetta 2018-202 with this same gearbox and all it took was 40 complaints and 3 customers to band together and the judge deemed that enough.

 

[kevin_1592]

I have a 2018 2.0D with the same issue at 37,000 miles. I'll try draining the fluid

 

[brucefraser12011962]

I have a 2018 2.0D with the same issue at 37,000 miles. I'll try draining the fluid

make sure you do it right, there is a procedure that must be followed or you could cause damage, but good luck i hope it works for you

 

[PAS593]

I have a 2018 2.0D with the same issue at 37,000 miles. I'll try draining the fluid

let us know how you get on, I have mine booked in at a local specialist on 9th Feb (fingers crossed)!!

 

[kevin_1592]

make sure you do it right, there is a procedure that must be followed or you could cause damage, but good luck i hope it works for you

Yes been watching videos on the how its done. was going to do the three flush process. Cheers

 

[brucefraser12011962]

Yes been watching videos on the how its done. was going to do the three flush process. Cheers

i ended doing 4 to get the ATF clean, but the old ATF was black, hopefully yours is not as bad

 

[ccf48]

Sept 2018 f48 X1 xdrive 18d. Between 24k and 28k miles it developed the same symptoms as many here - v.bad changes especially at low speeds and bang going into reverse. Fortunately I bought the vehicle from BMW last Jan 23 (@ 19k miles but no symptoms at that point) so it was still under BMW warranty in Nov 23 when I took it in. They immediately diagnosed it and replaced the gearbox - no question or quibbles - this particular dealer seemed very familiar with the issue! Expensive repair - apparently new gearbox alone was £13k +vat

 

[brucefraser12011962]

Sept 2018 f48 X1 xdrive 18d. Between 24k and 28k miles it developed the same symptoms as many here - v.bad changes especially at low speeds and bang going into reverse. Fortunately I bought the vehicle from BMW last Jan 23 (@ 19k miles but no symptoms at that point) so it was still under BMW warranty in Nov 23 when I took it in. They immediately diagnosed it and replaced the gearbox - no question or quibbles - this particular dealer seemed very familiar with the issue! Expensive repair - apparently new gearbox alone was £13k +vat

is this not the ZF box rather than the Aisin ?

 

[Johnnyroper]

That shape is built on same platform as the mini so has the aisin box, earlier x1 had zf

 

[Amarg]

dont flush, you need to do multiple drains and multiple refills as you can't drain the torque convertor without removing the gearbox, i found 4 drains and refills got the fluid spotless, it was black like diesel oil before! the final refill has to be done correctly though IE correct temp ETC, the reset is to tell the gearbox its had a fluid change and also reset the gearbox learning which adapts to the drivers style. i used: MANNOL 20L GM DEXRON VI 6 Automatic Transmission Fluid ATF Ford Mercon LV after many days of trying to find the correct spec, this is the same as Aisin recommended, you will use most of it if not all.
dont do a flush as the pressure could dislodge one or more O rings which would leave you needing a gearbox strip down, parts can be found [ believe it or not ! ] on many Chinese sites as most of the internals are Chinese so there are options not as scary as some would make you believe, it's just a shame you and others are in this situation, the Aisin gearbox IMO is excellent if treated right, many go for a lot of miles before having issues even without regular servicing, Volvo are also "filled for life " with the same gearbox......crazy !

I have got the same problem on a 2018 220d with 36k miles. where did you get the information for the correct procedure? could anyone recommend someone in the London area that could do it for me? my car is only displaying mild symptoms...

 

[brucefraser12011962]

it's pretty simple, just time consuming, you need to drain the gearbox then refill with the same amount of new fluid, do this at least 3 times [i did 4]until the fluid in the box is clean, you can't drain them fully without removing the gearbox because the torque converter holds a few litres, you have to run the engine and operate the gearbox in all positions to circulate the ATF, once done the correct level needs to be reached and this is done by running the gearbox to 40c to a max of 50c and removing the small level plug while the engine is running, if some fluid comes out the wait until it stops and replace the level plug, if nothing comes out then turn off engine and add a litre and try again etc, dont rely on the amount removed and replaced as this may have been wrong, you will need either a temp gun or diagnostics to get the temp measurements right and also will need to do a GB reset, sounds a lot but actually easy if you take your time

 

[Amarg]

Many thanks. did you drive the car or run the engine between the refills? or just refill and drain again? would still be great if i knew there was someone competent to do it. the regular mechanics won't touch a gearbox and the gearbox specialists just tell you it needs a full rebuild

 

[brucefraser12011962]

no the car should be stationery, level and up on stands/jacks, run the engine and operate the gearbox in all gears and neutral for a few minutes, all this does is mix the old ATF with the new, essentially watering down the old ATF with all the drains and refills, most recommend 3 refills but i felt better at 4. you will need 20l to do the job. your gearbox should have been done max 30,000.
look up images of your gearbox online and you will see the drain plug set up, also a sensor on the top of the box needs to be removed to refill
no idea why garages won't do this, as an ex breakdown patrol i have done this twice at the side of the road for Members,not easy but doable

 

[elipetey]

As mentioned by multiple users on the forum, it seems like there is a serious quality issue with these BMWs. I have a 220i Gran Tourer from 2016 with just over 110,000kms on it. Albeit a little more on the miles, I have followed BMW's exact guide on when to do maintenance (Oil change etc) and done most of the services with my local BMW dealership. However, the same issue with the AISIN 8 Speed Gearbox also occurred in my car. Out of nowhere the car started to drive in limp mode and all the gear shifts were messed up. It was so severe to a point where I was driving up a gentle slope of a parking garage and the car was unable to climb and rolled back until I slammed on the brakes. It nearly caused an accident as there were people walking near the slope when the car rolled back uncontrollably. Basically, the car is undrivable at this point as it can't even drive up a gentle slope without rolling back multiple times.

I had it checked with a 3rd party mechanic and its the same issue with the gearbox valve body control module that failed. An estimated cost to replace the entire gearbox assembly would cost over 10000 pounds! That's basically what the car is worth at the moment! Now I know that some might say a car with 110,000 kms is gonna have issues. Now I entirely agree on this point but a gearbox is basically one of the most crucial part of the car which in theory should't fail and need a complete replacement at just 7 years. That's just absurd in my opinion and it really speaks about the quality issues that BMWs have. Surely, a responsible user who followed BMW's exact guide on maintenance should have a car that is running perfectly fine at just 7 years. The thing that concerns me is the gearbox failed out of nowhere without warning which is a huge safety concern as I drive mostly around hilly areas, and I can't afford to have my car suddenly start rolling backwards and cause an accident!

If this issue with the gearbox was an isolated case, I would treat it as an unfortunate incident, but it does seem like its some sort of manufacturing defect or quality issue. I've read on another forum posted a few years back where 12-15 ppl also had the same issue with this exact AISIN gearbox. Their cars had a mileage ranging from 30K to 110K kms. They ended up sending a group exec complaint email to BMW AG citing each individual car's VIN number. What ended up happening is that each of the owners got a call from their respective local dealership whom offered to replace all their gearboxes completely for free. Corresponding to @PAS593's comment on drafting an exec level complaint email, I was wondering if you all would like to send a group email to BMW AG with all the infos about our cars and see what the HQ decides to do? I've contacted my local dealership and they also wouldn't budge, that's why I feel like if multiple people send an email citing the same issues with the gearbox, it could make the issue seem more like a manufacturing defect rather than an isolated case.

 

[symze01]

I feel your pain with this, and many others. I am off this morning to get the ATF changed in the BMW I am having issues with, I have also got a copy of the ISTA software to do the gearbox reset post fluid change. Some have had success with this so worth the few hundred quid to give it a try. Will report back. If you are handy Bruce has explained the process above which seems simple enough but I’d rather pay someone to do it and not have me balls it up!!! i have complained to BMW UK already and got nowhere, I now have a complaint in with the finance company, awaiting a response. I think a group complaint is the way forward if we can get enough of us.

 

[elipetey]

@symze01 thanks for the prompt response. I absolutely agree with your point on the group complaint. I had a mechanic look at changing the ATF but he suggested that I would most likely be a temporary fix. There is a slim chance that getting the ATF flushed would resolve the problem but that probability is around 10-20%. Although the cost for flushing the ATF is significantly less than getting a new gearbox, I've already invested a lot into maintenance for this car and being a BMW owner for over 21 years, I'm just fed up with the constantly decreasing quality that these cars are getting. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have bought this Gran Tourer when it first came out as it was a completely new platform and it was bound to have problems down the road. But hey, it is what it is and right now there's nothing I can do other than going forward with the group complaint.

 

[brucefraser12011962]

@symze01 thanks for the prompt response. I absolutely agree with your point on the group complaint. I had a mechanic look at changing the ATF but he suggested that I would most likely be a temporary fix. There is a slim chance that getting the ATF flushed would resolve the problem but that probability is around 10-20%. Although the cost for flushing the ATF is significantly less than getting a new gearbox, I've already invested a lot into maintenance for this car and being a BMW owner for over 21 years, I'm just fed up with the constantly decreasing quality that these cars are getting. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have bought this Gran Tourer when it first came out as it was a completely new platform and it was bound to have problems down the road. But hey, it is what it is and right now there's nothing I can do other than going forward with the group complaint.

you say the service have all been done, but do you realise this does not include transmission fluid change ? BMW and other Aisin users say they are filled for life and this IMO is the problem not the gearbox, it sounds like yours is way past help with a fluid change, but if it has been diagnosed as a valve body problem why not just get it changed? they are available, but i wont say where as i dont want the responsibility of telling everyone where incase it turns out not to be the issue or faulty ones are purchased etc, do a search and you will find them, the other alternative is a low mileage 2nd hand unit from the likes of ebay, they can be bought quite cheap, a couple of weeks ago one was on ebay UK with just 600+ miles for about 2000 pounds which is way better than BMW's quote, personally i would buy a valve body and try it, but thats just me and not advice, it's not good what you are going through and i feel for you, but it's not a general Gearbox issue, if it was BMW would do a recall, we have 3 BMW's in my household and 2 have just been recalled for EGR cooler replacement obviously free of charge, as said the issue in my opinion is the filled for life nonsense and it's not just Aisin gearboxes, it's also ZF's, manual gearboxes, differentials and transfer cases etc, usualy by the time there is a major issues the vehicles have changed hands and the warranty is out of date, but many many thousands go onto to do huge miles without apparent issues, if there was a major issues with Aisin, there would be more than a handful talking about it on forums, this does not help you i know and i think from BMW's perspective you are just cannon fodder for their dumb service requirements, to be honest even the engine oil service is twice what it should be, 10,000 miles or once a year is IMO what should happen, i do hope you get your car fixed, it would be good if you can let everyone know how you get on