[sploo]

I’ve got a 2013 F31 330d with the sport auto transmission (UK car) and earlier in the year it went in for the EGR recall (though it wasn’t showing any signs of problems at the time).

Inevitably, the car sat in a freezing field for over a month before actually getting the cooler done.

After getting the car back, gear shifts didn't feel quite right. A day or so later I rolled down to a junction (foot off the throttle, car moving slowly but not completely stopped) then gently pressed the throttle to continue. There was a pause of nearly a second, then a big jerk and the car lurched forward.

From then onwards, pretty much every gear shift has been like a learner driver in a stick shift with poor clutch control (hesitant and jerky).

I couldn't get a courtesy car for a few weeks from the dealer so had to wait. By that time it’d settled down a bit, but was still pretty bad.

The dealer thought that the EGR valve (not the bit that was replaced) may have adapted to opening wide to cope with a clogged EGR cooler (the bit that was replaced), and was therefore making the engine behaviour odd. They reset "all the adaptive stuff" on the car, and did spend a good bit of time under the hood checking the area around the EGR. They said it wasn’t showing any fault codes.

Immediately after getting the car back it was much better, but then a couple of days later it was back to jerky gear shifts (probably worse than before).

The dealer is now mooting whether it's "the clutch plates in the transmission". Apparently when they wear they can result in jerky changes. Obviously that's an expensive job.

The car is worse when cold - usually getting a bit better after 15 minutes of running. Shifts aren’t so bad under moderate throttle - it’s more noticeable when driving gently (or getting jerky downshifts when off throttle).

Going up hills, the kickdown is often sluggish (and late to start); then jerks as it finally decides to do the shift.

Oddly, if I shift with the paddles it's usually much smoother; though it's still jerky if I just put the box into sport mode and let it change automatically.

70k miles of fairly gentle use (mostly cruising on motorways [freeways]) doesn't sound like it should be killing a gearbox, so, could anyone offer any other suggestions of what I should try (or ask the dealer to try)… other than nausea pills!

[M2Cmtl]

My 2014 328d had pretty brutal shifts sometimes...from new I would notice it especially on cold days (Canada...) my 2017 330i is so much smoother...

[Jim E.]

Have them reset tranny adaptations first before they think of ripping it apart.

[sploo]

Originally Posted by Jim E.

Have them reset tranny adaptations first before they think of ripping it apart.

I assume by "all the adaptive stuff" they did reset the tranny. Certainly everything was OK for a couple of days; before going wonky again.

I have seen instructions for how to do it yourself (some sequence of pressing the brake), but I don't think it did anything.

[sploo]

A bit of research on the ZF gearbox indicates that ZF recommend a fluid change between 80k and 120k Kilometres (50k-75k miles). Given the car's done over 70k I suspect that might not be a bad idea.

I've found a few references to others that have experienced the same issue of shifts being smooth for a couple of days after the adaptive settings are reset, but a fluid change seemed to properly clear the problems. Worth doing for the few hundred £ I guess (rather than the few thousand £ it apparently costs for having the clutches changed).

[scoss]

Originally Posted by sploo

A bit of research on the ZF gearbox indicates that ZF recommend a fluid change between 80k and 120k Kilometres (50k-75k miles). Given the car's done over 70k I suspect that might not be a bad idea.

I've found a few references to others that have experienced the same issue of shifts being smooth for a couple of days after the adaptive settings are reset, but a fluid change seemed to properly clear the problems. Worth doing for the few hundred £ I guess (rather than the few thousand £ it apparently costs for having the clutches changed).

How did you get on? I’ve just had my EGR cooler replaced under the recall and I’ve noticed a jerking slow down from 3 to 2. Only noticed the other day.

[sploo]

Originally Posted by scoss

How did you get on? I’ve just had my EGR cooler replaced under the recall and I’ve noticed a jerking slow down from 3 to 2. Only noticed the other day.

I got the "1087.298.365 Parts Kit, automatic transmission oil change" kit from autodoc and had a local garage do the job. They also reset all the adaptive "stuff" related to the gearbox.

Initially it wasn't great to be honest, but after a couple of weeks I needed to do a long motorway journey and that really seemed to help. From then on it's been pretty good. The difficulty is - now that I'm a bit sensitive to it - I might be noticing jerky shifts far more than I would have done before the problems, but the fact the gearbox has effectively disappeared into the background again I guess means it must be OK.

Certainly from looking into the details of the ZF box I think it's probably a good idea to do the fluid and filter change at their recommended interval if you plan on keeping the car as I'm sure it's probably good for the gearbox lifetime, and it wasn't hugely expensive.

PS That said, I see the kit is at ~£250 on the autodoc website now; I got it for £179, so that's quite a jump. Still worth it I think though.

[scoss]

Originally Posted by sploo

I got the "1087.298.365 Parts Kit, automatic transmission oil change" kit from autodoc and had a local garage do the job. They also reset all the adaptive "stuff" related to the gearbox.

Initially it wasn't great to be honest, but after a couple of weeks I needed to do a long motorway journey and that really seemed to help. From then on it's been pretty good. The difficulty is - now that I'm a bit sensitive to it - I might be noticing jerky shifts far more than I would have done before the problems, but the fact the gearbox has effectively disappeared into the background again I guess means it must be OK.

Certainly from looking into the details of the ZF box I think it's probably a good idea to do the fluid and filter change at their recommended interval if you plan on keeping the car as I'm sure it's probably good for the gearbox lifetime, and it wasn't hugely expensive.

PS That said, I see the kit is at ~£250 on the autodoc website now; I got it for £179, so that's quite a jump. Still worth it I think though.

Ok thanks so it wasn’t EGR valve related then? I’ve got mine booked for a diagnostic in a few weeks at BMW. cars done 51k and has been driving fine until
this week. I’m totally amazed how one day it’s fine and then suddenly changes!

[sploo]

Originally Posted by scoss

Ok thanks so it wasn’t EGR valve related then? I’ve got mine booked for a diagnostic in a few weeks at BMW. cars done 51k and has been driving fine until
this week. I’m totally amazed how one day it’s fine and then suddenly changes!

Indirectly, in my case.

I understand that the gearbox has sensors that will adjust the shifting based on the condition of the transmission fluid, but there's also adaptive "learning" that adjust shifts to your driving style (where the ZF and BMW systems overlap I don't know).

My car was one of the many that ended up sitting in a field for weeks due to lack of EGR parts. That may have affected the adaptive learning, and had the gearbox sitting unused for ages (perhaps crud in the transmission settling?). The few times it was driven, it was (based on the dash cam footage) done so somewhat "spiritedly" by the staff at the dealership. Nothing unprofessional, but perhaps a bit more poke than I'd give my own car from cold - especially having sat for a while.

Difficult to pin down cause and effect of course, but a smooth gearbox went in and a jerky one came out!

The garage that used the ZF kit told me that there are plates within the gearbox that open and close, and when the fluid gets old (and likely with tiny metal particles) it can affect the shifts. The kit has enough fluid to do a flush and then a refill, and they thought the gearbox may have sorted itself after the long motorway drive because there might have been a bit of debris/crud stuck somewhere that the flush didn't get - and the long drive finally pushed it through (and got it trapped in the filter). Makes sense to me, though I haven't seen any official confirmation that's how it works.

[scoss]

Since my initial post I’ve noticed the issue happens when in sport mode. Normal D is fine. So the issue of going from 3rd to 2nd could just be the engine breaking effect? As I said this is the only change down in sport that I really notice. Car drives/feels fine at all other times.

I’m thinking that in sports mode the engine/map is primed for keeping high revs etc for fast shifting. When slowing done (in sport mode) would it be normal to feel the car slow down when going from 3rd to 2nd?

[scoss]

Originally Posted by sploo

Indirectly, in my case.

I understand that the gearbox has sensors that will adjust the shifting based on the condition of the transmission fluid, but there's also adaptive "learning" that adjust shifts to your driving style (where the ZF and BMW systems overlap I don't know).

My car was one of the many that ended up sitting in a field for weeks due to lack of EGR parts. That may have affected the adaptive learning, and had the gearbox sitting unused for ages (perhaps crud in the transmission settling?). The few times it was driven, it was (based on the dash cam footage) done so somewhat "spiritedly" by the staff at the dealership. Nothing unprofessional, but perhaps a bit more poke than I'd give my own car from cold - especially having sat for a while.

Difficult to pin down cause and effect of course, but a smooth gearbox went in and a jerky one came out!

The garage that used the ZF kit told me that there are plates within the gearbox that open and close, and when the fluid gets old (and likely with tiny metal particles) it can affect the shifts. The kit has enough fluid to do a flush and then a refill, and they thought the gearbox may have sorted itself after the long motorway drive because there might have been a bit of debris/crud stuck somewhere that the flush didn't get - and the long drive finally pushed it through (and got it trapped in the filter). Makes sense to me, though I haven't seen any official confirmation that's how it works.

How’s its going? I’ve got the issue when in D now. Still really notice when gently slowing down and going from 3-2. Throttle can be hesitant too sometimes. I know you changed your oil. But did BMW ever consider changing the ERG valve? Considering your car was fine prior to ERG cooler replacement.

[andrewpaul]

Originally Posted by sploo

I’ve got a 2013 F31 330d with the sport auto transmission (UK car) and earlier in the year it went in for the EGR recall (though it wasn’t showing any signs of problems at the time).

Inevitably, the car sat in a freezing field for over a month before actually getting the cooler done.

After getting the car back, gear shifts didn't feel quite right. A day or so later I rolled down to a junction (foot off the throttle, car moving slowly but not completely stopped) then gently pressed the throttle to continue. There was a pause of nearly a second, then a big jerk and the car lurched forward.

From then onwards, pretty much every gear shift has been like a learner driver in a stick shift with poor clutch control (hesitant and jerky).

I couldn't get a courtesy car for a few weeks from the dealer so had to wait. By that time it’d settled down a bit, but was still pretty bad.

The dealer thought that the EGR valve (not the bit that was replaced) may have adapted to opening wide to cope with a clogged EGR cooler (the bit that was replaced), and was therefore making the engine behaviour odd. They reset "all the adaptive stuff" on the car, and did spend a good bit of time under the hood checking the area around the EGR. They said it wasn’t showing any fault codes.

Immediately after getting the car back it was much better, but then a couple of days later it was back to jerky gear shifts (probably worse than before).

The dealer is now mooting whether it's "the clutch plates in the transmission". Apparently when they wear they can result in jerky changes. Obviously that's an expensive job.

The car is worse when cold - usually getting a bit better after 15 minutes of running. Shifts aren’t so bad under moderate throttle - it’s more noticeable when driving gently (or getting jerky downshifts when off throttle).

Going up hills, the kickdown is often sluggish (and late to start); then jerks as it finally decides to do the shift.

Oddly, if I shift with the paddles it's usually much smoother; though it's still jerky if I just put the box into sport mode and let it change automatically.

70k miles of fairly gentle use (mostly cruising on motorways [freeways]) doesn't sound like it should be killing a gearbox, so, could anyone offer any other suggestions of what I should try (or ask the dealer to try)… other than nausea pills!

Hi sploo did you manage to get to the root of your problems? I have exactly the same problems for a few months now with my 8HP and it’s driving me crazy - BMW staff can’t fix it. Thanks mate!