Gearbox problem on 2002 BMW 735i

adamr

adamr

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ok so I bought a 2002 BMW 735i everything was fine driving home and then all of a sudden it gave me a transmission failsafe warning. BMW says it's a valve body circuitory fault and needs to be replaced at R55k! .... So anyone know anyone in the gearbox trade that can lend assistance! It is the current shape 7. ... There is no local car forum. Sucks :(
 
All I know is that nobody, but nobody, other than BMW can replace an automatic gearbox. I had a new 2000 318i automatic, and loved it until in early 2006 at approximately 124 000 km the gear changing became almost violent.

I was quoted just over R34 000 for a new gearbox, so I thought I would try and get someone to put in a reconditioned box for a lot less. Well, after two attempts (one backyard mechanic and one gearbox specialist) and having the car off the road for the rest of the year I eventually sold it "as is" to cut my losses.

The problem was that no-one new exactly which gearbox and which controller to put in, and BMW was no help. I should have taken the BMW quote straightaway and saved myself a lot of gray hairs.
 
Don't believe everything BMW tell you. I had a 530d a while back, they sometimes misdiagnose the problem and replace working parts on your vehicle.

Is the car still running? What happens when you engage a gear?
 
the dealership is BMW Alberante... and thanks guys .... after doing some of my own research i found out that this car requires a special AGM type battery that is not the usual lead acid battery ... at the moment the car is running off a normal lead acid battery (cause this is what I could get after the other one died) and I feel the dealer should test with an original battery from a 7 series BMW which they appear to refuse to do ... I will go there tomorrow and see what can be done ... for now I aint blaming the dealer or anything ... but if they don't adhere to my wants as a customer I will take the matter up further ...

in any event every other person I have spoken to has laughed when i mentioned replacing a valve body on a 7 series BMW and in their experience it has never happened ...
so lets see
 
Last edited:
Velenoso said:
Don't believe everything BMW tell you. I had a 530d a while back, they sometimes misdiagnose the problem and replace working parts on your vehicle.

Is the car still running? What happens when you engage a gear?
Click to expand...

the car does run yes ... it just a failsafe program coming on that is not allowing the car to select any gear, it is stuck in park ...
 
spellcheck said:
All I know is that nobody, but nobody, other than BMW can replace an automatic gearbox. I had a new 2000 318i automatic, and loved it until in early 2006 at approximately 124 000 km the gear changing became almost violent.

I was quoted just over R34 000 for a new gearbox, so I thought I would try and get someone to put in a reconditioned box for a lot less. Well, after two attempts (one backyard mechanic and one gearbox specialist) and having the car off the road for the rest of the year I eventually sold it "as is" to cut my losses.

The problem was that no-one new exactly which gearbox and which controller to put in, and BMW was no help. I should have taken the BMW quote straightaway and saved myself a lot of gray hairs.
Click to expand...

Bull<rap.
I knew somebody who worked for BMW dealers, and they outsource all their gearbox work. They just add 50% onto the invoice they get from the gearbox people and make you pay for it.
Ask around some more, try and find out where BMW is getting their quote from.
ALOT of companies (not only car dealers) work this way.
 
I have a 328i (E36) auto, and last year the gearbox gave up on me (light came on, car was restricted to 2nd-3rd). I went to BMW, and they looked at me as if I was a mad-man, and quoted something like 35k to replace the gearbox with a lead time of around 2 months to get it here from Japan.

I ended up jumping through a lot of hoops, until I found out about a place called Martins Motor Sport in JHb CBD. They fixed the thing (for a not so small amount - 10k) but it is still better than the BMW option. If you are interested, i can give you their contact details. They specialise in BMW's.
 
changed the battery and registered it with the power module of the car ... R2800 later and???? ...nothing ... ****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... :(
 
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