Automatic Transmission Park (P) Position Trouble - BimmerFest

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obstacle1 O After 10 days of owning my brand new 2012 F10 528i xDrive with less than 700 miles on the odometer, I noticed my transmission Park P position is no longer different than Neutral N other than the fact that the shifter and the dashboard says P. Park basically did not work at all. I am sure a lot of you that drive automatics have the habit of just pushing the P button (the car will do that for you if you switch the ignition off and open the door anyway) and thinking the transmission is locked and the car is not going anywhere. It is like putting a manual transmission car in 1st or reverse after parking. Not in my case. I had parked on a hill and as I was getting out noticed the car rolling forward and I slammed the breaks in panic. After a couple of more tests, I noticed that when parked, as the car starts rolling up or down a hill, the dashboard switches from a solid P to a flashing N and then back to P when I stop the car. Needless to say, I ended up taking it to a BMW dealer. I chose the one closest to my house but not where I bought it (due to pricing and colors and options I bought it elsewhere). The dealer close to my house wouldn't give me a loaner because I did not buy my car there so I had to drive my car to the dealer I bought from (a little further) so I could get a loaner for a repair process that I knew would take a while. During this frustrating ordeal, I did talk to BMW of North America and got confirmation that loaners are a convenience the dealer provides (total bummer). The dealer had to get help from BMW technical support and in the end, they ended up having to replace my entire transmission which had to be taken off the assembly line in Germany (talk about just in time manufacturing!) and shipped to the US. I suspect they wanted to take my transmission to tear it apart for investigation since this is potentially serious issue (image cars rolling around and hitting people and other cars). Anyway, this whole process took about 2.5 weeks and now my car is fine. There was one little glitch with my satellite radio caused by the reprogramming of the car for the new transmission which required another day at the dealer but that's minor in the grand scheme of things. After all this, every time I park, I wonder if the car will be where I left it and I'm developing a habit of using the emergency brake all the time. From what the dealer told me, my case was the only one BMW was aware of but I thought I put it out here so if anybody else searches for it, they'll be aware of this issue. #1 · May 9, 2012 After 10 days of owning my brand new 2012 F10 528i xDrive with less than 700 miles on the odometer, I noticed my transmission Park P position is no longer different than Neutral N other than the fact that the shifter and the dashboard says P. Park basically did not work at all. I am sure a lot of you that drive automatics have the habit of just pushing the P button (the car will do that for you if you switch the ignition off and open the door anyway) and thinking the transmission is locked and the car is not going anywhere. It is like putting a manual transmission car in 1st or reverse after parking. Not in my case. I had parked on a hill and as I was getting out noticed the car rolling forward and I slammed the breaks in panic. After a couple of more tests, I noticed that when parked, as the car starts rolling up or down a hill, the dashboard switches from a solid P to a flashing N and then back to P when I stop the car. Needless to say, I ended up taking it to a BMW dealer. I chose the one closest to my house but not where I bought it (due to pricing and colors and options I bought it elsewhere). The dealer close to my house wouldn't give me a loaner because I did not buy my car there so I had to drive my car to the dealer I bought from (a little further) so I could get a loaner for a repair process that I knew would take a while. During this frustrating ordeal, I did talk to BMW of North America and got confirmation that loaners are a convenience the dealer provides (total bummer). The dealer had to get help from BMW technical support and in the end, they ended up having to replace my entire transmission which had to be taken off the assembly line in Germany (talk about just in time manufacturing!) and shipped to the US. I suspect they wanted to take my transmission to tear it apart for investigation since this is potentially serious issue (image cars rolling around and hitting people and other cars). Anyway, this whole process took about 2.5 weeks and now my car is fine. There was one little glitch with my satellite radio caused by the reprogramming of the car for the new transmission which required another day at the dealer but that's minor in the grand scheme of things. After all this, every time I park, I wonder if the car will be where I left it and I'm developing a habit of using the emergency brake all the time. From what the dealer told me, my case was the only one BMW was aware of but I thought I put it out here so if anybody else searches for it, they'll be aware of this issue. See less See more Sort by Oldest first Oldest first Newest first Most reactions #2 · May 9, 2012 I'm confused. You don't have to move the shift lever to put auto tranny in park, you just push the p button. Once in park you push the button on side forward for reverse, pull back part way for neutral, and pull back all the way for drive. Not sure what your issue is. #3 · May 9, 2012 Car is on warranty, right? Go to the stealer then. And anyway, it is a good habit to use 'emergency' brake (in my country we call it 'parking brake' and this is for a reason). #4 · May 9, 2012 Yep, you just push the P button. And if you are on a hill the car rolls as if it was in neutral if you are on an incline. That why it is scary. #5 · May 9, 2012 I'm more confused by the responses than the post. Do ya'll think BMW would have put in a new transmission if the guy just didn't know how to put it in Park? I admit the post was a little confusing at first, but reading it through it's pretty obvious the car had a problem holding reverse. #8 · May 10, 2012 Seriously. I think the first two posters didn't read the OP's post... Show more replies 0 Reply #6 · May 9, 2012 FWIW the 8 speed transmission is used not just by BMW but by a slew of other manufacturers. It is not a BMW-specific part (though the software is probably specific to every make and model, maybe even every market). Statistically, you have to expect a certain percentae of any man made part to be defective (though it certainly sucks when you are the "lucky guy" with the defective one). If you are a "glass half full" type, the good news here is that the OP discovered his problem without anyone getting injured by a runaway BMW. I am sure there is at least one ambulance chaser who is reading this and salivating about his next class action case, though. OP, thanks for posting this. Let us know how satisfied you are with the resolution. Both the way BMW corporate treated you, and also the individual dealer. #9 · May 10, 2012

quackbury said: FWIW the 8 speed transmission is used not just by BMW but by a slew of other manufacturers. It is not a BMW-specific part (though the software is probably specific to every make and model, maybe even every market).. Click to expand...

Specifically, it is made by ZF and used in quite a number of cars and marques. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZF_8HP_transmission 0 Reply #7 · May 10, 2012 I'm honestly not a fan on the electronic emergency brake. I wish there was a nice lever you could pull. Ah well.... to the future. Insert Quotes Post Reply

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