[BimmerBri]

Good day folks,
I just got my 07 328i e92 (automatic trans.) W/sport package back from the body shop. (someone hit my car while it was parked) they replaced the right front fender, front and rear bumper cover, right front headlight and right wheel. The body work is top notch-props to Autometric here in Mi. The problem is that as soon as I drove away from the shop, I instinctively went to shift into "DS" mode and the car stayed in regular drive mode. I was able to shift through gears manually although after a few seconds it reverts back to regular automatic drive mode?
Has anyone ever experienced anything of this nature?
It has a year left under CPO and it will be at the dealer first am come Monday, just curious for any feedback or if anyone else has ever run into this sort of thing.
Thanks...B

[AddictedToBavarian]

There were a couple threads about a wire under the shift knob coming loose and not letting you go into DS mode, however it sounds like you were able to go into DS mode for a bit, but then it reverted back. Weird. Did you try just restarting your car?

[BimmerBri]

Yes I have restarted the car many times now. I can shift up or down M1-M2-M3-M2 etc. although it never seems to engage Sport/mode (no change in revs or shift points) and if I hold the gear for more than 15 seconds it reverts back to the"D" setting. Very strange indeed and why would this suddenly occur after a bumper and headlight replacement?
I hope it is something as simple as a loose wire, could you elaborate on that scenario per chance?

[BimmerBri]

Anyone here knowledgable enough to direct me to the prior thread discussing the loose wire that 328xi mentioned? I have tried a search but came up empty. I would like to try and give the dealer some direction if possible.
Thanks in advance.

[mike-y]

Try here:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=447680&page=2

here's a pic of mine when it happened

[BimmerBri]

Thank you Mike, did you have the same problem?

[mike-y]

yep. DS mode did not work. I never tried manually shifting it though. But as you can see, it was the white wire that broke. This is a fairly common issue with these cars. I fixed it by splicing in a little extra wire, and taping it back up.

The dealer will probably want to replace that whole assembly though, which isn't cheap.

[AddictedToBavarian]

Sorry, you didn't quote me so I never knew you were waiting for a reply.

[Alpineweiss e90]

I had a similar issue but I could shift into DS and M mode just fine. The only thing that was wrong was my car would throw a transmission error.

Turns out it was the microswitch in the gear shift lever selector....which is the same issue with the broken wire above. I guess mine was just about to go. Replaced under CPO btw....just paid the deductible.

[BimmerBri]

Originally Posted by 328xi0wner

Sorry, you didn't quote me so I never knew you were waiting for a reply.

No worries mate,
I appreciate the feedback. As it turns out you were exactly right in your analysis. Fortunately I have close to a year left on my CPO warranty so there was no cost for the repair. I talked the dealer out of the $50 deductible and got to put about 500 miles on a brand new 2012 528i the dealer gave me to use as a loaner. That new turbo 4 is not too shabby, faster than my straight six and I averaged close to 26 MPG in sport mode.
Next up, a set of Michelin pilot super sports.
Thanks all for the feedback.
-BB

[328iwagon]

Originally Posted by BimmerBri

Anyone here knowledgable enough to direct me to the prior thread discussing the loose wire that 328xi mentioned? I have tried a search but came up empty. I would like to try and give the dealer some direction if possible.
Thanks in advance.

Hi BimmerBri,

i know this is very old thread but i would like to know if you finally repair this issue, i am having the same problem, not ds mode, i can do it manually but after driven a little bit, it goes back to d mode by it self

thank you

juan

[Ramramo]

Hello Guys i have a similar problem on my 328i 2007. i replaced my GM tranmission (automatic) with the same GM 6l45 transmission, but that transmission was taken from a 328i 2009 year model car. everything works great except the ds mode. it engages in DS mode and works fine for 40-50 seconds when i start the car and then it reverts itself in D mode, it does the same on each start. i changed my normal steering wheel with a paddle shifter one, because the 2009 328i had a paddle shifter, it did not fix. then i checked the wires in the shift assembly and all the wires seems okay, then i tried a new shift assembly from the 2009 328i model, still did not fix. I would really appreciate if anyone could help. i've been trying to fix this for 3 weeks already.

P.S sorry for non excellent english. Hope you can understand the situation.

[RMerheb]

Hello im having the same problem here. No sports mode and the gear shifter doesnt light up. I disassembled the steptronic and there werent loose cables or cut cables. Need help asappp!!!!

[crashoverride]

Originally Posted by RMerheb

Hello im having the same problem here. No sports mode and the gear shifter doesnt light up. I disassembled the steptronic and there werent loose cables or cut cables. Need help asappp!!!!

The wire problem is quite common. It's literally a wire thinner than a dry piece of Angel Hair pasta. The above photo of the wire is quite bigger than I remember. It's the way the grouping of wires is taped/secured. Bumping over causing a wire to separate. I think my broken wire was green. Can be hard to find. I didn't see the first time I looked.


Give it another look. Repairing the broken wire is free. Dealership even if it's a broken wire will want to replace at close to a thousand plus.

[KhaosKid]

Originally Posted by RMerheb

Hello im having the same problem here. No sports mode and the gear shifter doesnt light up. I disassembled the steptronic and there werent loose cables or cut cables. Need help asappp!!!!

I can almost guarantee that this issue is caused by the wires that come out of the gear shifter assembly completely breaking in half, OR the insulation breaking and allowing the wires to touch and short themselves out.

I am certain it is the former scenario. To fix it, you have to remove the centre console trim to reveal the automatic gear shifter assembly.

Trace the largest connector that you unplugged while removing the centre console (I believe it is blue and has 6 pins/wires) until you find where the 6 wires disappear where the enter inside of the gear shift assembly. You will have to remove the wires from the clips that they are wound around, and unwind the tape holding the wires together to be able to see where they are cut/damaged properly.

For me, the wires were broken about 1-2 inches away from where the wires enter the shifter assembly. I used a soldering iron and heat shrink to repair the wires. Only 2 wires were completely cut, but the rest were all partially cut.

That’s it. If you go to the dealership and they notice the shifter lights not working, they will offer to repair it, but they only replace the entire shifter assembly. Thats a huge waste of parts when re-connecting the wires is so much easier.

When putting it all back together, do not wind the wires the same as they were from the factory. Avoid the two 90 degree turns, that along with shifting into DS mode is what puts the most strain on the wires.

There is a thread on these forums detailing this procees, aswell as on Youtube.

[PhaceN52]

Originally Posted by RMerheb

Hello im having the same problem here. No sports mode and the gear shifter doesnt light up. I disassembled the steptronic and there werent loose cables or cut cables. Need help asappp!!!!

Try to follow and expose the wires close to the shifter, at first mine too looked like it was ok, then upon further inspection the problem was obviously there

[KhaosKid]

Originally Posted by PhaceN52

Try to follow and expose the wires close to the shifter, at first mine too looked like it was ok, then upon further inspection the problem was obviously there

Great picture for reference dude.


Mine were damaged in the same exact area, give or take an inch.

And you are so right on removing the tape. It hides the cut wires. The tape is super sticky and leaves residue on the wire and on your fingers unfortunately.

You can find the kind of tape BMW uses for interior wiring harnesses by searching
“Car wiring harness tape” or something similar on Amazon.

Edit: I repaired mine using the same method as you. Solder and heat shrink. And then gave the wires a nice path without those two 90 degree turns.

Personally, I removed the gear shift assembly from the car so that I could do the work at my desk with a good posture and unafraid of accidentally burning something with the soldering iron. Just requires removing the one nut that holds the shifting cable to the transmission (under the car), the other bolts and nuts are in the centre console area.

Haven’t had any issues for the past 4 years and I highly doubt I ever will.

Save your automatic gear shift assemblies guys!!!
Don’t put them in a land fill when they are so easy to fix!

[RMerheb]

Originally Posted by PhaceN52

Try to follow and expose the wires close to the shifter, at first mine too looked like it was ok, then upon further inspection the problem was obviously there

i tried that and there were no loose wires it might be the wires are short circuited i tried to retrofit a shifter knob and it short circuited the wires i saw smoke coming from the cable that is connected to the “prnd” indicators is there any fix?

[PhaceN52]

Originally Posted by RMerheb

i tried that and there were no loose wires it might be the wires are short circuited i tried to retrofit a shifter knob and it short circuited the wires i saw smoke coming from the cable that is connected to the “prnd” indicators is there any fix?

That was before your ds mode went out?

[RMerheb]

Originally Posted by PhaceN52

That was before your ds mode went out?

yes sports mode was working fine i saw smoke coming from the connector that connects to the prnd then tried sports mode and manual mode and got nothing and then “prnd” doesnt even light up anymore

[RMerheb]

Originally Posted by KhaosKid

I can almost guarantee that this issue is caused by the wires that come out of the gear shifter assembly completely breaking in half, OR the insulation breaking and allowing the wires to touch and short themselves out.

I am certain it is the former scenario. To fix it, you have to remove the centre console trim to reveal the automatic gear shifter assembly.

Trace the largest connector that you unplugged while removing the centre console (I believe it is blue and has 6 pins/wires) until you find where the 6 wires disappear where the enter inside of the gear shift assembly. You will have to remove the wires from the clips that they are wound around, and unwind the tape holding the wires together to be able to see where they are cut/damaged properly.

For me, the wires were broken about 1-2 inches away from where the wires enter the shifter assembly. I used a soldering iron and heat shrink to repair the wires. Only 2 wires were completely cut, but the rest were all partially cut.

That’s it. If you go to the dealership and they notice the shifter lights not working, they will offer to repair it, but they only replace the entire shifter assembly. Thats a huge waste of parts when re-connecting the wires is so much easier.

When putting it all back together, do not wind the wires the same as they were from the factory. Avoid the two 90 degree turns, that along with shifting into DS mode is what puts the most strain on the wires.

There is a thread on these forums detailing this procees, aswell as on Youtube.

sorry for the late reply apparently the wires short circuited how can i fix it?

[PhaceN52]

Originally Posted by RMerheb

sorry for the late reply apparently the wires short circuited how can i fix it?

I'm afraid you should change the shifter assembly