[Tony_s]

Hello bimmer enthusiasts,

About two weeks ago i got a "transmission malfunction, drive moderately" light, was driving the car normally and felt a few rough shifts before the light came on. this is the first time this has happen to me and i must admit im a little scared after reading a few post. since then i have been afraid to push the car. i have only been driving moderately and not really exceeding 3000RPM. i have looked under the car and found a gear oil leak (after removing the "stiffening plate"). i have owned the car for about two and a half years and this is my first leak. the leak never made it to the "puddle under the car" phase so its either a slow leak or maybe even an occasional leak because most of it was dried up and only lightly wet around the axle shafts . the car has a little over 70k miles, its an automatic and i have tuned/flashed the transmission to the ALPINA B3 operating software. i also have a JB4 chip on the car. i drive this car fairly normal the majority of the time and just get my occasional adrenaline rushes here and there. the car is a 2011 335i Xdrive M package. i will provide a picture shortly.

WHAT SHOULD I DO? i dont want to get stuck with a hole in my wallet.

(if there is any information that i have not included but is vital, please let me know and i will add it. )

i hope i am not the only person dealing with this issue.

any and all suggestions welcomed.

Thank You.

Respectfully

Tony

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by Tony_s

Hello bimmer enthusiasts,

About two weeks ago i got a "transmission malfunction, drive moderately" light, was driving the car normally and felt a few rough shifts before the light came on. this is the first time this has happen to me and i must admit im a little scared after reading a few post. since then i have been afraid to push the car. i have only been driving moderately and not really exceeding 3000RPM. i have looked under the car and found a gear oil leak (after removing the "stiffening plate"). i have owned the car for about two and a half years and this is my first leak. the leak never made it to the "puddle under the car" phase so its either a slow leak or maybe even an occasional leak because most of it was dried up and only lightly wet around the axle shafts . the car has a little over 70k miles, its an automatic and i have tuned/flashed the transmission to the ALPINA B3 operating software. i also have a JB4 chip on the car. i drive this car fairly normal the majority of the time and just get my occasional adrenaline rushes here and there. the car is a 2011 335i Xdrive M package. i will provide a picture shortly.

WHAT SHOULD I DO? i dont want to get stuck with a hole in my wallet.

(if there is any information that i have not included but is vital, please let me know and i will add it. )

i hope i am not the only person dealing with this issue.

any and all suggestions welcomed.

Thank You.

Respectfully

Tony

First thing: get the codes read.
Second thing: get rid of the Alpina flash, get rid of the JB4. This *may* preserve lifetime of the transmission.
Third thing: replace the ATF fluid - you're at 70K where most people paying attention to intervals replace it, and you're having problems, so spending $750 that might preserve the tranny is probably worth it.

Do you know the phrase: "Pay to Play"? You have been playing, but now you have to pay for the pleasure you got. You may well end having to replace the transmission (new or used, both are expensive.)

I doubt that the leak has anything to do with the problem.

[frenchi]

most probably your mechatronic sleeve was leaking and now your transmission is low on liquid...replace pan, sleeve and liquid and try again..hope was not damaged...avoid driving the car like that

[Tony_s]

Originally Posted by floydarogers

First thing: get the codes read.
Second thing: get rid of the Alpina flash, get rid of the JB4. This *may* preserve lifetime of the transmission.
Third thing: replace the ATF fluid - you're at 70K where most people paying attention to intervals replace it, and you're having problems, so spending $750 that might preserve the tranny is probably worth it.

Do you know the phrase: "Pay to Play"? You have been playing, but now you have to pay for the pleasure you got. You may well end having to replace the transmission (new or used, both are expensive.)

I doubt that the leak has anything to do with the problem.

hello floydarogers and thank you for your suggestion. i have attempted to read the codes using the JB4 cpu interface and no codes were found. i do have a shop that i normally take my car to but id like to wait to see the warning come up again (but hope to never see it again) before taking it in to have him read the codes (i also think they might not be saved anymore). i am highly considering the getting rid of the ALPINA B3 but i need to find a person or shop that can perform the reflash for a reasonable price (i dont even know what is fair). I am a little more attached to the JB4 and will only part with it if it is proven to be the culprit. i do understand that the JB4 is causing the engine to put out more power and torque (above the intended power that the transmission was possibly designed for) but it is a common add-on to 335i's and doubt that it is directly related.

i also am considering the transmission tune up. i will look into parts price and time.

Thank you.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by frenchi

most probably your mechatronic sleeve was leaking and now your transmission is low on liquid...replace pan, sleeve and liquid and try again..hope was not damaged...avoid driving the car like that

This right there...

Common problem..


I'm getting my tranny fluid/filter/pan changed this weekend.. They will be doing the mechatronic sleeve as well just as a preventative.. The sleeve is a $20 part.

[Tony_s]

Here are two pics of the error message

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by Tony_s

...
I am a little more attached to the JB4 and will only part with it if it is proven to be the culprit. i do understand that the JB4 is causing the engine to put out more power and torque (above the intended power that the transmission was possibly designed for) but it is a common add-on to 335i's and doubt that it is directly related.

The ZF6hp21 is designed to handle 332 ft-lbs. Note what BMW's MPPK increases torque to 332 ft-lbs. Note that my 335d, generating 425 ft-lbs, has a 6hp26, which is able to handle around 443 ft-lbs. Ask yourself why BMW didn't use the cheaper 6hp21 in the 335d and why they pegged their performance tune for 332.

This subject has been discussed multiple time, multiple forums. While everyone acknowledges that they're living on the edge, people continue to juice their 335i's. Are you aware of MTBF and other statistical methods of studying these failure events? Ask yourself: what happens if *MY* transmission is on the lower bounds of the failure curve.

That's why I urged you to remove both tunes, DME and TCP. Your transmission is weak - that's why it has failed a bit - and continuing to stress it with the jb4 is only going to continue to over-stress it and cause an eventual early failure.

[SFO-APK]

So this happened to me 2-3 times. 70K miles over 7.5 years. Mostly city and easy 60 miles / day commute stuff.

Live in NorCal (SF area) and have to tell you, stopping on any road here is putting your family's life at risk with the drivers (I'm being nice here ). So I'm posting as when this warning comes on our 2011 335D, you lose ALL power from the engine to the gearbox... like driving in neutral. So you have to pull over as the transmission is disengaged and it's bloody dangerous getting over to the shoulder. You turn the car off / on and it resets. I'm donating the car, not spending $12K on this car, it's been a REAL money sink in the past few years and I want folks to avoid BMWs going forward as the service (local and the HQ) was crappy on this. Done with BMW after 30+ years driving them.

Here is my message from San Rafael BMW service lead (who charged me $250 for the pleasure of telling me I needed to spend $12K for a new Transmission):

"...hooked up battery charger 13.1v used the ISID to run short test - received faults - 004F85 "EGA ratio clutch e" inspected clutch values -- found clutch A to be at 388mbar -- and clutch e to be at 750mbar -- these are both way too high -- showing extensive slipping happing in the transmission -- ran through test plan S2460_GSOEA_Tu -- and performed a fluid balancing -- found the fluid to be at the correctly level and slightly burnt smelling -- there is internal transmission damage and the vehicle needs as transmission -- submitted info only case to BMW tech support and they confirmed that the vehicle needs a transmission....".

70K miles, 7.5 years, moderate driving. Just sick and done with BMW....

[Nismo G]

EDIT: Just noticed the original thread is from 2016 haha for the person who just revived this thread, i hope below helps.

Regardless of what the actual cause is, you have a fluid leak that is obvious. It also sounds like you know it is transmission fluid, which i'm assuming you have determined by the smell? Take it somewhere to have the leak diagnosed and I bet you resolve the problem. The post below may help a little...

http://www.zftranspart.com/images/custom/mecha.pdf
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1318219

Like a couple others have said, the mechatronic seems to be something that comes up regularly. I in all honesty can't recall, but i'm pretty sure mine was replaced 20k miles ago when the car was still under warranty. However, i can look at my receipts to confirm. At the time, the car had 65-70k miles on it.