Transmission is experiencing rough shifting?

Tiny
MGURULE16
  • MEMBER
  • 2007 BMW 530XI
  • 3.0L
  • 6 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 156,872 MILES
A few months back my car threw a code that said, shift solenoid from 5 to 4 was malfunctioning. I stopped the car, turned it back on, and the code went away. I didn’t think too much of it, because the code never came back, and I didn’t hear, see, feel, or smell anything. However, yesterday I took the car over a mountain pass, and my car started to shift rough. The code also popped up again. We assumed that my transmission was low on fluid, so it overheated when I was taking it up the mountain. The car runs beautifully if I drive faster, but if I am just driving in town, it shifts a bit rough now.
Wednesday, July 5th, 2023 AT 5:40 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,182 POSTS
Hi,

When you checked the fluid, was it low? Also, was it clean?

As far as the solenoid, that sounds like a downshift solenoid. So, if the vehicle needs to downshift, it may not happen. That could cause the transmission to overheat and can cause damage to the clutches.

Do me a favor. Let me know what code you found when you checked. Also, if possible, scan the can-bus. CAN stands for controller area network.

Basically, the different modules are tied together via a few wires. This type of scan will retrieve codes regardless of the module storing them.

Here is a link that explains how it's done:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/can-scan-controller-area-network-easy

Let me know.

Joe
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Thursday, July 6th, 2023 AT 9:41 PM

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