Automatic Transmission Problems of BMW M3 - part 1

1. I live in lancaster, CA and when the summer comes around it get's really hot really quick. My BMW M3 2003 which happens to be an smg keeps having problems with the transmission. It causes my transmission to function improperly by shifting to "neutral" automatically. Today, on my way back from work I almost got into an accident when my transmission change automatically from 3rd gear into neutral almost causing the vehicle behind me to crash onto my vehicle. 2. The smg light keeps turning on. I took it to the mechanic immediately and he told me it was the "hydraulic control unit (hcu) with pressure accumulator" which is causing this problem. I notice this problem happens usually during the hot weather since it also happened to me last year around the same time. My BMW mechanic told me this would cost me on or about $3,000 with parts and labor. I got online as soon as I got home to see if anyone else is having the same issues as I am, found out that there are many other BMW M3 smg e46 (2001-2006) owners that are going through the same problem. It's consequences are that since this is the only vehicle I have, I feel my life and the safety of others are at high risk if my transmission changes from any gear into neutral while operating the vehicle causing a major accident to occur. 3. Nothing has been done to correct this malfunction. From what I have read and discover online, BMW north America knows about this issue and wants all BMW M3 smg e46 owners to replace the entire hcu which as stated before cost on or about $3,000 with parts and labor. This will only fix the problem temporarily since the problem will persist as the weather continues being above 85-90 farenheit. I don't believe is fair for all BMW M3 smg e46 owners to pay such amount when clearly won't fix such problem. It would be fair if BMW took charge and recall this issue that is putting every citizen in danger due to their mistake in the hcu for all BMW M3 smg e46 vehicles.

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While normal driving through town/highway the car will slip into neutral and sease to accellerate. Which causes a high risk manuever to avoid traffic accidents.

See all problems of the 2005 BMW M3 🔎.

As you remember, we all spent about six months this past summer figuring out why our e46 M3 smg's were randomly throwing on the transmission check light and randomly cycling into neutral for aruond 6-15 seconds, displaying a constant "0" during an up or downshift in hot and/or humid weather. We determined after plenty of research and physically removing the smg's hydraulic control unit(hcu), and comparing hard-to-find blueprints of the unit what the malfunction was. The problem was the hcu's hydraulic fluid temperature sensor, which would go bad due to a thin-layered resistor inside the sensor that would microscopically bend and contract over time in avid heat/humidity situations, and send false data to the car's transmission control unit, giving it the illusion that the hcu was overheating and needed to be shut down. To this day, I am still puzzled as to why BMW would program the control module to do such a thing, knowing it would temporarily mame the car's ability to accelerate and/or maintain speed, and thus endanger it's occupants and the safety of other motorists around it.

To whom it may concern, I am very happy to see your organization taking an interest in this issue. It is a very dangerous problem with this vehicle that Bmwna is well aware of, but insists that it is "normal behavior" for my car/transmission. I brought the car into the dealer, and they were able to reproduce it, but they were told by BMW that this was "normal behavior. " the problem occurs when you slow down- like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have trouble figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the onset of power- up to 2-3 seconds. By this time, the driver is usually really digging into the throttle. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes invoking the anti-skip control. The danger in this behavior occurs when making a turn into on-coming traffic after slowing down to around 10-15 mph. After the turn, the car is positioned in the traffic lane, but you have no power to accelerate into the flow of traffic. The oncoming cars are now closing in on your car at a fast rate, and you're basically stuck. This situation is most pronounced in the "auto" mode of the dct transmission, but also occurs to a lesser degree while in the manual mode when you select second gear in preparation for the turn. It is also very repeatable in both modes. These problems started occurring after a previous recall on this transmission where the engine would stall under hard braking or not shift under hard braking. The recall fixed that problem, but introduced this problem, which occurs almost every day whereas the previous problem only occurred during a specific situation. Thank you for looking into this dangerous matter.

See all problems of the 2009 BMW M3 🔎.

I own a 2008 BMW M3 with dct transmission. When in auto mode and you slow down and then wish to accelerate the car hesitates and then lunges forward. This is going to cause a problem with losing control of the car or could crash into vehicle in front of you. Took it to the dealer and they said nothing is wrong. Their needs to be a recall on this. VIN number [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2008 BMW M3 🔎.

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6) dear [xxx], I am very happy to see your oranization taking an interest in this issue. It is a very dangerous problem with this vehicle that Bmwna is well aware of, but insists that it is "normal behavior" for my car/transmission. I brought the car into the dealer, and they were able to reproduce it, but they were told by BMW that this was "normal behavior. " the problem occurs when you slow down- like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have trouble figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the onset of power- up to 2-3 seconds. By this time, the driver is usually really digging into the throttle. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes invoking the anti-skip control. The danger in this behavior occurs when making a turn into on-coming traffic after slowing down to around 10-15 mph. After the turn, the car is positioned in the traffic lane, but you have no power to accelerate into the flow of traffic. The oncoming cars are now closing in on your car at a fast rate, and you're basically stuck. This situation is most pronounced in the "auto" mode of the dct transmission, but also occurs to a lesser degree while in the manual mode when you select second gear in preparation for the turn. It is also very repeatable in both modes. These problems started occuring after a previous recall on this transmission where the engine would stall under hard braking or not shift under hard braking. The recall fixed that problem, but introduced this problem, which occurs almost every day whereas the previous problem only occured during a specific situation. Thank you for looking into this dangerous matter.

I am very happy to see your organization taking an interest in this issue. It is a very dangerous problem with this vehicle that Bmwna is well aware of, but insists that it is "normal behavior" for my car/transmission. I brought the car into the dealer, and they were able to reproduce it, but they were told by BMW that this was "normal behavior. " the problem occurs when you slow down- like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have trouble figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the onset of power- up to 2-3 seconds. By this time, the driver is usually really digging into the throttle. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes invoking the anti-skip control. The danger in this behavior occurs when making a turn into on-coming traffic after slowing down to around 10-15 mph. After the turn, the car is positioned in the traffic lane, but you have no power to accelerate into the flow of traffic. The oncoming cars are now closing in on your car at a fast rate, and you're basically stuck. This situation is most pronounced in the "auto" mode of the dct transmission, but also occurs to a lesser degree while in the manual mode when you select second gear in preparation for the turn. It is also very repeatable in both modes. These problems started occurring after a previous recall on this transmission where the engine would stall under hard braking or not shift under hard braking. The recall fixed that problem, but introduced this problem, which occurs almost every day whereas the previous problem only occurred during a specific situation. Thank you for looking into this dangerous matter.

Hesitation in the automatic mode when decreasing speed then trying to initiate a turn. For example going down the road at 50mph then braking to turn left, once braking occurs a significant hesitation will occur which may result in the oncoming traffic hitting you.

Despite multiple software updates to correct this flaw my m-dct (automated manual transmission) car still exhibits a delay between throttle application and any response from the vehicle. For a small period of time the vehicle is utterly unresponsive to the throttle input. This happens when attempting to accelerate immediately after coming to a near stop. The lack of acceleration can be a safety hazard in many cases.

1. When slowing down for a red light that turns green, then trying to accelerate before actually stopping, the car hesitates or lags. Could get rear-ended or t-boned if turning in an intersection. Someone is going to get killed due to this ongoing, ignored, serious safety flaw. 2. Can routinely reproduce this hesitation/lag. 3. BMW refuses to resolve the problem and has told it's dealers it is a normal response.

With the dual clutch automatic transmission in d mode, when slowing from 50 or 60 mph to 15-20 mph the transmission will not downshift and stays in 6th or 7th gear. Even with the accelerator to the floor the car will not select an appropriate gear which makes the car barely accelerate at all creating a safety hazard. This car has little to no torque (by design) at very low rpms, and it basically just sits there and doesn't move. A driver often slows like this when making a left or right hand turn and having the car just sit there under those conditions presents a huge safety issue in terms of being either rear-ended or being hit by oncoming traffic. The entire nature of the automatic program on this car is unpredictable; in some cases it will downshift, in others (as described above) it will not, which adds to the unsafe nature of this defect. It does not behave like any automatic transmission I've ever owned. The software controlling the transmission was updated in December 2009. Prior to that, in either manual or automatic mode the car would downshift into a lower gear, but there was a 1-2 second pause before any power was delivered (the engine would not "go" even accelerator to the floor). This issue hasn't recurred, but the situation is still not rectified (as noted in the description above) as the "new" issue with failing to downshift in d modes has surfaced.

Shifting into 2nd gear produces lag and upon accelerating the car jerks and jumps forward, which is scary in traffic and absolutely a big safety issue!.

2008 e92 M3 with m-dct transmission. Transmission tends to "lag" after medium to hard braking causing unresponsiveness to throttle for 2-3 seconds before either 1)slowly regaining throttle, or 2)sudden forward jerk. BMW has tried updating the m-dct software, which seemed to fix the problem temporarily before starting to occur again.

The problem occurs when you slow down- like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have trouble figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the onset of power- up to 2-3 seconds. By this time, the driver is usually really digging into the throttle. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes invoking the anti-skip control. The danger in this behavior occurs when making a turn into on-coming traffic after slowing down to around 10-15 mph. After the turn, the car is positioned in the traffic lane, but you have no power to accelerate into the flow of traffic. The oncoming cars are now closing in on your car at a fast rate, and you're basically stuck. This situation is most pronounced in the "auto" mode of the dct transmission, but also occurs to a lesser degree while in the manual mode when you select second gear in preparation for the turn. It is also very repeatable in both modes.

The dual clutch transmission (dct) in my car, a 2009 BMW M3 routinely hesitates when pushing the accelerator in 2nd gear. The hesitation is long enough to have put me and my passengers in grave danger. In fact, it has almost caused a number of accidents when merging with highway traffic. This is unacceptable and needs to be immediately corrected before someone is seriously injured or killed.

Hello, I recently purchased a 2009 BMW M3 with the dct transmission. The transmission acts like a sequential manual shifter, allowing the driver to shift up and down at their will. These shifts happen instantaneously, within fractions of a second. Additionally, when coming to a stop, the car will downshift to 1st gear on its own, instead of relying on driver input, as a matter of convenience. All of this is normal, advertised, and expected behavior. There are times, however, when the car is decelerating but not coming to a full stop (when taking a turn at an intersection, for example), that the transmission will begin its automated downshifts but then become incredibly unresponsive. In these cases, if I press on the accelerator before coming to a full stop, I'll notice a significant lag before the engine actually revs up. Basically, pressing on the gas won't do anything -- the transmission is ostensibly "deciding" which gear is the optimal one and will ignore all manual gear changes and gas pedal input until it makes up its mind. At times, this lag has lasted as long as 2-3 seconds. This lag is bothersome, at times dangerous, and alarmingly, was not as noticeably bad when I first purchased the car a few months ago. This behavior occurs on a daily basis, and can be reproduced at will. Incidentally, this lag doesn't happen if I manually downshift through the gears to 3rd, 2nd, or 1st rather than letting the car perform the downshifts for me.

The problem occurs when you slow down- like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have trouble figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the onset of power- up to 2-3 seconds. By this time, the driver is usually really digging into the throttle. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes invoking the anti-skid control. The occurs frequently.

I have a 2008 BMW M3 with the dct transmission. Ever since BMW installed a software update to fix a similar NHTSA issue with the transmission, my car suffers from a sudden power loss when I slow down to approximately 10mph, and then try to accelerate again. This leads to a very dangerous situation while the car does not move and traffic around me continues to move.

2009 BMW M3 with dct - issue present from the date of purchase. The problem occurs frequently when in automatic mode and slowing such as at an intersection prior to a turn and the transmission shifts into the lower gear (usually 2nd). When the accelerator is pressed, there is often no response for up to 2 seconds. When the vehicle does respond, the application of power may be gradual and not directly proportional to the accelerator pedal position. On several occasions, this has resulted in a near-accident situation. When making a left turn with oncoming traffic, or merging right with traffic that is making a left turn, I have had to take emergency action to avoid collision. It is only a matter of time, until someone is injured or worse when the vehicle fails to respond as expected. There are numerous complaints of this issue in the net discussion boards, yet BMW north America has issued a statement claiming that it is normal transmission behavior. There is a safety issue when your vehicle fails to respond in a reliable/timely manner in real traffic situations.

2009 BMW M3 dct (dual clutch transmission) exhibits a serious lag/hesitation when trying to accelerate from a rapid rolling stop. When this issue occurs in an intersection or at a stop light, a serious safety issue exists of being t-boned or slammed in the rear. When reported to BMW they claim it "works as designed". Guess someone needs to be seriously injured or killed before BMW will resolve this issue.

On my 2009 BMW M3 with dct transmission, there is a noticeable lag after braking when you try to accelerate while in automatic(d). This is especially dangerous when trying to pull out of an intersection. The car has no power and sits there like it's thinking. Someone is going to get hurt. BMW needs to get a fix to this software glitch.

The BMW M3 with dct transmission exhibits a dangerous acceleration lag in second gear. Specifically, when coasting at low speed in second gear, close to one full second will elapse once the accelerator pedal is depressed before the transmission actually engages and the car begins to accelerate. This makes merging into traffic, or any situation requiring quick power application, difficult and potentially dangerous.

Issue with throttle not responding with the dct transmission car (2008 BMW M3). This is a software problem that renders the car unresponsive to throttle input and therefore increasing the risk of an accident.

My car is equipped with the "dct" transmission. At lower speeds, there is a delay of 1+ seconds in throttle response in "d mode" (similar to an automatic mode). This has left me in life threatening situations several times in intersections with no throttle response and oncoming cars. I feel I cannot trust the vehicle to move when I need it to. Somebody is going to be injured or killed due to this issue. I was nearly struck on two separate occasions. I have had the car in to the dealer repeatedly for this issue and am only referred to BMW si b 28 07 08 as an explanation, which is totally unacceptable!.

Time delay in shifting or lag when coming to a stop and trying to accelerate again.

Whenever the car is moving at slow speeds, there is a lag between the moment the accelerator is pressed and the time the car actually starts accelerating. Thus, during this lag, there is no power to the car! this could be very dangerous!.

I have a 08 BMW M3 with dct transmission. It received a software update months ago to fix a transmission shifting pattern. It did solve that issue but it created a much worse one. The car now, when decelerating from normal speeds and reaches a speed where it should be engaging into 2nd gear, it does not for about 1-2 seconds. This happens every time. The classic example is when I slow down at an intersection, come out of street and merge into traffic, try to make a u-turn, turn into a business etc. This creates a scenario that if you are at a busy road and lets say doing 45 mph and you slow down to make a left turn to a slow speed that you car should engage 2 or 3rd gear and it sits there for a second or two and it seems to be "looking" for a gear to choose and it simply does not respond. To try to compensate, the natural reaction is to step on the gas a bit more to make it through the intersection. The car then, when it decides to engage 2nd gear, lurches forwards in a very abrupt manner. This creates a very dangerous scenario since that pause is a great deal of distance traveled by the car behind you and it keeps going. The lag in the transmission creates drastic void in power and there you sit like a fish in a barrel hoping a car or an 18-wheeler does not hit you from behind. I have had 3 very close times making a u-turn in a busy street that my car was extremely close to being rear ended with a child in the back seat! once it created road rage with the driver of the truck that almost hit me and the other person ended up in the median as to not hit me. BMW has chosen to be non-communicative with its customers and even stating that this is normal for a dct transmission which is not. This did not exist before the last software update 31. 2. It is very concerning that BMW has taking this stance. I 'm an avid auto enthusiast & an er doc and trust me this is very dangerous and someone will be killed in an accident if they do not fix this soon please help!.

The car has a dangerous throttle lag at slow speeds. When trying to merge onto faster traffic, it causes a dangerous situation where the car does not accelerate for up to 2 seconds. Almost got rear ended a couple times. The car is equipped with the dct transmission, I have recently gotten a recent software update which is causing the problem to occur. BMW currently is not offering a solution and calling the problem normal.

When transmission downshifts to 2nd gear, sudden and complete loss of power when turning. Happens with dct transmission with latest software. Many similar complaints on BMW message boards, and BMW is basically ignoring us.

I own a 2009 BMW M3. It has the mdct transmission. There is a delay when coming to a rolling stop and then trying to accelerate again. The delay occurs when pushing the accelerator and when the engine/transmission actually engages and moves forward. The delay is as long as 1-1. 5 seconds. This has nearly caused several accidents. BMW says this is normal behavior, but I don't believe it to be the case. It seems like the transmission doesn't downshift at lower speeds. In fact, only "thinking" and proceeding to downshift after the accelerator is applied. By then, it's too late. As a driver, you expect forward momentum as soon as the accelerator is applied. . . Not that it down shifts at that point. Plus, the reading display suggests it is in fact downshifted to 2nd gear. . . But I assure you, that's not the point. This happens every time the scenario is mentioned. Say coming from 35 mph or higher so the vehicle is in a higher gear (5 or 6) and then you slow to say 10 mph and then try to accelerate. . . . Say in stop and go traffic.

Summary: power application lag in 2nd gear with M3 dual clutch transmission. Specific incident: while rolling in 2nd with about 1500rpm I was trying to merge onto traffic from a merging right lane that was ending shortly. After I thought it was safe to accelerate, I did so, but the engine did not produce power for the next 0. 5 second. After power kicked in, it was no longer safe to continue as the oncoming car was closer than I had calculated before attempting to accelerate. Also, power kicked in as I would expect it to happen 0. 5 second ago. To avoid an accident, I had to break abruptly causing the belts to lock and my wife considerable discomfort. Good thing no one was behind me expecting me to accelerate. The occurrence of the lag is prevalent where the system is not sure whether the driver wants to break or accelerate. I believe it needs attention by BMW and appropriate reprogramming of the transmission control system.

I have a 2008 BMW M3 with a dct transmission. The vehicle consistently has a lag when attempting to accelerate from rolling stops and when merging. I believe this could potentially be a safety issue due to loss of power at the wheels, esp. In high speed situations, ie when trying to merge onto busy highways.

I have a 2008 BMW M3 with the dct transmission. The transmission itself has many errors in second gear. If you slow down almost to a stop and put your foot back on the accelerator, the car will not respond. I've had this happen in intersections while turning left before. When you've got cars coming at you at high speed and you've got no power, it will definitely get your heart beating a little faster for a minute. It's only a matter of time before someone gets killed because of this problem. It really is highly dangerous. This is an ongoing problem that any dct driver can replicate easily. BMW needs to come up with a viable solution even if it means having to replace transmissions, and it needs to happen soon. For as much as the upgrade costs, it should work the way they advertise.

My 2009 BMW M3 with a dct transmission lags between 1st and 2nd gear. When you push on the accelerator the car does not go for at least 2 seconds, then it shoots forward. I have complained to BMW but they say this is normal. This occurs all the time when I am slowing down and the car is down shifting.

After slowing for a yield sign, pressed accelerator and there was a delayed response, followed by sudden acceleration. Bumped truck in front of me during the surge. Car behind me almost rearended me when my car did not accelerate.