Came across a good deal BMW and broke a cardinal rule of not knowing what the hell I'm buying but long story short: got a used 2002 325I (e46) 5spd auto with 130k on it for the fiancee and I. It drove fine and only thing I noticed from the test drive was the control arm bushing and possibly the ball joints were starting to groan but those seem standard wear n tear on BMW's. The transmission fault light (the gear cog with exclamation point) came on just a few days after I bought it and I smashed my head a few times figuring this was why it was so cheap. Only good thing is right now, no issues with the transmission at all. There is a light coating of either engine or trans oil on the bottom of the pan but other than that it shifts fine in any scenario and the steptronic mode controls it without any issues either. Does anyone have a shop or a tool that I can get it checked either raleigh, charlotte or in between for less than the $100 diagnostic code pull I'm currently quoted.

Note: this is not the OBD2 system, it is indeed the BMW factory diagnostic system. After reading some horror stories I'm thinking/praying its either low fluid or its a sensor failure at this point. I'm thinking to try to find the trans tag and do a top off with spec fluid or risk a drain, filter, and refill a few times. No idea on prior trans service prior to this

6/28/2011 12:29:43 PM

1st step on these is always to look for the round electrical connector on the trans- unplug it and make sure there isnt any water in there.

6/28/2011 1:58:15 PM

Good to know, Ill check it this weekend when I have it up and checking it out from underneath. I spoke to a euro shop down here in charlotte who mentioned if there's no physical malfunctions a low battery can give false readings to certain sensors so ill stop by vato zone on the way home to check the battery.

6/28/2011 2:38:26 PM

I got to take a quick look under the bottom but couldn't see anything obvious on a quick checkout. Heard from a coworker who drives an e46 5 series about a local shop who did good work at decent prices and decided to bite the bullet.

The owner/lead mechanic was there and got my car hooked up to several computers and did an overall inspection, walkdown of the issue, and went over things to know/watch out for about these cars with me for over 2 hours. Found the gear shift position sensor was nice and gummed up from a spilled soda from the previous driver. Only charged me $65 for the diagnostic fee. Suffice to say I was on cloud nine pulling out of there this afternoon.

6/30/2011 9:32:04 PM

perhaps you should post the shop name if you have such high praises

7/1/2011 8:38:10 PM

BCH Imports in north charlotte. I was more exuberant about it not being the transmission but I was impressed with them as my dealings with indy shops are very limited and most times the experience usually feel more like I'm dealing with a used car salesman that I have to watch carefully when they work on my vehicles.

7/1/2011 11:59:57 PM