5th Gear Issue

[m3f_99DakarM3_146594ecf1]

Well its started. About 2 weeks ago I got in the car on a nice cool FL morning (mid 50s outside) & when I grabbed the stick to check for neutral before starting the shifter stuck in the 5th gear gate. It's the same as everyone else describes & it gets better as the tranny warms up.



Well since the car has 1 more year of CPO I have decided to start the process now of trying to have it replaced or fixed. I made the call today to Reeves in Tampa and spoke to a friend there. He said he wasn't familiar with the issue, but they would definitley check it out & if it was a tranny issue it would be covered under the CPO warranty. The car goes in on Tuesday evening to be looked at Wed. I'm just waiting for them to tell me its an abuse issue or something like that & they wont cover it, or better yet that nothing is wrong.



I just figured I'd post this & keep everyone updated since it seems to be an issue that us late model owners need to be concerned about.

[m3f_BWL]

..... us late model owners need to be concerned about.[/QUOTE]



a 99 is NOT a late model.

[m3f_AMPowerJ_e8f979e5cd]

The 99 is the LATEST model of the E36 M3. This is a E36 board you know.

[m3f_BWL]

AMPowerJ thanks for the info. But its still NOT a "late model".

[m3f_AMPowerJ_e8f979e5cd]

I don't know why I am arguing this especially since I did not start this post but anyway ... In the broad sense of the word, of course a 1999 vehicle is not a late model compared to a 2004 vehicle. However, in this context, dealing with a specifc type vehicle, that is no longer produced, a 99 is in fact a late model of this type. You can't find a more recent example of an E36 M3. Some would argue that any can produced in the last 10 years is a "late" model when you consider that cars have been produced for almost 100 years.

[m3f_97BLKM3COU_0f375e15e2]

To be on the safe side, you may want to put your stock airbox back on. You really don't want to give them anything to refuse the tranny replacement, even if it is something that could not have caused it.

[m3f_m3fuz_1da011f372]

Here we go again...

1. Good luck with the boys @ Reeves! Bert Smith isn't going to do much for you either. Both of those stealers are more surly than Tom Bush in Jax could ever be.



2. http://www.brazeauracing.com/tech/transmissions.htm



3. http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48002&highlight=replace+transmiss ion+pin



4. Somewhere on the roadfly website, the members actually mentioned an artice in Roundel (somewhere in 2000) that has a full writeup about it. I ordered a copy and took it to Tom Bush and shoved it up the service manager's ass and asked him if he reads his own company's publications. Imagine his response.



5. Tell him to blow you after you've paid the $50 deductible and gotten the new transmission. Worst comes to worst, PM me and I'll tell you how I had to get BMW NA involved. 3 trips to the dealer and nothing wrong? Please...



This issue fires me up more than anything about this car. At least you are taking it in for the first time, and didn't have to go through the hoops I did, and I hope that you don't.

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

Damn. I feel like crap now. I just joined this forum a couple of months ago and I've had this transmission problem for a couple of years now. My car now has 107k and the CPO is expired of course. I once did ask the service foreman to look at it. He just said it was probably something unaligned but that it wasn;t a big deal. He didn;t write anything up though. There's probably no proof that I ever questioned it. Can i do anything now? The manager knows me as a customer for a long time there.

[m3f_99DakarM3_146594ecf1]

Well I'm not even going to address the late model issue so...



Yeah I guess I could swap the airbox just to be on the safe side.



M3fuz - did you take your car to Reeves as well? If so, Who is Tom Bush? Right now I'm going to take all the info I can find w/ me and just see what they have to say. Hopefully they will take car of it. I'll update when the car goes in.

[m3f_m3fuz_1da011f372]

My brother in law bought his M3 from Reeves and some things went wrong like blown door speakers, suspension rattles, amongst others. Anyway, Reeves always made basic, and I mean basic, warranty work such a hassle. They are the biggest (well, can't say it in the general forums...) that there was a tremedous waste of time and effort before the issues were resolved. But hey, that's what you get when you sell a bunch of cars to the Palma Ceia and South Tampa crowd.



Tom Bush is the dealership here in Jacksonville. While stubborn, they will concede defeat when BMW NA calls.



There were some service codes that I looked up, but seem to have misplaced at the moment. I will look for them and post when I find them. Those are the BMW tech service bulletins used in-house. Those went far.

[m3f_m3fuz_1da011f372]

I lied, its in a 2003 issue:



http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/e36m3/4758741-1.html



Still working on those TSB codes.

[m3f_99DakarM3_146594ecf1]

Thanks m3fuz - you have a PM

[m3f_99DakarM3_146594ecf1]

Update - Tranny will be replaced under CPO by Reeve's in Tampa, Fl. No agruments, no hassles. I went in, explained the issue to a friend who works in the service dept. and gave them the TSB #230199. They got in the car this am & tried to move the stick to 5th - it stuck. They tried to externally lube the tranny(???) - that didnt work either. So I get a call saying they will do the tranny - do I want them to do the clutch while they are in there for parts + 1hr labor. Total bill for new tranny, clutch & labor = 500. 450 for the parts & labor on the clutch and 50 for CPO.



Oh and the car will be done same day as well b/c all parts are in stock.



Thanks to all for the info - esp. m3fuz

[m3f_m3fuz_1da011f372]

Congrats - it makes it a hell of alot easier when you don't have to keep jumping through hoops. Good thing you had a friend there. As far as the clutch thing, Mine had been replaced prior to getting the tranny replaced, but I believe that AMpowerJ had her's done. If it hasn't been done before, might as well. :beer:

[m3f_99DakarM3_146594ecf1]

Yeah the friend and the TSB really helped. Thanks again.