I have a BMW 523i SE AUTO (1997) 2494 Petrol. In auto transmission the gears will shift from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd but won’t shift any higher. In steptronic/manual transmission the gears will shift from 1st to 5th without any problems therefore suggesting that the problem isn’t the gearbox itself. Only very occasionally does the shift electronics telltale light appear on the dash, yet the problem with the auto transmission is continuous. A local garage specialising in automatics suggested that it was the gearbox inhibitor. I’ve today had this changed but the problem still exists. Any ideas as to what might be wrong and, if so, what the likely costs are in fixing the problem? Thanks!
my guess would be something wrong with the transmission control module(TCM), since you can manually shift into higher gears.
It is 14 years old, just shift it yourself.
oldtimer 11. Thanks for your useful advice…oh, sorry…did I say useful, I meant useless!!
“Thanks for your useful advice…oh, sorry…did I say useful, I meant useless!!”
Frankly, it is not all that bad. Depending your your situation, it could be the best idea. It sounds like it is not the best advice for you, but there are times and situations that it might be.
In any case I wish you the best and good luck.
See if you can find a shop that specializes in BMWs. The Tranny Control module should have stored some codes at this point, and they should be downloaded.
Don’t be so quick to judge Oldtimer’s advice. The reality is that this may be an expensice repair, and on an older vehicle it’s often good advice to just accept the problem as-is rather than sink a ton of money into it.