Rough shifting into 3rd - possibly worn synchro?

[blakelocati]

So guys,

I've had my 2009 135i for some time now; it has 46k miles. I really love it, but I have a feeling there may be a slight problem with my transmission. I have a 6MT, and it has been rough going into second gear since I got the car. Lately, I have also been noticing it feeling rough when going into 3rd gear, which I haven't seen many others having a problem with. Sometimes, when I go in third gear, the shifter feels rough. It almost has a pop feeling (very hard to describe, sorry); it feels unnatural. These symptoms seem to get worse if I shift at higher RPMs.

Anyways, I am thinking it may be a bad 3rd gear synchro. I am thinking the best bet would be to take it to BMW and have them check it out. My only concern is that I am sure I will get the run around and they will claim "it's completely normal" etc which it may well be. That being said, does anyone else have a problem when shifting into third? Do you think it may be a bad synchro? Lastly, how willing is BMW to replace items such as the transmission if you are having problems? I figure it may be hard for them to even notice the problem as it doesn't do it all the time.

Thanks for the help guys, and I'm sorry I can't find the word to explain the feeling of shifting it into 3rd better.

[SlickShift]

Have you had the transmission fluid changed?

[blakelocati]

Not yet. I was planning on waiting until I was out of warranty, then I will switch to redline.

[blakelocati]

I was thinking of a better way to describe the shifting into 3rd gear. It feels almost like something is binding up. I'm not sure if that makes complete sense, but I don't know how to better describe it.

[blakelocati]

TTT

[flzrider]

Replace the transmission fluid and see if it helps. You'd be surprised how much shifter feel is associated with the tranny fluid. Also check your transmission and motor mounts. You can try slightly stiffer transmission mounts and see if it helps. Both of these recommendations are fairly cheap, around $50 each.

[blakelocati]

Thanks for the suggestion. I am okay with replacing the transmission fluid, but scared to do so as I don't want to void my warranty. Maybe I should just try to use the stuff from BMW? It's not just a rough feeling though. Sometimes, it literally feels like 3rd gear pops when I put it in gear. It's very bizarre. I think I am going to set up a appointment and complain about the shifter feel. I will mention the possibility of a messed up synchro and try to convince them to at least replace the fluid for me for free. If they say, "it's completely normal" then I will do the fluid change myself and the CDV delete. If that doesn't work, then it's time to raise hell!!

[Dackelone]

Do you downshift a lot from a high gear into third gear? Like shifting from sixth to third? Maybe you have worn out the third gear syncro.

First I would have a BMW dealer look at it. Take a tech for a test drive and SHOW him the problem. Hopefully they will replace your trans. IF they do... you might inquire about paying to replace the clutch while they are at it. The trans will be off and you will only have to pay for the parts and maybe an hour or so labor.

IF the dealer refuses to replace the trans... I would try another dealer. IF that fails... try checking the trans fluid. Your problem could also be a worn shifter or shift linkage or even a bad(collapsed) motor mount effecting the shift link.

G.L.

[blakelocati]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Do you downshift a lot from a high gear into third gear? Like shifting from sixth to third? Maybe you have worn out the third gear syncro.

First I would have a BMW dealer look at it. Take a tech for a test drive and SHOW him the problem. Hopefully they will replace your trans. IF they do... you might inquire about paying to replace the clutch while they are at it. The trans will be off and you will only have to pay for the parts and maybe an hour or so labor.

IF the dealer refuses to replace the trans... I would try another dealer. IF that fails... try checking the trans fluid. Your problem could also be a worn shifter or shift linkage or even a bad(collapsed) motor mount effecting the shift link.

G.L.

Thank you very much for that info. Very helpful. I never downshift from 6th to 3rd or anything like that. I always go from 6-5-4-3. I will make an appointment with the dealer this week.

[deploytosave]

Originally Posted by blakelocati

Thank you very much for that info. Very helpful. I never downshift from 6th to 3rd or anything like that. I always go from 6-5-4-3. I will make an appointment with the dealer this week.

going directly from 6th-3rd doesnt hurt anything lol

sounds to me like your syncros are on the way out..

id replace the fluid, and put in a magnetic drain plug..

[blakelocati]

Thought I would update y'all. I took the car into the dealership to have them check everything out. They took it for a drive and couldn't replicate any symptoms. Then, I took them out on a drive and I felt 3rd balk at me once. I explained that it doesn't always happen, so they suggested they should keep it over the weekend to drive it some more. They drove it for about an hour total and said they couldn't find any problems. Surprisingly, they were very nice and it didn't seem like they were just saying this stuff to get me out of there hair. Not all was wasted though, as now have a document from them stating the issues I had with the transmission. I can use this as ammo if things get worse when i go out of warranty (4k miles). Anyways, I picked the car back up. I plan on doing a transmission fluid change sometime very soon. I will be going with the redline D4 ATF, as I have heard people have had great success with this. I will also probably do the CDV delete at the same time. Hopefully this will help resolve the issue. Thanks for your input, and I will let everyone know how it goes.

[maruzo]

Hi OP,

Any update on that problematic 3rd gear engagement?

I'm looking at a 2013 128i m sport with 6MT. During my test drive over the weekend I also found the 3rd gear to be hard to engage.

I can shift to 1st fine, 2nd was also ok, but when I upshift to 3rd it's almost like it's not there.

I had to hunt around to find it and then it'll go in.

It happened a few times during my 5 minutes test drive.

what did you do to resolve your problem?

[Dmak]

Originally Posted by maruzo

Hi OP,

Any update on that problematic 3rd gear engagement?

I'm looking at a 2013 128i m sport with 6MT. During my test drive over the weekend I also found the 3rd gear to be hard to engage.

I can shift to 1st fine, 2nd was also ok, but when I upshift to 3rd it's almost like it's not there.

I had to hunt around to find it and then it'll go in.

It happened a few times during my 5 minutes test drive.

what did you do to resolve your problem?

You would be lucky if op reply since post was from 2012.

Anyway. Usually when this happen its the synchro or shift fork is worn. Most common cause is the driver likes to rest their hand on shifter which put constant pressure in transmission and cause premature wear.

[Intuition]

Strange this came up. My car is perfectly smooth shifting from 1 to 2nd and 3+ upwards... BUT yes.. from 2nd to 3rd gear it almost feels like the hand off is slightly grabby, like its working against itself. I had an e46 for 12 years and the hand offs from any gear were perfect and though it got noisier as it got older and I could hear some whine the hand off was always smooth and didn't pull or tug on the forward momentum.

I was going to ask about this today but saw this post instead.

I notice that after the car has been on for about 20 minutes it gets better but is never really fully smooth.

I'll look into the syncro and shift fork. Strange that the rest a hand on the shifter could have any effect on the actual transmission. I figured the automatic portion handles everything that no input from the stick could really affect the operation save for the actual D or R or P states.

Thanks for the info.

[ShocknAwe]

Keep in mind the engine mounts and trans mounts wear out too. New fluid and new mounts is a must prior to jumping the gun on opening the trans.