BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      03-18-2009, 12:48 AM   #1
'Ol Painless
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Angry You Only "Thought" your 135i had a 6 Speed Automatic!

Why? Because the sales person told you so; AND all the online documentation says so as well as the brochures, etc. But were you aware that ALL 135i's begin (from a complete stop) in 2nd gear? In fact, the only way you can get your car into 1st gear, is to "manually" downshift into this gear via either the paddle shifters or the gearshift? You can drive this car in regular transmission mode and this is true. You can shift your car into "sport mode" and this is true also (as long as you don't decrement the gear manually). So, is this "truly" a 6 speed automatic transmission, if the only way you get the benefit from the 6th gear is to downshift into 1st?

Possible design reasons for this, is because BMW gets better EPA ratings, and we all know that car manufacturers benefit from this. But consider this...

We all paid for the extra HP and torque (300/300); and starting a car by design in 2nd gear is not what I paid for. Nor was it advertised as such. In fact, my local dealership wasn't even aware of this (if they were even telling the truth) until I pointed out a problem with the car! During the troubleshooting of this issue, it was confirmed by the dealership (under the advice of Steve Dinan) that their cars start off in 2nd gear. I find it disturbing that this is kept so secret, that even the Service Department manager AND shop foreman "master technician" of over 20 years didn't know this? The more likely scenario is that they "did" know, but concealled this fact because it takes away from the performance of the car and has a nasty side effect.

The Side Effect: While driving your 135i; ever notice the slight delay (up to 1.5 - 2 seconds) where you push on the throttle and nothing happens? Then, finally you start to thrust forward? Well, now you know why. The way the transmission is programmed it causes a noticible, annoying delay from the time you step on the pedal (no matter how hard) to when you start moving forward. If your 135i isn't doing this yet, don't worry, my issue wasn't noticable until about 5000 miles and got more noticable as time progressed. Right now, my car has just over 9000 miles and is only 10 months old.

Personally, I think above all, that this is a safety issue. If I need to move quickly to avoid a collision, I need to know that when I step on the throttle, then I will be catapulted forward with no delay. Secondly, this is advertised as a 6 speed automatic, when you only get 5 gears and the option to manually shift down into 1st gear if you want the extra performance.
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      03-18-2009, 01:00 AM   #2
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Is this a serious thread?
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      03-18-2009, 01:08 AM   #3
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? I'm fairly sure almost every performance car with an automatic starts out in second. Helps with fuel economy and if you want the pure speed, you downshift yourself...not that difficult. Our Cayenne Turbo does the same thing.

-Ben
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      03-18-2009, 01:25 AM   #4
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It starts out in 1st in Sport Mode...
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      03-18-2009, 01:32 AM   #5
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...shoulda got a 6 speed manual transmission LOL
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      03-18-2009, 01:35 AM   #6
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Lets see it has gears 1.2.3.4.5.6 I would say its a 6 speed regardless of how the D mode starts out. You can always use M, or DS which is pretty much what I always use.
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      03-18-2009, 01:47 AM   #7
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If you wanted no delays from start or to stop, you should have got a stick and rowed your own gears instead of wondering what the computerized automatic will do.
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      03-18-2009, 01:59 AM   #8
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Old old olddddd news. Can't even stress how old this is.

Not a big deal. Put it in DS if you want 1st. Put it in M if you want to shift.
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      03-18-2009, 02:04 AM   #9
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So... There are factually six different speeds to the Steptronic tranny, but you are calling it a five speed?

Oh well, maybe you have eight toes cause you aren't using the little toes very much.

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      03-18-2009, 03:13 AM   #10
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Welcome to forum.

And welcome to driving the car in DS mode if you are after performance starts, which you clearly are for every single start.
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      03-18-2009, 03:27 AM   #11
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I could drive my car for performance all the time but it just costs me too much in fuel! so its prob a good thing that we have the option to do both.
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      03-18-2009, 03:43 AM   #12
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      03-18-2009, 03:51 AM   #13
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I figured this out when I drove a 328i rental. Too many bad experience with auto that's why I opted for manual. If you want performance then be in control.
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      03-18-2009, 04:34 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert View Post
I figured this out when I drove a 328i rental. Too many bad experience with auto that's why I opted for manual. If you want performance then be in control.
exactly, It ruins the fun of the car to have an automatic....
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      03-18-2009, 04:44 AM   #15
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even my e46 318 with a 5 speed gearbox started in 2nd in normal D mode , it isn't a big deal. If I'm not mistaken if you press the accelerator and push the kick down button it will start from 1st even if its in D mode.

This isnt a design issue its a feature which in normal driving (D mode on the gearbox) will give a more smooth take off , if you want sporty put it in DS and it will start from first and hold gears longer for a more sporty driving you can put it in manual. I would like you to select 1st gear manually and take off in this car and then manually select 2nd and take off to take off with this car in 1st gear not full throttle and tell me which feels more comfortable and less jerky.
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      03-18-2009, 05:54 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TagMan View Post
So... There are factually six different speeds to the Steptronic tranny, but you are calling it a five speed?


TM
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No, actually you misunderstood (or being rude, not sure which); but I implied that only 5 out of 6 gears are truly "automatic" and you must "manually" down shift into 1st gear if you want the extra performance. If you have to intervene; it's not "automatic".

And no, we verified that in both modes, you only start in 2nd gear (unless you down shift). Simple, go into sport mode but don't touch the shifter. Take off from a stop; counting the number of shifts by "feel". You will only count 4.

Now, I have no intent of ranting or getting into a spam war with anyone, but so far, nobody has really commented on the "delay" that is obvious with this little design. I can appreciate the better fuel economy for what it is; but in the spirit of buying a sport coupe, fuel effeciency isn't typically the first priority; performance is. Fuel efficiency is icing only... Also, there wouldn't be insult to injury with this design flaw if there wasn't a noticable side effect. BMW should be able to quantify/measure the delay and get rid of it. Instead, they cover up this flaw by using key phrases like, "Adaptive Learning Transmission"; which is bull. I guarantee you, this car has never learned anything from me other than, "when I push the pedal, I want to move forward immediately, no questions asked".

If this is "Ooooold News" (as stated above) then I assume that both the Service Manager and the "Master Technician" knew about this then; it would only seem logical, right? Then why did they conceal it or tell me that this delay is a "Characteristic of the car"?

True statement; this is my first BMW and I don't claim to have a lot of mechanical experience either; but if I bought a much less expensive, domestic piece of crap that didn't call itself "The Ultimate Driving Machine"; I bet I wouldn't have a lag after I press the gas pedal. Just an honest observation...

I am thankful though for all of the comments; it helps me put this in perspective. So far, the general consensus (minus a couple of egg heads) is that this isn't a big deal and my first mistake was buying an automatic to begin with. I guess you live and learn...
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      03-18-2009, 06:15 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 'Ol Painless View Post
************************************************** ********


No, actually you misunderstood (or being rude, not sure which); but I implied that only 5 out of 6 gears are truly "automatic" and you must "manually" down shift into 1st gear if you want the extra performance. If you have to intervene; it's not "automatic".

And no, we verified that in both modes, you only start in 2nd gear (unless you down shift). Simple, go into sport mode but don't touch the shifter. Take off from a stop; counting the number of shifts by "feel". You will only count 4.

Now, I have no intent of ranting or getting into a spam war with anyone, but so far, nobody has really commented on the "delay" that is obvious with this little design. I can appreciate the better fuel economy for what it is; but in the spirit of buying a sport coupe, fuel effeciency isn't typically the first priority; performance is. Fuel efficiency is icing only... Also, there wouldn't be insult to injury with this design flaw if there wasn't a noticable side effect. BMW should be able to quantify/measure the delay and get rid of it. Instead, they cover up this flaw by using key phrases like, "Adaptive Learning Transmission"; which is bull. I guarantee you, this car has never learned anything from me other than, "when I push the pedal, I want to move forward immediately, no questions asked".

If this is "Ooooold News" (as stated above) then I assume that both the Service Manager and the "Master Technician" knew about this then; it would only seem logical, right? Then why did they conceal it or tell me that this delay is a "Characteristic of the car"?

True statement; this is my first BMW and I don't claim to have a lot of mechanical experience either; but if I bought a much less expensive, domestic piece of crap that didn't call itself "The Ultimate Driving Machine"; I bet I wouldn't have a lag after I press the gas pedal. Just an honest observation...

I am thankful though for all of the comments; it helps me put this in perspective. So far, the general consensus (minus a couple of egg heads) is that this isn't a big deal and my first mistake was buying an automatic to begin with. I guess you live and learn...
do you press the kickdown button when you press on the throttle really hard? its resistance point at the very end you would feel like the pedal has stopped but then you press more and its like a click
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      03-18-2009, 06:41 AM   #18
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What you describe is the Auto transmission equivalent of the CVD valve on the manual transmission.
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      03-18-2009, 07:04 AM   #19
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I don't see the big deal - if you want performance, use manual shift. If you're not gunning the engine, second is fine for starting in ordinary city driving. And, yes, BMW does have to worry about its overall fuel economy performance to meet U.S. regulations - if you don't like that, take it up with Washington.

And yes, the transmission is adaptive to your driving style. It is not, however, going to start in first unless you put it there.
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      03-18-2009, 07:16 AM   #20
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Since it hasn't been mentioned yet I'd say this is also for traction reasons... with all the torque that is available almost immediately I'd say if you started in first all the time traction control would just kick in and slow you down even more than it does in 2nd.

To take that even further if we started in 1st and didn't have a traction control babysitter I dare say there would be a few less 135is on the road due to people totaling them within the 1st week of ownership.

I knew about this before I bought my car... probably saw it here because I'm not seeing it in the manual at the moment. It's probably BMW covering their own ass, and ours and IMO it doesn't matter whether it's for safety, performance, or EPA reasons.
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      03-18-2009, 07:17 AM   #21
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Even Chevy's start off in second with automatics. I think unless you are driving a PRNDL, most modern high performance autos use second gear under normal conditions. First is just there in case you need it.
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      03-18-2009, 07:59 AM   #22
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Sounds like a serious case of buyer's remorse?
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