N55 DCT stalling/dying at idle

[fcman]

Car was at the dealer last week for the same issue. Had them update the DME and it seems to be performing well so far.

[jmz135]

I just bought a 2011 CPO and have been experiencing similar problems, two problems specifically. The first being clunkiness at lower gears/speed and lurching when trying to travel at slow speeds in stop and go traffic...it actually stalled three times on me over the past week. The other was whenever I slowed down from speed 30mph+ to <15mph and then tried to accelerate again nothing would happen, absolutely zero throttle response for 1-2 seconds, and then suddenly the car would be at 3000rpms and fly forward, tires screeching. I described the problem and showed them the service bulletin. I got a call from them this afternoon saying the techs couldn't reproduce the problem, which is crazy since it happens constantly, BUT they said they installed the DME software update in good faith since my car was out of date anyway.

Just got my car back and the low speed driving seems somewhat better, the car doesn't feel like it's going to stall anymore, however I still have the throttle response issue. It may be slightly better, it was hard to tell from my drive home, I'm going to drive it more tonight to test. But when I have my A/C on I still had twice on the way home where I would step on the peddle and nothing would happen I don't know what to do at this point.

[CajunDilbert]

JMZ,

Sorry to hear about your problems. I just bought a 2011 CPO 135i DCT and I have the exact same two problems and have scheduled a service appointment for Friday with the SIB120912 service bulletin in hand to see if I can get it fixed. I have both the severe hesitation (less in sport mode) along with the stalling and dying at slow speeds. My dealer's arrogance is only exceeded by his ignorance, so I am not hopeful that they will even read the service bulletin.

[jmz135]

UPDATE:

I've driven the car a lot over the past two days and I have to say it's definitely better, the throttle response isn't nearly as bad as it was before. I do still occasionally have hesitation but it doesn't last as long and it doesn't happen as often.

Also when I drive in the MSport? (pushing left on the shifter) I never get the delay.

Also, an unexpected upside, the car is significantly more powerful after the reprogramming. I'm not sure what they changed since the original 2010 software on the 1 series but I feel like I gained 50hp/tq and I keep accidentally activating traction control now.

[cheshirecat79]

Glad to hear your problems are fixed. Wondering if them resetting adaptations gave you that kick in the pants with the torque. Who knows.

[jmz135]

Originally Posted by cheshirecat79

Glad to hear your problems are fixed. Wondering if them resetting adaptations gave you that kick in the pants with the torque. Who knows.

I wouldn't say they are 100% resolved, but yes I'm very happy at the improvement. I would have grown to resent driving my car if I had to deal with the terrible throttle response before, it was bad. Now I can have fun driving it again.

As for the seeming torque increase, who knows, I won't question it

Does anyone know if getting a tune might smooth out the throttle response even more? Despite the big improvement, the car still occasionally seems hesitant/lurchy speeding up from a low moving speed.

[fcman]

Originally Posted by jmz135

Also, an unexpected upside, the car is significantly more powerful after the reprogramming. I'm not sure what they changed since the original 2010 software on the 1 series but I feel like I gained 50hp/tq and I keep accidentally activating traction control now.

Yeah I was wondering if maybe it was because I was driving around a crazy slow X1 28i for 4 days but my 135 feels significantly more powerful now. Exhaust pops way more and shifts seem even more aggressive. And I can light up the rear/s without even really trying.

Will be interesting to see how it feels if I take it out to the autox this weekend. Not sure I'll be able to put the power down at all.

[CrustyNoodle]

Originally Posted by cheshirecat79

Glad to hear your problems are fixed. Wondering if them resetting adaptations gave you that kick in the pants with the torque. Who knows.

+1

I think a lot of the improvement comes from resetting the transmission adaptations. If we knew how to do this without taking the car to dealer it would be great.

[jmz135]

Originally Posted by CrustyNoodle

+1

I think a lot of the improvement comes from resetting the transmission adaptations. If we knew how to do this without taking the car to dealer it would be great.

Shouldn't just disconnecting the battery do it? Usually when you have cars that have an adaptive transmission that is all you need to do.

[cheshirecat79]

Originally Posted by jmz135

Shouldn't just disconnecting the battery do it? Usually when you have cars that have an adaptive transmission that is all you need to do.

come on man this is a bmw, nothing is that easy

[jmz135]

Originally Posted by cheshirecat79

come on man this is a bmw, nothing is that easy

Ah yes. I'm new to BMW so I'm still learning this

[Chunner]

bump

[BLU135i]

Had the SIB120912 service bulletin performed last week. It has not had the stalling problem again, (although it was very intermitant before), but I have noticed a improvement on that 0-10mph lag problem that was driving me nuts. So far so good. Dealer gave me no gripe whatsoever, gave my SA the bulletin and they just did it.

[Nifty]

Wanted to provide an update to my stalling, strange idle, and most importantly unresponsive DCT issues I've been having for the past 6 months.

After going back and forth to multiple dealerships for the issues, two "fixes" were done to my car.

1) DME for the car was updated to most current version
2) SIB120912 was completed

While some of the issues got mildly better (car hasn't flat out died since it had that done), the most concerning issue - horrid/dangerous throttle response - never went away. Being a bit defeated after so many dealer visits, I just dealt with it for a while until recently when it seemed to get worse. After visiting the dealer today, I came away with a new found sense of hope after talking to the shop foreman (who actually seemed to know his stuff). He told me a few things that I haven't seen stated explicitly in the forums so I wanted to share.

After telling him what my issues were (erratic idle, poor throttle response, etc.) and what I'd already had done to the car (DME, SIB) he immediately said "Software isn't going to fix your issue". He then went on to say that the issue I'm experiencing is a KNOWN one that stems from the DCT not "talking" with the DME correctly, ultimately leading to the DCT learning bad habits. He also said that the issues normally start somewhere in the 28k to 35k mileage range, but if you're driving your car hard, it can present itself much sooner. He has apparently dealt with around 5 cars having the exact same issues.

The "solution" to the problem is to reset the transmission adaptions (which I've seen on the forums), but he also said it was purely a temporary fix until something more permanent is in place. In reality I'd have to come back every 9 months or so to make sure the DCT didn't learn bad habits again. Strangely enough he said that his technicians didn't have the ability to reset those values themselves and that they'd have to wait for the regional engineer since they are the only ones who have the access to do so. I'll be going in next week when he's available to have those reset, and hopefully, FINALLY, enjoy driving again.

Since I've had just about every, rough idle, throttle response, and stalling issue along with having the main fixes done (SIB, DME) I should be a good case study on a fix. I'll report back next week to see if the problems get better.

tl:dr - DME Updates and SIB120912 didn't fix my rough idle/ throttle response issues. Shop foreman states BMW is aware of the issue and the temporary fix (for about 9 months) is to reset to the transmission adaptions.

[brocklanders]

How do you do the reset of the transmission adoptions?

[CrustyNoodle]

As stated previously, we need to (collectively) find out how to reset the learning on the DCT ECU.

The lag issues feel to me like the tranny has got the clutch take up point wrong. If the clutch is not properly engaged then it will tell the engine DME not to rev up the engine until it is starting to engage - this is going to feel like engine lag.

Updating the DME probably also resets the DCT's learned weights (adaptations) which is no doubt why the DME update appears to temporarily fix the issue.

[cheshirecat79]

Wondering if Bavarian Tech can reset those adaptations. God knows it can reset everything else.

[hatepotholez]

I'm going in tomorrow for this same issue, I get some dangerous bucking when I press the gas from a yield. This is getting ridiculous, it'll be my third time with this same issue.

[trainerjon]

I have gone in three times for this same issue everyone else is having. Because I have an aftermarket exhaust they won't examine the issue any more. I've even spoken to BMW NA about this and they don't want to touch it unless I put the OEM exhaust on. I sold it in december. I'm not going to buy an OEM one for them to tell me nothing.
Maybe this is why DCT is not on the new M235i? Just a guess. I hope they figure this thing out! The more we all speak up the better though.

[hatepotholez]

Just heard from the dealership, "we could not find ANY issue" I had a laundry list of complaints. Pretty sure they thought, screw this car he didn't buy from us so we won't fix jack. I might go in late to work to ride with the foreman.

[loesch]

Sorry to hear that man. That's disappointing.

[jdotketamine]

im having the issue too. 36k miles. idle hunting, near stalling in park and in gear within 5 minutes of startup.

I have the new software, it was updated in Arpil 2014 so it'd gotta be the newest version.

hooked it up to a friend's Bavarian Tool, cleared the transmission adaptations, no help. Also noted that the ecu had a history of a bad primary o2 sensor, but the car was not throwing the code at the time. cleared the following codes as well, none of which were active at the time:

2D2F
3876
2BCB
2D34

any new ideas on this?