Cant seem to get the shifter off

[Tecmo89]

2009 135i M-sport automatic with paddle shifters.

All the forums say the same thing. I put it in neutral and press the shifter button in and try to pull it off, No matter how hard I try it won't come off. I could pull harder but don't want to break anything.

I am trying to get to the wires to fix my sport mode.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by Tecmo89

2009 135i M-sport automatic with paddle shifters.

All the forums say the same thing. I put it in neutral and press the shifter button in and try to pull it off, No matter how hard I try it won't come off. I could pull harder but don't want to break anything.

I am trying to get to the wires to fix my sport mode.

I only have experience with the manual gearbox - so assuming for the auto it really is just pulling it up like the manual, I will say you have to pull quite hard. What worked best for me was to move both seats all the way back, flip up the armrest, straddle the transmission tunnel and pull up with both hands.

Just be sure to not punch yourself in the face when it does eventually come off lol

[Tecmo89]

Originally Posted by asbrr

I only have experience with the manual gearbox - so assuming for the auto it really is just pulling it up like the manual, I will say you have to pull quite hard. What worked best for me was to move both seats all the way back, flip up the armrest, straddle the transmission tunnel and pull up with both hands.

Just be sure to not punch yourself in the face when it does eventually come off lol

Literally every forum says don't punch yourself in the face! lmao

[asbrr]

LOL - I guess it's happened enough times!

[WDE82]

Don't pull with your arms. Use your legs. If you pull with your arms, you'll hit yourself in the face or throw the thing through the sunroof. Also open the sunroof. Someone on the E46Fanatics forums has a story about that...

[Ric in RVA]

I cracked an old filling gritting my teeth yanking on mine.

[Fume]

I had to make sure to unclip the shift boot since the knob and boot is one piece on my car (6MT), so make sure you check whether or not that's the case with your automatic.

Otherwise, if this is anything like the manual transmission knob, the first time I pulled it off I had to straddle technique that asbrr mentioned so that I can use my leg muscles to pull up. Just pulling up with my bicep strength didn't work for me although maybe that says more about my noodle arm strength...

[Flexo]

It'll come off with a good yank but, yeah it's hard.

For the Sport mode fix I found these videos very helpful.

Review the one about removing trim as it has some good tips about how to get the console out without breaking stuff.

[asiflicious]

Are you holding the release button as you're pulling up?