[mojobenz]

I haven't had any transmission issues until now, and it was recently serviced by a dealer. When cold, my 93 500 SEL slips into reverse fairly easy. Once it warms up, for the past few days, it's having trouble. I know the dealer will want to put in another tranny, but this one works smoothly otherwise. Anybody have any ideas about what's causing the problem? A band? Electronic control unit somewhere?

 

[mpayne]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news to you, but my '92 300SE was/is doing the exact same thing. Revereve will eventually go out, and sooner than you think, but the forward gears will work great. I have had a bunch of knowledgeable folks look at it and the concensus is that something called a 'squash plate' is almost gone. When it fully disappears you will no longer have reverse. This happen to me in a matter of days. The best I can find is about $1750US to have fixed.

Good luck and let us know what happens in your case.

Mark

 

[mojobenz]

Working on it. A phone consult with an independent said it could be pressure, since this is a hydraulic tranny. Said he'd need about four hours to check it out. Will post outcome for benefit of others.

 

[mojobenz]

Problem solved

Mechanic checked transmission -- bad pressure plate and something about an O ring. Since he has to take things apart anyway, he suggested a rebuild for $2K. From my experience with BMW and what I've seen on the forum, this sounded like a good deal, so we're doing it.