8.4

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,900 miles

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problem #3

Jun 272009

M3

  • 4,600 miles
I was driving on a two-lane street (one-lane each direction) and as I was approaching a stoplight I turned on my left turn signal and started to move into the dedicated left-hand turn lane. As I did this I needed to downshift as I slowed down for the stopped traffic ahead at the light. When I shifted to second gear and pressed the accelerator to move into the turn lane my car would not engage into gear. I was almost rear-ended from the cars behind me but luckily my car's transmission engaged at the last second and I cleared the lane I was in. But because I was pressing the accelerator so hard to try to get the clutch to engage, when it finally did I shot off across the left-hand turn lane into the lane of on-coming traffic. I was able to steer clear before being hit head-on by on-coming traffic but the experience left me very uncomfortable with the transmission in my vehicle.

- Chicago, IL, USA

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problem #2

Jun 122009

M3

  • 5,900 miles
Hello. I have a 2009 BMW M3 with the dct transmission. I am experiencing significant delays when down shifting from one gear to a lower gear. The problem occurs when you slow down, like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have a serious problem figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the power engaging. I would say about 2-4 seconds. By this time, I am really stepping on the gas pedal. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes engaging the anti-skip control. This problem becomes most apparent when making a turn into on-coming traffic, slowing down to around 10-15 mph. After the turn, the car is positioned in the traffic lane, but I have no power to accelerate into the flow of traffic. The oncoming cars are now closing in on your car at a fast rate, and you're basically stuck.

- Ventura, CA, USA

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problem #1

Apr 102009

M3

  • 1,200 miles
There's a significant lag for the transmission to engage in my car which at times prevents me from getting out of the way of a potential conflict.

- Enid, OK, USA

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