2003 BMW E36

MY 2003 BMW 330I HAS 85K MILES AND IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. RECENTLY, HOWEVER, A "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" LIGHT CAME ON. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED A PROBLEM AND INFORMED ME THAT I NEEDED A NEW TORQUE CONVERTER BECAUSE THE GASKET WAS LEAKING, HOWEVER, THE CAR WAS DRIVING JUST FINE. THEY TOLD ME THAT IF I DIDN'T REPLACE IT NOW THEN DOWN THE ROAD THE WHOLE TRANSMISSION MIGHT FAIL AND NEED REPLACEMENT. I FEEL RIPPED OFF HAVING PAID $3,000 FOR A TORQUE CONVERTER ON A CAR THAT DROVE FINE. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT IT'S A COMMON PROBLEM THAT BMW IS AWARE OF, BUT THE COMPANY REFUSED TO HELP OUT WITH THE COST, STATING THAT THERE WERE TOO MANY MILES ON MY CAR. THE LIFE OF THE TRANSMISSION IS SUPPOSED TO BE WAY LONGER THAN 85K MILES. TOO BAD, BMW SAID. *JB

PLEASE REFER TO FR DOC 04-10644. MY PROBLEM CONCERNS THIS EXACT ISSUE WITH MY 2003 BMW X5, IE, DELAYED PARK TO DRIVE ENGAGEMENT ON COLD START. ON 11-11-06 I BACKED OUT OF MY DRIVE (I LIVE ON A CORNER LOT) AND IMMEDIATELY AM AT A STOP SIGN. I PULLED OUT, BUT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT FULLY ENGAGE IN DRIVE AND AS A RESULT I CAME WITHIN INCHES OF BEING SMASHED BY A TRUCK THAT WAS COMING DOWN THE ROAD I WAS ENTERING. IN THE DOCUMENT MENTIONED ABOVE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE DEFECT WAS NOT A SAFETY HAZARD. YOU WERE WRONG. IN THIS DOCUMENT BMW ARGUED THAT THEY HAD A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN SIB 24 07 03 TO CORRECT THIS SITUATION BY INSTALLING A NEW TRANSMISSION. UNFORTUNATELY, IN JULY '04 THEY REVISED THIS TSB TO REPROGRAM THE EGS MODULE (INCREASING THE PRESSURE IN THE TRANSMISSION SO IT TAKES LONGER TO LEAK DOWN) AND NOT TO PUT IN NEW TRANSMISSIONS. I HAVE HAD MY X5 REPROGRAMMED BY BMW AND IT DID NO GOOD. I HAD A BMW CUSTOMER SERVICE ADVISOR TELL ME THAT THE REPROGRAMMING WAS A PARTIAL FIX BUT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. HE SAID IT WAS A MATTER OF MONEY FOR BMW. MY CAR IS STILL UNDER FACTORY WARRANTY. I BOUGHT IT USED. THE BMW REPRESENTATIVE, JEFF FITZ, THEN HAD THE NERVE TO TELL ME IF I HAD BOUGHT THE CAR NEW I WOULD HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING A NEW TRANSMISSION. HE SAID I SHOULD THINK ABOUT LEARNING TO LIVE WITH THE PROBLEM SINCE HIS EXPERIENCE IS THAT THE NEW TRANSMISSIONS ARE NOT SATISFACTORY EITHER. I ASK THAT YOU REVIEW YOUR FINDINGS ON THE BASIS THAT BMW IS NOT CORRECTING THE SAFETY PROBLEM AS INDICATED IN FR DOC 04-10644. *JB