z4 2011 35is Transmission Problems

[gatok]

I just got my car less than two weeks ago, a 2011 z4 35is twin turbo with double clutch transmission, and I already have a transmission malfunction, I cannot go above 2500 RPM and cannot accelerate in any way.

The engine died on me in the middle of a highway. I remember using my double clutch gear to down gear in order to pass a car, however, the RPM went crazy on me and i lost all power to the car in the middle of the highway.
It was a very scary experience.

I could still drive the car in safe mode on moderate speeds, without going above 2500 RPM. I took the car to the BMW dealer for inspection.

I do not have any explanations yet. Anyone has an idea what could have gone wrong?

Thank you

[persian54]

sounds like a big problem... keep us updated..

[Vintage]

I am so sorry to hear of your troubles - I hope it is fixed quickly and correctly the first time.

[skier219]

Whatever the original cause, the current behavior actually sounds like an engine problem to me, caused by an over-rev. Your story parallels exactly what would happen if you downshifted into too low of a gear on a manual transmission car and over-revved the engine (in this scenario, it's a mechanical over-rev and the throttle-based rev limiter can do nothing).

I thought the DCT was supposed to nanny events like this, so that a user technically couldn't downshift into too low of a gear at a given speed. If so, then some aspect of the DCT control went haywire and either let you drop into too low of a gear, or did its own downshifting into too low of a gear. If not, then maybe you tried to downshift too low.

Give us more details on the speed and the gears when it happened...

[hshs83]

Hi! I might have a similar problem to yours too, except mines isn't a manual car. I have zero knowledge of cars (I'm a girl) and am not familiar with most of the terms you guys use. I have a 2011 z4, it's automatic, and has around 7k miles. I bought it new. I noticed that around the 5k mark that sometimes when I braked, there would be a a sort of a vibration feeling lasting like 1-2 seconds before coming to a complete stop. It's hard to explain. Almost like if you were to brake on gravel surface...that sort of feeling. Now, this doesn't happen all the time. All in all, it probably happened like 15 times. I didn't think anything of it until today when my car just DIED...STOPPED...while I was driving on the street. Luckily I was on local street and the streets were empty. My car just got quiet, like the engine was off. I immediately came to a stop and then tried to restart my car. It was successful and acted like nothing was wrong. It was extremely scary and now I do not feel safe in my car. I already made an appt. with the dealer to drop it off after work today but they acted like it was no big deal. Do any guys here have any answers for me? Am I posting in the right place? Please advise. Thank you in advance!!!!

[bmwmick]

Originally Posted by hshs83

Hi! I might have a similar problem to yours too, except mines isn't a manual car. I have zero knowledge of cars (

Tell us more about your car, is it a 30i or a 35i? It could be something as simple as setting the idle RPM. You should start a new thread since your symptoms are very different from the DCT problem described by the OP.

[juhap]

Originally Posted by bmwmick

Tell us more about your car, is it a 30i or a 35i? It could be something as simple as setting the idle RPM. You should start a new thread since your symptoms are very different from the DCT problem described by the OP.

You may also want to check the thread below just to see if it's the same issue:
http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=355902

[teagueAMX]

Originally Posted by juhap

You may also want to check the thread below just to see if it's the same issue:
http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=355902

+1

That's the one that came to mind as well.

OP: The dual clutch transmission (DCT) will not allow you to shift into a gear that will over rev the engine.

Additionally, I feel the OP's problem and hshs83's problem are very similar - i.e., not a transmission problem. It is likely something to do with the car's main computer or possibly a separate electronic module.