An oil change was recently done to my 325XI. Directly after, the transmission started malfunctioning inconsistently. - Initially, I could not get out of first gear or go into reverse but this quickly resolved itself. - After this point, I could not get to third or fourth gear. - Besides the first day, I'm not having any of the odd "no reverse" problems that are common for the E46s. - The ominous transmission failure light is not showing up on the dash. - Over the past 2-3 days I've driven it sparingly but the behavior has been inconsistent. i.e. sometimes it goes into first fine, while other times it doesn't. Or, the engine will rev up and down going from 3rd to 4th erratically moving the tachometer. I'm terrified of driving it on the highway or a long distance. I've just been going to work and back which isn't a very long drive. I'm wondering(read: praying) if there is possibly a loose wire may be causing this problem. As I've read a few forums and it was the resolution for cars in "limp mode", if you will. The car performed flawlessly before a routine oil change was done hours before. Do you know of any wiring and it's specific location that could be loose and is causing this problem or do you think that this is just a coincidence and the inconsistency is a tell-tale sign that my transmission is failing/due to fail soon? The car has 80,000 miles on it.
Rather than guess at what is going on you need to get this issue professionally diagnosed. 80k is not any reason to be concerned that you have a failing tranny. Really sounds like potentially an electrical issue. The trans fail safe means that their will be faults stored that will give a good shop with the proper equipment a proper stepping point to proceed. If the dealer is out for you like most with out of warranty cars I recommend you utilize one of the shops at www.bimrs.org . These guys are all independent BMW specialist with the right tools and know how to get you properly diagnosed and potentially fixed. One more time www.bimrs.org
