is the best way to describe this one! As I was heading over the summit on one of the most important days this month to get to the valley, on the downhill side, the dreaded "Trans Fail Safe" mode kicked in and with it, a plethora of other symptoms on my dash panel. The DSC lit up, my speedo and tach dropped out, my temp gauge was pegged out along with a failure to shift out of third gear (limp mode?). Fortunately, I had the foresight to join as a Premier Member back in April (this happened on May 7th) so I thought I'd be covered by roadside service BUT nooooo...after frantically searching through all the info I'd received from BMWCCA (apparently I get the "basic" membership info WAY before I get the Premier Membership info), there wasn't anything related to my "roadside assistance". No website, 800 number...NOTHING! Fortunately (or unfortunately), my wife was with me (and my 6-yo son) so while I was taking care of my business, she proceeded to spend most of the day trying to get some kind of info so that we could actually use the "premium" service that we'd paid for. She even contacted the GG Chapter President who stated that he would call back but never did (very disappointing). No luck getting any help from BMWCCA and we were left stranded with premium roadside service, which failed to assist us when needed the most...at the moment of failure. I have contacted the Executive Director about this issue (he was apologetic and sympathetic unlike the first person who answered the phone) and he is going to get back to me by tomorrow (5-10-11) about some sort of "compensation". I will follow up in this thread and let you know how it was handled... It was just pure luck that I had to hitch a ride from a friend back to the 540's location because I was asked to move it by the owner of the house where I'd left it parked. Evidently, the ECU must have reset itself because the CEL was gone and everything else appeared to be functioning "normally". I asked my buddy to wait while I drove the 540 around the block to make sure it wasn't just a fluke (no way was I gonna attempt to drive back over the mountain in the middle of the night with my wife and son without "roadside assistance" backing me up unless everything was working properly). Hot damn, shifting perfectly and no other warnings or problems were appearing so I made the decision to attempt the run back over the mountain since my friend stated that he would back me up in case of another failure. Long story short (too late...LOL), the 540 treated us right and carried us home without an incident but I was white knuckled for the entire day and return ride home. After fuming about the obvious problem that I was going to be forced to tackle (at home, thank God), I hooked up my OBD2 reader and pulled up the codes. P1747 was there along with two lean bank codes (already knew about those...P0171 and P0174) so I went to Bf.c and ran a search for the P1747, which was a new code for me. This was what I discovered from the 7-series forum and it seems that it is directly related to the ABS/DSC module failing. As soon as I get my new brake kit and get it installed (DIY), it looks like I'll have to drop her off at a local indy to get it replaced since the part has to be coded. Of course I'll only do that if I discover that I can't get the part coded prior to receiving so I can DIY. If anyone knows about this issue and has any other possible ideas/solutions beyond the ABS/DSC module, please post them in this thread for me and for others who may end up experiencing the same problem. Thanks for reading...
The ABS moduel can be rebuilt by modulemasters and will not need to be recoded. The throttle has been problematic on these and on the 6 cylinders and can wreak havoc with all the other systems if it sticks, but can reset and seem just fine later.
Thank you MooseheadM5... Thanks man...pulled code P0600 in addition to the CAN Bus monitoring code. As a matter of fact, the same repair was recommended on Bf.c so it's on it's way to ModuleMaster and I'm still able to use my ride even though the ABS/DSC controller is removed! Very cool... I also had a chance to DIY the rotors, pads and sensors last week...PowerStop drilled and slotted with the Evolution ceramic pads. The difference in braking is negligible from my perspective but I still need to do the high speed "performance bedding" in addition to the standard procedure. There is an amazing reduction in the amount of brake dust being deposited on my freshly refinished rims though...YAY!! Sad to report that there is no positive update on the Roadside Assistance Issue...
Problem solved ! After removing, sending to Module Master and reinstalling repaired ABS/DSC Module, all is well again. For $340 (includes overnight shipping 'cause my Bro was in town), there is no more nasty "Trans Failsafe" or "Engine Failsafe" and all gauges work perfectly...A+++ to Module Master for now. The bad codes are no longer popping up and the ABS and DCS CEL are no longer illuminated... All in all a successful troubleshoot and repair for WAY less than the cost from the stealer or Indy ($1100+ from my research) so for less money and a 5-day turnaround, it was well worth it IMO. Thanks again Moosehead for your input, it is always appreciated to the "Nth" degree...peace. Now to address the P0171 and P0174 (Lean Banks 1 & 2) in another thread...
