I recently took my stock M5 2008 to the track and barely 30 minutes into it, I get a warning sign saying Transmission temp too HOT slow down if possible! I am a novice to the track and do not believe that my speeds were extreme i:e NO HOT laps Has any one had the same problem? II did take my car to the Dealer to be informed that if I want this problem to be checked and resolved it will lead to Loss of warranty, as the car has been tracked!!! Please advice
Interesting problem and response from BMW. I can't help you on the problem, but this weekend I watched BMW NA drive their M5 Ring Taxi around the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix race track and let me tell you they were doing hot laps! Sides ways around many of the corners! Great to watch. But I wonder how his transmission was doing? Clearly the car should be able to handle hard driving, that is what is made for.
Join the m5board.com and visit the E60 M5 section. This has been discussed there before. Is your car a manual 6spd? BMW in their infinite wisdom has set a low (imo) threshold on the transmission temperature monitoring to trip the error and put the car in a reduced power mode. They chose not to put a transmission cooler on the 6MT in the E60 M5 yet in the E90M3 (which uses essentially the identical transmission) they installed a pump and transmission cooler. However, the same basic tranny was used in the E39 M5, and people have huge mileage on these with lots of power modifications (i.e. Dinan S2, Dinan S3 with over 600hp, etc), no transmission cooler and no reports of any issues for many years now. None. If this is the SMG transmission, you shouldn't be getting the overheat warning easily (your clutch might be slipping some if you are). However, under severe use in hot weather, SMG cars have been known to "overheat" also. They don't build them like they used to... I suggest that you don't get into a discussion of tracking the car or not with the dealer. Technically, BMW can't void your warranty for "tracking" the car as long as it wasn't a competition (timed race). However, note that BMW has a HUGE effort to clamp down on warranty repairs going on right now, so how you are treated will vary GREATLY depending on the dealer you take the car to.
Hi Chuck, Thank you for your response, My car is a Manual transmission. I did call BMW NA and it seems like it was more so a Dealer response or my be the Service Advisor I was dealing with. I will be writing a letter to the Manager and see what response I get from them.
Here is one thread from the m5board about 6MT E60 "overheating". This thread was started a couple of years ago and recently revived. BMW is well aware of the problem, but I don't think BMWNA has any solution nor do they care to provide one. Sorry...I hope they prove that statement wrong for you.
