[jolenberger]

I have a 2011 535i (F10) with a 6 speed manual transmission. For the past several months, I've noticed the car will occasionally pop out of 1st gear while driving, often times with a loud "thud" (probably depending on how fast I'm going at the time/acceleration).

There's the chance that it wasn't fully in gear in the first place, but this could be an issue too, as it doesn't seem normal. This only seems to happen in 1st gear, and not all the time- occasionally, but frequently enough that I'm suspecting its an issue. The car has roughly 78,000 miles on it.

Any thoughts on what the issue(s) could be, an approximate price tag I'd be looking at, and if this is something that will continue to get worse/cause additional damage if not addressed?

On a perhaps related note, I always use the clutch to shift into a gear or between gears, but don't always use the clutch to shift from a gear into neutral, such as when coasting to a stop light if it shifts out of gear easily enough without the clutch. Is this bad if it shifts out of gear smoothly without the clutch?

[95blkmax]

Originally Posted by jolenberger

I have a 2011 535i (F10) with a 6 speed manual transmission. For the past several months, I've noticed the car will occasionally pop out of 1st gear while driving, often times with a loud "thud" (probably depending on how fast I'm going at the time/acceleration).

There's the chance that it wasn't fully in gear in the first place, but this could be an issue too, as it doesn't seem normal. This only seems to happen in 1st gear, and not all the time- occasionally, but frequently enough that I'm suspecting its an issue. The car has roughly 78,000 miles on it.

Any thoughts on what the issue(s) could be, an approximate price tag I'd be looking at, and if this is something that will continue to get worse/cause additional damage if not addressed?

On a perhaps related note, I always use the clutch to shift into a gear or between gears, but don't always use the clutch to shift from a gear into neutral, such as when coasting to a stop light if it shifts out of gear easily enough without the clutch. Is this bad if it shifts out of gear smoothly without the clutch?

Two things-
1- popping out of gear can be caused by a few things. BUT the more common issue is with the shifter itself. There's bushings and brass inserts under the pivot ball that wear out and can lead to not engaging fully. It's normal for a THUD to take place when it pops out. Because of the design of the shifter linkage it is prone to ovalize, which allows for excessive play. Back in the day UUC or UCC used to make an upgraded linkage (DSSR I think it was called on my old E46). So you may want to look into this if it's available for the F10. Normal use can cause wear and tear. It's a truly crappy design that BMW has not changed in decades.

2- Always use the clutch to move that shifter. It's a syncro'd transmission, not an old non-syncro trans from the 50s. It's designed to shift smoothly with no load (clutch engaged). Not using the clutch- although very possible, is not good for the soft syncros. IF you happen to have degraded that 1-2 syncro it IS possible for the trans to pop out of gear.

[BimmerHausPerformance]

BMW Doubles had a SSK he put together... Bmwdoubles_

Anyone else have another solution? This happens to me once in a blue moon and I'm at 88k miles, and wouldn't mind a short shift kit.