[bazzer]

When cruising up a slight incline in a 30mph speed limit zone in default comfort mode, the car changes from 5th to 6th and the engine revs drop to just above idle at 1050rpm. This results in engine judder and unacceptable vibration, detracting from an otherwise superbly engineered car.
If I hit the steering wheel paddles to change down to get rid of the vibration / rumble with the engine labouring on the stall point, the car promptly changes back up and the revs drop to 900-1000rpm. The only cure is to move to sport mode where the engine revs go to 1400rpm + to take the engine out of the rumble zone. However constantly shifting in and out of sport mode every time there is a slight incline is a real pain and detracts from the "ultimate driving experience". In summary in comfort the gear change from 5th to 6th should be programmed about 400rpm higher to avoid the car entering the stall zone on change ups in comfort mode at 30mph.
I have demonstrated this to the dealer and BMW acknowledge the situation but with no resolution insight.
I have also taken delivery of an X3 2.0 X Drive Auto this year and this car does not exhibit the issue due to different gearbox programming?
Have any of you Bimmerfest readers experienced similar issue with the 8 speed gearbox as programmed in the 520D? I would like to see how widespread the issue is to gain momentum in instigating a fix. The car was new in May 2013.

[HighlandPete]

I sense where you are coming from, but no driving time in the 520d auto. The low rpm suits/works with my 535i, but that is another engine altogether.

I had 3-days in an F30 320d ED auto and that had higher rpm changes at the low speeds. In fact I felt as if the car was revving a bit too much after my car, but sensed it was to keep vibrations down.

Doesn't help the 520d issue I know, but perhaps others have more experience to share with you.

HighlandPete

[gspannu]

I had the 520D 8-speed auto last year, drive it for 12,000 miles and exchanged it for LCI 535d recently.

All I can say is that my 520D rode absolutely fine, no judder or vibration, shifts were smooth and generally everything was OK. I did have the Sport Auto Box and maybe the up shift/downshift points are different in a non Sport Auto.

[Aladinnu]

[QUOTE=bazzer;14753731]When cruising up a slight incline in a 30mph speed limit zone in default comfort mode, the car changes from 5th to 6th and the engine revs drop to just above idle at 1050rpm. This results in engine judder and unacceptable vibration, detracting from an otherwise superbly engineered car.
If I hit the steering wheel paddles to change down to get rid of the vibration / rumble with the engine labouring on the stall point, the car promptly changes back up and the revs drop to 900-1000rpm. The only cure is to move to sport mode where the engine revs go to 1400rpm + to take the engine out of the rumble zone. However constantly shifting in and out of sport mode every time there is a slight incline is a real pain and detracts from the "ultimate driving experience". In summary in comfort the gear change from 5th to 6th should be programmed about 400rpm higher to avoid the car entering the stall zone on change ups in comfort mode at 30mph.
I have demonstrated this to the dealer and BMW acknowledge the situation but with no resolution insight.
I have also taken delivery of an X3 2.0 X Drive Auto this year and this car does not exhibit the issue due to different gearbox programming?
Have any of you Bimmerfest readers experienced similar issue with the 8 speed gearbox as programmed in the 520D? I would like to see how widespread the issue is to gain momentum in instigating a fix. The car was new in May 2013.

Have u ever find solution for it?

[ooGQoo]

Evening,

I also have a 520d, after owning many BMW’s with various auto boxes I too feel that the shifting is sluggish, incorrect for the torque range of the engine. I have serviced the gearbox over the years of owning it three times (resetting the adaptions each time) but remains the same.

I’ve also found that it tries so hard to get to 8th as quick as possible it often leaves you slamming on the accelerator after coasting up to a junction because it’s nowhere near the gear you need to pull away again, this in turn (as it’s trying to find a gear) puts the engine into kick down then slams the occupants into the back of their seats leading to an uncomfortable ride.

I’ve gone as far as to buy a replacement gearbox with only 90k on it to swap out, the only reason I haven’t yet is because it needs to be virginised as it was originally coded to a 420d.

I have a friend that remapped my engine quite a few years back and have been very happy with the results (the 2.0d couldn’t pull the skin of a rice pudding I know that, along with trying to pull a 2 ton car I knew it still wasn’t going to win any races). However, you can noticeably feel the torque difference mid range. Therefore I went back to him in a ditched effort to see if he could code my ZF 8 speed, and we did! Now I’m not saying that it’s perfect but it’s definitely reduced the sluggishness of the gearbox to the point where my replacement box is just sat at my friends workshop.

So, my advice would be if you’ve given it an oil change/service I would look into somewhere you can trust to remap your gearbox.

I hope that helps?