[Milestune]

Anyone getting vibration in 7th or 8th gear, 1000-2000 RPM's?

Dealership can't figure it out. I've read that "version 2" of this transmission improved on vibration issues....?

[550Reasons]

you sure its not the wheels ?

[Milestune]

Yup. I have 2 sets of wheels. Does it with both. Exact same feeling.

[Milestune]

Dealership already replaced the Transfer case.... Twice.

[Milestune]

550Reasons... Are you telling me that your 2011 550 doesn't ever have these symptoms???

[estarmer]

Yep 535i 7th gear sport mode 1900 to 2200rpm thinking it might be the drive shaft centering bushing and mild shaft imbalance. I'm still playing with it to isolate gear, RPM, and Speed. Speed points more to the drive shaft. Gear and RPM transmission. Curious why it changes so much weather I have it in sport mode or not.

[Milestune]

OK, so far they've replaced the transfer case AND the tranny... It's still there... Actually, it seems worse now, like the new tranny is uber sensitive to it.....

I'm guessing something in the engine. Coils? small vac leak? Injector not within spec? Anyone?

[MasterC17]

All F10 and F01/F02 have this. Well known issue. No fix.

[EL Jeffe 5]

Originally Posted by MasterC17

All F10 and F01/F02 have this. Well known issue. No fix.

No I don't have this issue 2013 550

[MasterC17]

Originally Posted by EL Jeffe 5

No I don't have this issue 2013 550

It's dependent on driving style whether or not the issue presents itself. It generally only presents itself on drivers whom are very conservative. The transmission learns the driving habits and ends up in very high gears at low speeds. The vibration only exists at very low RPM's in higher gears. But I can assure you, you can make any F10/F01 do this if you try. Most people will never notice it/drive in a way that it will present itself. I worked for BMW for four years and we saw it all the time. It is something in the driveline that is not balanced correctly.

[EL Jeffe 5]

Originally Posted by MasterC17

It's dependent on driving style whether or not the issue presents itself. It generally only presents itself on drivers whom are very conservative. The transmission learns the driving habits and ends up in very high gears at low speeds. The vibration only exists at very low RPM's in higher gears. But I can assure you, you can make any F10/F01 do this if you try. Most people will never notice it/drive in a way that it will present itself. I worked for BMW for four years and we saw it all the time. It is something in the driveline that is not balanced correctly.

I see, Well my driving habits as soon as I start car I put it in Sport mode and pedal to the metal.

[MasterC17]

Originally Posted by EL Jeffe 5

I see, Well my driving habits as soon as I start car I put it in Sport mode and pedal to the metal.

That's why you haven't had/will not have the issue.

The only people that complained about were people who drove like Grandma's haha!

[Milestune]

El Jeffe,

Please try this...

In normal or comfort mode, get on a slight incline, and give it a little gas (at about 40mph)... Tell me if you have this...

[Milestune]

And I don't drive like a grandpa. This will happen on the highway at 60mph... You know, just cruising along.....

[gclions]

How many miles do you have? I had a similar issue, cleaned O2 sensors before cats, it helped. Looking at data logs via BT my O2 sensors are still reading rich at idle and low RPMs. Get on the gas and they get more accurate. Even my most recent dyno showed a lean condition that cleaned up once RPMs came up.

Not suggesting you replace them, but they come out super easy with the tall socket they sell at Advance Auto. I used MAF cleaner by CRC and it got a bunch of crap out of them.

If you run out of ideas this might fix it. I might replace mine within the next week or two. If it completely fixes it, I'll let you know.

[Bmw doubles]

Could it be a faulty torque converter and the dealership is not trying to rebuild for you?

[EL Jeffe 5]

Originally Posted by Milestune

El Jeffe,

Please try this...

In normal or comfort mode, get on a slight incline, and give it a little gas (at about 40mph)... Tell me if you have this...

Sure, I will report tomorrow

[Milestune]

Originally Posted by gclions

How many miles do you have? I had a similar issue, cleaned O2 sensors before cats, it helped. Looking at data logs via BT my O2 sensors are still reading rich at idle and low RPMs. Get on the gas and they get more accurate. Even my most recent dyno showed a lean condition that cleaned up once RPMs came up.

Not suggesting you replace them, but they come out super easy with the tall socket they sell at Advance Auto. I used MAF cleaner by CRC and it got a bunch of crap out of them.

If you run out of ideas this might fix it. I might replace mine within the next week or two. If it completely fixes it, I'll let you know.

I'll give this a shot! Please let me know what you get when you replace them. 88K miiles here. Were you getting this symptom?

[Milestune]

Originally Posted by Bmw doubles

Could it be a faulty torque converter and the dealership is not trying to rebuild for you?

I was told the entire tranny was replaced with a rebuilt. At the dealership, at the cost of 12K

[Milestune]

Originally Posted by gclions

How many miles do you have? I had a similar issue, cleaned O2 sensors before cats, it helped. Looking at data logs via BT my O2 sensors are still reading rich at idle and low RPMs. Get on the gas and they get more accurate. Even my most recent dyno showed a lean condition that cleaned up once RPMs came up.

Not suggesting you replace them, but they come out super easy with the tall socket they sell at Advance Auto. I used MAF cleaner by CRC and it got a bunch of crap out of them.

If you run out of ideas this might fix it. I might replace mine within the next week or two. If it completely fixes it, I'll let you know.

Actually, now that I think about it.... I recently replaced the plugs and noticed that one bank looked perfect, but the other looked carbon covered..... Could this be a symptom of O2 running rich?

[gclions]

I was getting, and to a lesser extent still am, the symptom you suggest. Not coincidentally, I had my transmission replaced as well at 45,000 miles (if I remember correctly) due to an unidentified hum or noise when going in reverse. Clearly, the dealership isn't equipped to tear down and rebuild a ZF without knowing exactly what's wrong. I believe my issue with a rumble or vibration at low RPMs is related to O2 sensors being dirty to the point they are reading rich.

I'm a novice, but my research shows rich around 0.9, lean being 0.2. At idle I was reading 1.01-0.99 between banks, so very rich. I pulled both before cat O2 sensors and sprayed them out really good. I pulled them still mostly hot, sat them in front of a fan to cool down so I could clean them. The CRC MAF cleaner comes with a straw/nozzle tip that fits in the holes in the O2 sensor tip, so I inserted the nozzle and sprayed the crap out of it. My rag was covered in black carbon deposits. Reinstalled the O2 sensors and now I read 0.87-0.89 between banks. So improved, but I wonder if the deposits aren't so bad that cleaning with an aerosol is only so effective.

I've been fighting issues with my car, most recently a broken pin on my stage 2 harness, which I found by accident. It caused all kinds of drivability problems. I've since soldered new sections onto my stage 2 harness and the DME harness, and the car is running better. I also replaced a broken PCV connection yesterday evening, so the car is hauling butt again. But on the way to work I remembered this post, and I still notice the issue you're talking about. I need to do some more datalogging because O2 sensors are expensive, and I want to be sure before I replace them.

But at lower RPMs while cruising, any gear because it doesn't matter, if the car gets down around 1000 RPMs (coasting) it is no longer creating boost and instead the intake manifolds are at a vacuum. I think for me at least, the O2 sensors are reading rich, so I lean out, and as I come back on the throttle and start to build boost the A-F ratio evens out. I think this is causing the rough feeling I'm getting. Like I said, I want to datalog some more to satisfy myself that it's worth throwing more parts at it. I'm at 62,000 miles and I run it hard daily, stage 2 3.5/aggressive.

I'll keep you posted.

[gclions]

Concerning your question about what the plugs looked like, it sounds like you were running rich. I replaced mine a little while back, and they were mostly fine, though a bit orange in color from fuel additives.

I can't find conclusive information related to O2 sensors, and what is normal. Mine had a light white coating, which I thought at first was a lean indication, but the more I looked a lot of people were of the opinion that white was normal. Due to the heat and environment they're in, as long as there is no significant buildup, the color was okay. That seems to be the consensus.