M3 E46 SMG Gearbox problem

[LJTS]

M3SMGE46 said:

BMW main dealer quoted £2040inc VAT for SMG replacement.

Independant BMW specialist quoted £1030 for a fully reconditioned SMG unit fitted with a year warantee, same day drive in, drive out service..

So far the SMG warning light has not returned..if it does I'll make the decision as to where to have the work done... :wink:

I paid £1150 inc vat for a new SMG Pump & £300 for an Autoenginuity Scan tool when mine failed

Plus £25 for hydraulic fluid

took about 2 hours max to fit a new pump & do a teach in using the scan tool, hydraulic lines were seized :-(

Edited by LJTS on Wednesday 25th August 20:48

Edited by LJTS on Wednesday 25th August 20:49

[aparuk]

Thanx guyz. I started panicing yesterday when my 2003 m3 didn't want to start or shift into neutral. Luckily I found this page n some great advice. Just went to BMW today n purchased a salmon relay, and guess what , it worked! When I phoneD the mechanic he was already gettin ready to order a new smg pump because it wsnt priming. But it turned out to be a small thing like the salmon relay. Thankz again.

[adam m3]

Hi guys ive got a e46 m3 smg2 . . . i recently purchased it with 70k on the clock. i drove it for a day it was fine. however the next morning i tried to turn it over... it didnt start straight away on the fourth or fifth attempt it came to life . . .i drove it to work i switched it off and when i came back to switch it on the same problem occured. . . after 7 - 10 attempts smoke appeared from the starter motor region . . . i had the car flat bedded home. . . i tried turning the engine by hand it isnt turning . . . i believe the engine is seized and the starter motor is overworking to try turning it over . . . a bmw mechanic has suggested that the smg gearbox has selected two gears and is preventing the engine from turning over ??? Could this be the problem ??? while i was driving it i lifted off the accelarator each time to change gear . . . perhaps this confused the smg as i later discovered you are not supposed to lift off the accelarator pedal when changing gears. . . . the mechanic is suggesting its a selector rod issue and that it needs replacing, going to cost me 2000 pounds for the part alone !!!!!! HELLLLLPPPPPPPPPP !!!! =( ='(

[manutd25]

Yo dude, where did you hear that you should'nt lift off during gear changes. If i don't in manual mode car does'nt like it. Feels better if i lift off. In auto mode, different story though.

[mat205125]

Mine decided to have a tantrum this morning, and not recognise it was out of gear to start. After a few tries and curses it finally started, however the smg light is on.

Is there an accepted sequence of checks to do to find a fault?

[s182]

hi
At the moment looking at a SMG 03 reg that drives ok on light throttle but on heavy throttle goes to change gear and just revs and fails to change up then goes in to limp . codes are 48 gear not selectable and 56 duty cycle hydrolic unit, any ideas???

[KP]

Seems AUC warranty the only option. These other warranties seem worthless. Will tell Warrantee wise this example when they next bother me on the phone!

[Livo78]

Hi all,
Hoping to get some advice, too....
Was driving my 2003 M3SMG on the M62 on Friday, in the outside when suddenly the gearbox changed to neutral & I couldnt engage any gear (fortunately, I managed to get from the fast lane to the hard-shoulder without any incident). From there it was a Flatbed job for the AA and my car is now with a BMW Indy in Manchester waiting to be diagnosed.
has anyone ever had this type of experience before & if so, can you let me know what the problem was and how much it cost to fix??
I've had the car for just over a year, it's done 50k and I absolutely love driving it....but I'm dreading the diagnisis and bill to come.

gmtc said:

Dear all, my car has developed an intermittent gearbox problem in the last two days wherby it gets stuck in 2nd for a period of time, not allowing me to change up in manual or auto modes. After 20 seconds or so of trying it will change up to 3rd-4th etc and then function perfectly for the rest of my drive. Sometimes it will struggle to get out of 2nd repeatedly though it will usually change up after a bit of trying.
Any ideas where my fault may lie? The first real problem ive had with the car in nearly 4-years of ownership.
Many thanks in advance, Graham.

[m3 virgin]

Hi All,

owned my 2004 m3 smg for just under 2 months its the first one i,ve had.

Its Been driving o.k, today as I was driving it lost power so when I looked at the dash I realised it was in Neutral.

I tried to get get it back in to 1st but wasnt having it so I slowed the car down and parked up.

Now doesnt start in neutral(with my foot on the brake) and cant get into 1st gear when I slide gear stick to the right also the smg light is on(yellow cog with exclamation mark)

ANY IDEAS???

I've read some of the earlier posts suggesting maybe salmon relay or gear id switch???