2009 BMW M3: jerking or lurching

Filed Aug 20, 2010 · Transmission · 2,500 miles · GA

To whom it may concern, I am very happy to see your organization taking an interest in this issue. It is a very dangerous problem with this vehicle that bmwna is well aware of, but insists that it is "normal behavior" for my car/transmission. I brought the car into the dealer, and they were able to reproduce it, but they were told by bmw that this was "normal behavior." the problem occurs when you slow down- like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have trouble figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the onset of power- up to 2-3 seconds. By this time, the driver is usually really digging into the throttle. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes invoking the anti-skip control. The danger in this behavior occurs when making a turn into on-coming traffic after slowing down to around 10-15 MPH. After the turn, the car is positioned in the traffic lane, but you have no power to accelerate into the flow of traffic. The oncoming cars are now closing in on your car at a fast rate, and you're basically stuck. This situation is most pronounced in the "auto" mode of the dct transmission, but also occurs to a lesser degree while in the manual mode when you select second gear in preparation for the turn. It is also very repeatable in both modes. These problems started occurring after a previous recall on this transmission where the engine would stall under hard braking or not shift under hard braking. The recall fixed that problem, but introduced this problem, which occurs almost every day whereas the previous problem only occurred during a specific situation. Thank you for looking into this dangerous matter.

Filed May 27, 2010 · Transmission · 5,600 miles · CA

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) dear [xxx], I am very happy to see your oranization taking an interest in this issue. It is a very dangerous problem with this vehicle that bmwna is well aware of, but insists that it is "normal behavior" for my car/transmission. I brought the car into the dealer, and they were able to reproduce it, but they were told by bmw that this was "normal behavior." the problem occurs when you slow down- like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have trouble figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the onset of power- up to 2-3 seconds. By this time, the driver is usually really digging into the throttle. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes invoking the anti-skip control. The danger in this behavior occurs when making a turn into on-coming traffic after slowing down to around 10-15 MPH. After the turn, the car is positioned in the traffic lane, but you have no power to accelerate into the flow of traffic. The oncoming cars are now closing in on your car at a fast rate, and you're basically stuck. This situation is most pronounced in the "auto" mode of the dct transmission, but also occurs to a lesser degree while in the manual mode when you select second gear in preparation for the turn. It is also very repeatable in both modes. These problems started occuring after a previous recall on this transmission where the engine would stall under hard braking or not shift under hard braking. The recall fixed that problem, but introduced this problem, which occurs almost every day whereas the previous problem only occured during a specific situation. Thank you for looking into this dangerous matter.

Filed Jul 21, 2009 · Transmission · 200 miles · NY

The problem occurs when you slow down- like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have trouble figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the onset of power- up to 2-3 seconds. By this time, the driver is usually really digging into the throttle. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes invoking the anti-skid control. The occurs frequently.

Filed Jun 19, 2009 · Transmission · 11 miles · WA

This complaint is for a 2009 bmw m3 coupe with the dual-clutch transmission (dct). I am experiencing major shift lag trying to reaccelerate after slowing down. Basically, the 2nd gear will fail to catch / engage when I put my foot on the gas pedal causing the car stall for a second or two. After that, the gear will engage abruptly and I will be pulled violently forward. This has resulted in several near-accident situations: 1. I almost rear-ended someone when the gear engaged abruptly with the car jerking forward at a stop light when it turned green as I was approaching, slowing down to 2nd gear. 2. I was almost t-boned at a non-regulated intersection. I was slowing down when approaching the intersection. The car downshifted to 2nd gear for me and about 1/4 way into the intersection, I saw a vehicle speeding down towards the intersection on my left. I tried to accelerate to get out of the intersection but the transmission failed to engage for a full 2 seconds. I barely missed the vehicle t-boning into my car. There is no apparent events that have LED up to the failure. The car behaves like that on the first day I bought it. This failure would happen every time I leave the car in automatic mode, so that the car's computer will downshift for me. I already brought the car to the dealership twice complaining about the issue and the potential safety ramifications, but the dealership's service department claimed that bmw north america has issued a statement claiming that it is normal transmission behavior and there is nothing that they can do to correct it. Obviously, this is a major safety concern for me and I am astonished that bmw will not do anything to rectify its problem.

Filed Jun 19, 2009 · Transmission · 5,900 miles · CA

Hello. I have a 2009 bmw m3 with the dct transmission. I am experiencing significant delays when down shifting from one gear to a lower gear. The problem occurs when you slow down, like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have a serious problem figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the power engaging. I would say about 2-4 seconds. By this time, I am really stepping on the gas pedal. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes engaging the anti-skip control. This problem becomes most apparent when making a turn into on-coming traffic, slowing down to around 10-15 MPH. After the turn, the car is positioned in the traffic lane, but I have no power to accelerate into the flow of traffic. The oncoming cars are now closing in on your car at a fast rate, and you're basically stuck.