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.
2009 BMW M3 transmission complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 24 of 24, newest first, as owners wrote them.
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.
2009 bmw m3 dct (dual clutch transmission) exhibits a serious lag/hesitation when trying to accelerate from a rapid rolling stop. When this issue occurs in an intersection or at a stop light, a serious safety issue exists of being t-boned or slammed in the rear. When reported to bmw they claim it "works as designed". Guess someone needs to be seriously injured or killed before bmw will resolve this issue.
Slowing down at an intersection to make a left turn. Decelerated to about 3 MPH. Accelerated to initiate the turn. Transmission failed and car did not accelerate. About 1.5-2 second lag time before the transmission actually engaged. Almost got hit by an oncoming car.
On my 2009 bmw m3 with dct transmission, there is a noticeable lag after braking when you try to accelerate while in automatic(d). This is especially dangerous when trying to pull out of an intersection. The car has no power and sits there like it's thinking. Someone is going to get hurt. Bmw needs to get a fix to this software glitch.
My 2009 bmw m3 with a dct transmission lags between 1st and 2nd gear. When you push on the accelerator the car does not go for at least 2 seconds, then it shoots forward. I have complained to bmw but they say this is normal. This occurs all the time when I am slowing down and the car is down shifting.
The bmw m3 with dct transmission exhibits a dangerous acceleration lag in second gear. Specifically, when coasting at low speed in second gear, close to one full second will elapse once the accelerator pedal is depressed before the transmission actually engages and the car begins to accelerate. This makes merging into traffic, or any situation requiring quick power application, difficult and potentially dangerous.
There's a significant lag for the transmission to engage in my car which at times prevents me from getting out of the way of a potential conflict.
Summary: power application lag in 2nd gear with m3 dual clutch transmission. Specific incident: while rolling in 2nd with about 1500rpm I was trying to merge onto traffic from a merging right lane that was ending shortly. After I thought it was safe to accelerate, I did so, but the engine did not produce power for the next 0.5 second. After power kicked in, it was no longer safe to continue as the oncoming car was closer than I had calculated before attempting to accelerate. Also, power kicked in as I would expect it to happen 0.5 second ago. To avoid an accident, I had to break abruptly causing the belts to lock and my wife considerable discomfort. Good thing no one was behind me expecting me to accelerate. The occurrence of the lag is prevalent where the system is not sure whether the driver wants to break or accelerate. I believe it needs attention by bmw and appropriate reprogramming of the transmission control system.
When transmission downshifts to 2nd gear, sudden and complete loss of power when turning. Happens with dct transmission with latest software. Many similar complaints on bmw message boards, and bmw is basically ignoring us.
I own a 2009 bmw m3. It has the mdct transmission. There is a delay when coming to a rolling stop and then trying to accelerate again. The delay occurs when pushing the accelerator and when the engine/transmission actually engages and moves forward. The delay is as long as 1-1.5 seconds. This has nearly caused several accidents. Bmw says this is normal behavior, but I don't believe it to be the case. It seems like the transmission doesn't downshift at lower speeds. In fact, only "thinking" and proceeding to downshift after the accelerator is applied. By then, it's too late. As a driver, you expect forward momentum as soon as the accelerator is applied... Not that it down shifts at that point. Plus, the reading display suggests it is in fact downshifted to 2nd gear... But I assure you, that's not the point. This happens every time the scenario is mentioned. Say coming from 35 MPH or higher so the vehicle is in a higher gear (5 or 6) and then you slow to say 10 MPH and then try to accelerate.... Say in stop and go traffic.
This occurs regularly, perhaps 10 times per week or more depending on severity. On deceleration, the transmission will disengage the driveline. When the throttle is depressed again to accelerate, there is a long delay (greater than 1 second). This occurs at slow speeds (less than 20 MPH), for example when entering a left turn lane with oncoming traffic. I had this behavior duplicated for a bmw technician who, upon further research, indicated that bmw was aware of this issue and has declared it "normal operation". It is only a matter of time before a serious accident is caused by this issue.
In the 2009 bmw m3 sedan with dct (dual clutch) transmission, there is a significant lag or hesitation of at least 1 second between applying pressure to the accelerator and the clutch engaging and giving acceleration to the wheels. This does not happen from a stand-still, but occurs primarily when the car is in motion at virtually all ranges of speed, from rolling stop (5km/hr or less) through standard road speeds of any degree (residential 30-40km/hr, city roads 50-70km/hr, or highway 90km/hr+). I was carefully in the middle of a slow left turn at an intersection on saturday, feb 7, 2009. To avoid an oncoming car prematurely heading in my direction, I pressed on the accelerator to hasten the completion of my turn, but the car did not respond because of the clutch lag. I narrowly avoided being hit. This transmission defect could reasonably result in serious injury or death to the driver or passengers, especially when sudden and unanticipated acceleration out of a difficult driving situation is required. *tr the consumer stated he also experienced unexpected stalls during low speed driving, but not rapid deceleration. Updated 03/11/09.
My 09 bmw m3 with dct is exhibiting gear shifting slowness and power lagging problems after hard braking. The most recent incident was a near rear end collision today that required me to brake hard from 70mph, to 40, switch lanes and accelerate to avoid being hit by approaching traffic from behind. When I attempted to accelerate, the car did not respond for what seemed like a couple seconds. The lag was long enough that the car behind me was forced to leave the road to avoid hitting me.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2009 BMW M3?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history