[RachelS]

I made my official call to BMW NA to file my first official complaint about the hesitation at take off. I have STEPtronic.

I think they are having problems with this new 6 speed STEP tranny. As with all automakers, they keep it hush hush...

If you report it, the more reports will get the ball moving faster to fix it.

I was told they have a hard downshift problem too.


1-800-831-1117

[marcus330i]

Where's the pics of your car with the Ohio plates? What color/options do you have? We need details here!

[silverado]

RachelS,

Does this hesitation happen if you are in sport mode (gotta be the fourth time I'm asking this question)

[RachelS]

not as much, but it is there.

[deutschmann59]

You know, when I first took the car home from the dealership the day I bought it, I thought I was doing something wrong because the hesitation was so bad. My father was with me and when we were sitting at the light and it finally turned green, I started driving and my dad even asked "are you waiting for the light to turn another shade of green?" that's how bad the hesitation was. But right now, even with only 200 miles on the car, I've noticed a TREMENDOUS difference in the hesitation. In fact, I think it's nearly impossible to detect it now. And it isn't that I've gotten used to it--it really seems to have went away by itself. The car hasn't been in for service or anything like that yet, but that's just what I noticed, anyway.

[RachelS]

I love the car - but the tranny sucks. Anyway a friend of mine went from BMW to Mercedes because of all his tranny problems - He said BMW's Steptronic is nick-named sliptronic by a lot of its owners... I am debating on returning this car tomorrow.

[deutschmann59]

Hey Rachel, if you're really bothered by the tranny and that's really an issue for you, then you should definitely do it. I don't want to try to talk you out of it if you're really upset and worried about other stories from other BMW owners. This is my first bimmer, and I don't want to tell you that yeah, it'll go away and you'll never even notice it again once its break-in period is over, but I've heard that this hesitation isn't just with steptronic...manual E90 owners have complained about the same hesitation on this forum, so I'm not exactly sure what to say about it. The hesitation i had seems to have gone away completely and I'm definitely 100% satisfied, but then again, my last car was a cavalier, so...you know...

Good luck with whatever you decide. Like I said, i don't want to be making any claims or anything and then you decide to keep it and your hesitation never goes away, but it did for me.

[RachelS]

look at this

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=3023

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=2873

Mmmm...how many miles did you have before it went away and why did it go away....

[jiggax23]

like i stated in the other post, mines went away after a while. how many miles do you have on ur car? but in terms of switching over to a mercedes, mercedes is the most recalled car in the luxury fleet according to a lot of my friends. if you're really adamant about switching and/or dont wanna wait to see if it goes away with some mileage on the car and if you want something more reliable, go w/ acura or lexus. just my opinion.

[deutschmann59]

I have 230 miles on the car and I noticed that it went away around 200. But only about 60 of that is actual highway miles. The rest is city stop-start driving, so it could very well be that the tranny "learned" my driving habits...or not (I don't know how that works, if the car can even do such a thing). I read the post and I know what they're talking about. At first, the car seemed like it wouldn't even drive when I was coming out of a complete stop...the hesistation made me drive like a granny through an intersection because it was so bad, it was like it couldn't even get out of it's own way. But then, about after the 150 miles mark, it seemed like what the guy in the post was refering to. The hesitation was gone as long as you didn't apply excessive pressure to the accelerator at first, but if you did the hesitation was still there. But now, like I said, it is really gone.

I would think engine and tranny hesitation are two different things, but there was a BMW fuel additive my dealer gave me which reads right on the bottle "eliminates engine break-in hesitation" so maybe that did the trick. But who knows? Maybe my car is one in a million that the hesitation seems to have gone away. I don't want to say "hold on to it for a couple more weeks or months" because the longer you have it and the more miles you put on it, the less you'll get back for it...I mean I don't know how returning a car works, but I don't think the dealer would give you the exact amount you paid for it. I hate to make the decision harder for you, but it really went away for me.

[schneur]

Originally Posted by sharp1183

I have 230 miles on the car and I noticed that it went away around 200. But only about 60 of that is actual highway miles. The rest is city stop-start driving, so it could very well be that the tranny "learned" my driving habits...or not (I don't know how that works, if the car can even do such a thing). I read the post and I know what they're talking about. At first, the car seemed like it wouldn't even drive when I was coming out of a complete stop...the hesistation made me drive like a granny through an intersection because it was so bad, it was like it couldn't even get out of it's own way. But then, about after the 150 miles mark, it seemed like what the guy in the post was refering to. The hesitation was gone as long as you didn't apply excessive pressure to the accelerator at first, but if you did the hesitation was still there. But now, like I said, it is really gone.

I would think engine and tranny hesitation are two different things, but there was a BMW fuel additive my dealer gave me which reads right on the bottle "eliminates engine break-in hesitation" so maybe that did the trick. But who knows? Maybe my car is one in a million that the hesitation seems to have gone away. I don't want to say "hold on to it for a couple more weeks or months" because the longer you have it and the more miles you put on it, the less you'll get back for it...I mean I don't know how returning a car works, but I don't think the dealer would give you the exact amount you paid for it. I hate to make the decision harder for you, but it really went away for me.

Could it be that after driving 200 miles you just got used to it?

Im going to be getting mine within a few days and i hope its not got that problem...

[timzerofive]

Originally Posted by sharp1183

my dad even asked "are you waiting for the light to turn another shade of green?"

hahahahaha thats a nice burn, your dad's hilarious

[cosmosblau]

Is anyone who is having this problem have the Sport Package on their car? Does the AT SP have a more aggressive Software program? I know the top speed limiter is different.

[RachelS]

yes, I have the sport package...

[skimo]

okay, I am not sure about this, but during my last vist to the BMW dealership, the salesman told me that auto-tranny cars "adjust to your style of driving" this takes 10 or15 (dont reember) engine starts. Basically, for relaxed drivers, the engine would ramp up slower and have different shift timings than agresive dirvers. It does that through sensing of how fast you push the pedal durin the learning stage. So maybe, again i dont know if there is a relation, during those first ~200 miles you are actually within the first 10 - 15 engine starts and the car is still "learning" and as a result there is a delay. After that, its done learning so all is good....

I know that this "learning" mechanism exsists also on mercedes.

My question, I dont see why a manual would have the delay? Does it? I searched the forum but didn't find manual users complaining?

skimo

[marcus330i]

Originally Posted by RachelS

I love the car - but the tranny sucks. Anyway a friend of mine went from BMW to Mercedes because of all his tranny problems - He said BMW's Steptronic is nick-named sliptronic by a lot of its owners... I am debating on returning this car tomorrow.

Rachel....you don't really have a BMW....do you.

[Ewrek]

Originally Posted by marcus330i

Rachel....you don't really have a BMW....do you.

LOL

[svengali]

Originally Posted by RachelS

I love the car - but the tranny sucks. Anyway a friend of mine went from BMW to Mercedes because of all his tranny problems - He said BMW's Steptronic is nick-named sliptronic by a lot of its owners... I am debating on returning this car tomorrow.

Damn Rachel. Is it still that bad? Take that back and tell them to take care of it. That dude at bimmerfest had his taken out and replaced, right?

[kahala12]

Originally Posted by RachelS

I made my official call to BMW NA to file my first official complaint about the hesitation at take off. I have STEPtronic.

I think they are having problems with this new 6 speed STEP tranny. As with all automakers, they keep it hush hush...

If you report it, the more reports will get the ball moving faster to fix it.

I was told they have a hard downshift problem too.


1-800-831-1117

Ok it seems everyone here in this post has never had a BMW with steptronic before , so I will inform you , That yes the transmission is a great product, first when new it will seem to mayb'e lag, but it is not, it starts new and learns from your own driving habits. So when the car is new or software reset, it will be in the least agressive shift pattern, then depending on how you drive that it will adjust to that, wether a 18 year old lead foot or a 72 year old grandma, it will adjust over a very short time. That's where everyone here thinks it is a mileage issue,as it will egt better over 50-200 miles, thats not the case. So Rachel your car is very normal for BMW auto transmissions, give it time to learn, it should take no longer than a week or so. And "Marcus330", seems like you have some issues with people, :mad: :mad: if you want to insult people and state they do not have a BMW, that is their issue, not yours,if they lie about that well you should be a better person and not call their bluff .Your better off in Roadfly, I think there they like to insult each other. So I hope you all are better informed now.

[RachelS]

very nice..going on a 1000 mile trip today in my e90

it will be interesting to see how it learn..hope you are right and i think you are

i think they should tell you these things when they sell you this car at the dealer.

[marcus330i]

take lots of pics and post them when you get back!

[eimSD]

Interesting thread. As I'm picking up MY first BMW, with step (non-sport) in Munich in about a week and a half, these are bits of advice I gather from this conversation, correct me if I'm wrong, or have missed anything else:

1. Don't be more aggressive than you normally would be in your driving, trying to compensate for an initial lag when starting from a stop, upon first acquiring the vehicle.

2. Do include a good amount of city, stop & go, driving, don't spend all your time on the Autobahn.

3. Don't let your spouse drive your new wheels in those first few 100 miles if you want the car to learn YOUR driving style...

Edie