Re: Trans Prog. Fail Warning Message (archive)

My 740i with 59K miles died on the road today. I was traveleing about 35MPH and the Trans.Prog. Fail message came up on the warning display. About 1/4 mile later the car shut down. The engine will turn over but will not start. I had it "flat bedded" over to the local BMW dealer but they may not get to it for a few days. Any ideas on what I'm in for?
Thnx...Bob

Hey there Bob!
My 93 740IL exibited the same "Trans Program" warning a few days ago.After a pull-over and a re-start,warning disappeared and I was back on the road.It came up with the same warning again so I scheduled a check with a beemer dealer.They scoped the code and said that it showed a speed sensor failure.They were cautious though and did warn me that other failures will initiate the speed sensor to register fail codes too.I asked them to replace the sensor and see how it runs.They did and the intermittency didnt change.Since they dont do actual transmission rebuilds,I took it to a pal at AAMCO.He suggested that he take it himself to a second dealer and rescan.He did and confirmed that the transmission had a mechanical failure and that the electronics were fine.They pulled it apart and called me over to see what was going on in the inside.The clutches for the 2nd and 3rd gear were smoked.Problem is that this gears were inside a welded cage and he had to cut the weld on the cage to dis-assemble.He will now have the valve body cleaned and the torque converter sent away for a re-build.He is sourcing the clutch pack and assemble sometimes next week.I dont know what it will cost yet and am kinda hoping that I forget about that for now.If you are interested, I will keep u posted as per the progress.I hope yours is simple like a speed sensor or the control module.The speed sensor replacement with labour and all was $415.00 CDN.
Good Luck Bob!

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