Dealer says clutch problems are normal....

Hey guys I just wanted to get your opinion on something..

I have a 6mt 2011 E92 M3 with 24k on the clock. For the past year now my car has periodically been giving me problems when trying to shift into 1st. I go from neutral to 1st it will only go half way into gear until I let the clutch out slightly and then it will slide all the way into gear. A few times, I have not realized that the shifter was only half way in gear and ended up having it pop all the way out of gear as soon as I try and take off.

I have told my Service Manager about this problem twice but they have been unable to repeat the problem. Then he tells me that that is normal for this car to do that some times. What do you guys think?

I think that when the SA starts giving you multiple different answers, that that is fishy as he** . . .

The dealer is supposed to flush out your MT fluid every third oil change

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265139

You should try another BMW service center if this one is not answering your question or willing to try to fix your problems. You can also try to start at second gear when your first gear is not all the way in. Also try to move it to 2nd gear and then move it to first to see if the gear goes in all the way. I know it feel like you have to force it in to get into first gear. I had the same problem in my old car that is a Lexus.

I have trouble getting into 1st from a dead stop on my 08 as well; I usually shift to 2nd and then back to 1st and it seems to accept the shift fine. I'd say this happens maybe once every couple of days or so. I've been told it is not a rare occurrence (although not from the dealer).

roddyc wrote

I have trouble getting into 1st from a dead stop on my 08 as well; I usually shift to 2nd and then back to 1st and it seems to accept the shift fine. I'd say this happens maybe once every couple of days or so. I've been told it is not a rare occurrence (although not from the dealer).

Thats exactly what happens. It does seem to work better when shifting to 2nd first... I dont see how this is "normal". I had a 6mt 335 before I got the M3 and it never did that.

my 2006 m3 intermittently did the same thing as well. the dealer said the synchros in the gear were worn out and i had a new transmission replaced (under warranty) by BMW @ 13,000-15,000 miles.

i never had that problem again

No it's not normal function. Sounds like the syncros on 1st gear are starting to wear. It's not that unusual on manual transmissions especially if it lives a hard life, i.e.: putting it into 1st without fully depressing the clutch pedal, lots of shifts (city driving?) or many miles.

It's not going to die, but it may get progressively worse. The shift to 2nd then to 1st works or just try gently nudging the shifter in first.

You don't say how often this happens, but if the dealer cannot duplicate the problem they won't fix it.

I have the same exact problem with my '11 e92 M3. Does it at least once every time I take it out for a spin. It is kind of a pain, but when i feel it doesn't go into 1st all the way, i just slowly let out the clutch and let it pop in by itself. Don't try and jam it in there! It will only make it worse! Other than that, shifts like butter. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Had the same problem with my 2010 e90. Same issue going into 3rd. Dealer replaced my transmission.

My has been doing that since 20k. I now have 72k and it does this everyother day. I complained long ago when under warranty, they told me it was normal/ couldn't duplicate and refused to do anything.

I just cope with it by either letting it roll a bit when stopping at an incline and putting it into first or just start from second. At times when I tried going to second and then first, but got an awful gear grind trying to put into first again, this occurs with the clutch fully depressed and with pressure against the wall.

There doesn't appear to be another problems with this so I just learn to live with it.

E92_SID wrote

Hey guys I just wanted to get your opinion on something..

I have a 6mt 2011 E92 M3 with 24k on the clock. For the past year now my car has periodically been giving me problems when trying to shift into 1st. I go from neutral to 1st it will only go half way into gear until I let the clutch out slightly and then it will slide all the way into gear. A few times, I have not realized that the shifter was only half way in gear and ended up having it pop all the way out of gear as soon as I try and take off.

I have told my Service Manager about this problem twice but they have been unable to repeat the problem. Then he tells me that that is normal for this car to do that some times. What do you guys think?

I have the EXACT same problem. I have had it pop out of gear three or four times now. It's annoying because sometimes people honk when it takes me a second to get it into 1st. I am out of warranty so I am just going to deal with it.

Khrishna wrote

The dealer is supposed to flush out your MT fluid every third oil change

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265139

I changed my trans fluid a couple of months ago. It was better for a few days but the trans fluid sheared down and "settled in" and the trans is the exact same.

M3PO wrote

I have the EXACT same problem. I have had it pop out of gear three or four times now. It's annoying because sometimes people honk when it takes me a second to get it into 1st. I am out of warranty so I am just going to deal with it.

I think thats a trans problem; more than likely whoever owned it before you grinded the gears/ missed gears and the teeth on the syncro's are worn.

Doesn't sound like a clutch issue whatsoever.

nbennettksu wrote

I think thats a trans problem; more than likely whoever owned it before you grinded the gears/ missed gears and the teeth on the syncro's are worn.

I think that you might be confused about how synchronizers work. But yes, I agree with you that it is a trans problem. The previous owner was VERY easy on the car (for example he got 18.0 mpg) from what I can tell.

Plus 1st is not really a gear that you grind/ruin (it's usually second) and the synchronizer shouldn't see as much wear on 1st as the other gears I wouldn't think because when you engage 1st from a stop with the clutch in (90% of the use), the trans gears are not spinning like they are when you are moving. The synchro doesn't come into play I don't think.