Automatic Transmission Indicator Lamp

[Ndogoldogol]

On my way to work today, I was stopped at a light. my car kind of skipped forward, then the Electronic Transmission Control Module indicator lamp came on. Then when I started driving, it felt as though it were in 2nd or 3rd gear, and it would not shift. I called the dealership, they said it would cost $132 just to look at it.....seriously? What could be wrong with my car? I just bought it used in March, it had 46k miles, and I've put on about 8k since then. I have had to replace my breaks already, my wires for my tail lights, I got a flat, and my back passenger side window wiring got all tangled and mangled. I am really losing faith in BMW.

If you have any experience with this indicator lamp and what I may be facing, please let me know

 

[Harman1]

I had this happen to me, it's simple to fix, look in your owners manual under electronic transmission control module. Its will say put you car in park set the parking
brake and turn the engine off ignition key to position 0. wait a few seconds, them start the engine. the light should go off and the transmission should be back to normal. Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[Kirby]

Your transmission went into "safe" mode for some reason. This could be a lot of possibilities, from a one time glitch, to a blown fuse, to a major failure. If the reset above doesn't work. Disconnect the battery for 30 minutes and try again. Beyond that, it depends on how handy you are. Check the manual for the location of fuses for the transmission. I have also heard there is a 30 amp fuse in or around the transmission control module, under the hood of the car, though I have never looked for it, and cannot tell you where exactly to look.

 

[Ndogoldogol]

Diagnosis

Ok so I had a mechanic check it out. He said it was the speed sensor in the transmission, which will run me between $100-$200 for the part I guess. He reset the system, so the lights went off, and the transmission is functioning properly now. He said there may either be gunk on the sensor, or it needs to be completely replaced. He also said that I could maybe just drive it with no further problems, but if it really needs to be replaced then the light will come back on and the transmission will stay in 3rd gear again. So we will see what happens[???1]