[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by androdev

As per the AT, I generally hate AT stuff. This time I left wondering what should have been simple tow-job became such a big deal because AT died in P (I understand it is for safety but I should have some means to get the car moving without needing a mechanic on the spot)

Inside the big metros there are enough higher end cars that break down that are with a/t. I'm sure the towing people know what to do and that a mechanic doesn't have to go to each and every breakdown site to switch the gear to neutral. It was possible that since you were outside city limits the towing guy hadn't seen anything like this.

[BeamerBoy]

My E60 has it located at a convenient location. Just under the Middle console. You just need to crank a special tool (provided) and your gearbox is disengaged.

Wonder why BMW messed it up with F10. A mechanic going underneath the car to disengage the transmission. What if the car stops over a heap of muck or a puddle of water. Think of a poor mechanic.

I feel, this incident can be taken with a pinch of salt. Murphy's law. Sh*t happens. Move on. All the best.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by androdev

Update:

.... AT oil leaked and AT would not move to any mode other than P - not even neutral. So the tow truck could not budge the car and around 12 noon it was decided that a BMW mechanic would be needed to get the AT in to N mode....

3. AT will always die in P mode and there is no way to get into N mode - unless a mechanic gets underneath it. And get this, you can't put the car in N unless the engine is running even under normal conditions. So whether you have a dead-battery, dead-engine or dead-AT, you will be stuck in P mode and breakdown recovery is going to be a big deal. My guess is this will be true for all new German AT cars

This certainly seems strange. I can understand the AT not going into N when the fluid had leaked out. But not moving to N with a dead battery seems extreme. I ran into a dead batteryhttp://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...000-kms-5.html on my Superb, but the tow truck guy got it into N without any difficulty. Any way, best of luck for a quick turn around by BMW, and hope you don't have any problems going forward.

[Raosaheb Desai]

Hi androdev,
Its an unfortunate accident with your beloved bimmer.
Hope you get it fixed at the earliest.
Now days BMW is quite swift to respond on such incidents.

I think all AT have some kind of arrangements to unlock it manually.
In X Trail, there is small button which unlock gear in case of dead battery or loss of fluid.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by androdev

So I now officially hate AT cars - I never liked them but there is no 'big' car with MT these days so was forced to buy AT only.

Now coming to the flaws in F10 that is the root cause:
1. The stone did not touch the front bumper! So the lowest point of the car is not the front bumper. How cruel is that! My speed was so low (hairpin bend) that only bumper should have got damaged.
2. Only engine section has a metal shield (less than 3ft depth) underneath. The transmission has a paper-fiber shield! ***. There is no under body protection except for the engine section. Even the cheapest Laura comes with a full metal jacket underneath.
3. AT will always die in P mode and there is no way to get into N mode - unless a mechanic gets underneath it. And get this, you can't put the car in N unless the engine is running even under normal conditions. So whether you have a dead-battery, dead-engine or dead-AT, you will be stuck in P mode and breakdown recovery is going to be a big deal. My guess is this will be true for all new German AT cars.

Originally Posted by androdev

As per the AT, I generally hate AT stuff. This time I left wondering what should have been simple tow-job became such a big deal because AT died in P (I understand it is for safety but I should have some means to get the car moving without needing a mechanic on the spot)

Actually Androdev, I don't think AT is to blame here.

Putting it simply, these low slung german sedans are just not meant for Indian roads.

The BMW is rear wheel drive, has a longitudinal mounted engine hence the transmission is located behind the engine and not next to the engine as in tranverse.

Secondly, the BMW uses an electronic AT shifter. Most of the other cars use a mechanical one. Basically the car electronics did not let you shift to N.

[androdev]

Been away for awhile. Ironically I am in Germany now while my car is grounded in the workshop (a pretty depressing sight). I was explaining this incident to a german friend and he was telling me how easy it is get to assistance for a BMW here.

Originally Posted by BeamerBoy

My E60 has it located at a convenient location. Just under the Middle console. You just need to crank a special tool (provided) and your gearbox is disengaged.

Wonder why BMW messed it up with F10. A mechanic going underneath the car to disengage the transmission. What if the car stops over a heap of muck or a puddle of water. Think of a poor mechanic.

I feel, this incident can be taken with a pinch of salt. Murphy's law. Sh*t happens. Move on. All the best.

Yeah, too weird that this feature was removed from F10. Also the front bumper of E60 has a strip underneath that may have prevented such a mess.

While I agree sh*t happens but putting a paper/fiber sheet underneath a car that has 6" GC is outright stupid of BMW.

Originally Posted by Hayek

This certainly seems strange. I can understand the AT not going into N when the fluid had leaked out. But not moving to N with a dead battery seems extreme. I ran into a dead batteryhttp://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...000-kms-5.html on my Superb, but the tow truck guy got it into N without any difficulty. Any way, best of luck for a quick turn around by BMW, and hope you don't have any problems going forward.

It is true. Car will shift to N only if the engine is running. Of course, dead-battery issue can be overcome with a jumper-cable,etc. and does not require a mechanic. But still more complicated than necessary.

Originally Posted by Raosaheb Desai

Hi androdev,
Its an unfortunate accident with your beloved bimmer.
Hope you get it fixed at the earliest.
Now days BMW is quite swift to respond on such incidents.

I think all AT have some kind of arrangements to unlock it manually.
In X Trail, there is small button which unlock gear in case of dead battery or loss of fluid. Attachment 851706

Such a feature exists in E60. Not any more, as far as I can tell.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Actually Androdev, I don't think AT is to blame here.

Putting it simply, these low slung german sedans are just not meant for Indian roads.

The BMW is rear wheel drive, has a longitudinal mounted engine hence the transmission is located behind the engine and not next to the engine as in tranverse.

Secondly, the BMW uses an electronic AT shifter. Most of the other cars use a mechanical one. Basically the car electronics did not let you shift to N.

Ya, never expected the GC would hit me so bad. This happened on a decent road - just that some idiot left a stone on the road (he must have used it to prop his car when his vehicle stalled in the hairpin bend)

E60 also uses electronic shifter but comes with a unlock mechanism accessible to the driver. I know many people think mine is one-off case - but trust me inability to put the car in N is going to hurt lot of people in future.

[androdev]

Update:

This accident happened on 26-Nov Saturday, and exactly after 5 weeks the car was delivered yesterday (Saturday) - but not without putting pressure to deliver it before X'mas.

It took 4 weeks for the part to come from Germany - repair took 2-3 days and they found during the inspection that rubber engine mounts need replacement - and they scared me saying it will require another "parts from Germany" cycle - I freaked out and wrote a stinker mail. I am not sure if that is the reason or not, but they promptly delivered on Saturday yesterday. They replaced one engine-mount and another one is in good enough shape and absolutely safe to drive till the they procure the part. In any case, I did not want the car to be sitting in the garage for longer, so took the delivery.

I have not yet settled the bills yet - most of it will be paid by the insurance and I may have to pay 1,500 or so it seems. The bill came to 7.05 lakhs. I hated this whole episode - I mean the accident was due to such a silly reason, and then the recovery took one whole day, and the repair took 5 weeks and so on and so forth.

And finally when I was driving it back home from the dealership - the drive was superlative and the car made me forget all the hardship. Of course then there are those zillion speed breakers in Bangalore! What an emotional roller coaster it is to be in love with cars in India!

I hope things will get better from now on!

Merry X'mas to all!

PS: Just so everyone knows, I was told that most of the damage was covered by Secure and not the regular insurance because "damage to engine/gearbox due to oil/coolant leakage in an accident" comes under what they call "consequential loss"! I posted a new thread for this sometime ago: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...al-damage.html

[dipen]

Did the service center provide you with an alternate car while your car was at the workshop. Ideally since they did not have the part in stock, and they took 4 weeks just to procure the part, they should have voluntarily else you should have insisted even though you may not have been in the country or have other cars at home.

[BeamerBoy]

Originally Posted by androdev

Update:

And finally when I was driving it back home from the dealership - the drive was superlative and the car made me forget all the hardship. Of course then there are those zillion speed breakers in Bangalore! What an emotional roller coaster it is to be in love with cars in India!

I hope things will get better from now on!

All the best and safe drive ahead. Just a week, the car will make you forget the ordeal.

[S350L-E240]

androdev,

Congrats on getting the car back, just keep everything aside and enjoy the car, stuff happens, but it only happens to make you realize the better moments which are now, with the car in your hands,

Enjoy every bit, and hope you have miles and miles of happy motoring and more germans in your garage!

Regards,

[androdev]

Originally Posted by BeamerBoy

All the best and safe drive ahead. Just a week, the car will make you forget the ordeal.

Originally Posted by S350L-E240

androdev,

Congrats on getting the car back, just keep everything aside and enjoy the car, stuff happens, but it only happens to make you realize the better moments which are now, with the car in your hands,

Enjoy every bit, and hope you have miles and miles of happy motoring and more germans in your garage!

Regards,

Thanks guys. I must be getting old - I took it pretty easy this time. In fact, I was just having a good time at the breakdown scene. The only time I got upset was when on the day of expected delivery they said they found an engine-mount problem during the test-drive and it needs to be imported from Germany - which would have been another 3-4 weeks! Other than that I was pretty much in "stuff happens" mode.

I was trying to drive the tow truck while I was at the breakdown



You can look at all the oil leaked, on the road:


Tow boys who wanted their photo sent to them in Salem, TN:


Ironically it was a very good road to have such a breakdown:

Originally Posted by dipen

Did the service center provide you with an alternate car while your car was at the workshop. Ideally since they did not have the part in stock, and they took 4 weeks just to procure the part, they should have voluntarily else you should have insisted even though you may not have been in the country or have other cars at home.

I believe under BMW Secure (or the so-called full-risk insurance policies such as Bajaj Drive Assure) I am entitled to hire a car during this period. I have read elsewhere on this forum:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2569033

But I have not availed this facility - I misplaced my BMW-Secure booklet and I really did not need a taxi.

But during the last few days I mailed them saying I am super unhappy with the delay and demanded a courtesy 5-Series till my car is back on the road. I got the car back before they could respond.

So bottom line is you are entitled to a taxi I guess - but not sure they will give you a BMW courtesy car in India.

[Turbanator]

I was explaining this incident to a german friend and he was telling me how easy it is get to assistance for a BMW here.

Not always - I found this interesting article . This also has a post

Automatic Transmission Emergency Release


1. Activate ignition
2. Press brake pedal
3. Press start/stop button
4. As soon as engine is cranking, press unlock button on gear selector and move it forwards to position N. Continue to hold the gearshift in this position until the alert gong sounds and you see the message "Gearbox Dysfunction" - now release the gearshift lever.
5. Reselect gear position N within 6 sec
6. N is then displayed on the instrument panel
7. Keep brake pedal depressed until engine stops cranking (presumably you press the stop/start button to stop the starter motor at this point)
8. The ignition must remain activated in order to maintain N, once it is switched off the transmission will revert to P.


source - Stuck on a round about for 5 hours! - 2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10

[androdev]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Not always - I found this interesting article . This also has a post

Automatic Transmission Emergency Release


1. Activate ignition
2. Press brake pedal
3. Press start/stop button
4. As soon as engine is cranking, press unlock button on gear selector and move it forwards to position N. Continue to hold the gearshift in this position until the alert gong sounds and you see the message "Gearbox Dysfunction" - now release the gearshift lever.
5. Reselect gear position N within 6 sec
6. N is then displayed on the instrument panel
7. Keep brake pedal depressed until engine stops cranking (presumably you press the stop/start button to stop the starter motor at this point)
8. The ignition must remain activated in order to maintain N, once it is switched off the transmission will revert to P.


source - Stuck on a round about for 5 hours! - 2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10

Wow, that is a very interesting read. BMW should really do something about this stuff. Bad design. I wrote to them about this but I am not sure they care. They should not sell cars in India assuming the assistance standards of Germany (No spare wheel, AT that doesn't get into N).

However I am not sure this would have worked for me. If I understood it correctly, this describes a scenario where Transmission is OK, but the engine is faulty. In my case the transmission itself was faulty and engine was OK. But very good tip nevertheless - I am going to keep a printout of these instructions in the car.

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by androdev

While I agree sh*t happens but putting a paper/fiber sheet underneath a car that has 6" GC is outright stupid of BMW.

Cost cutting may be ?

Sorry to hear that , heart burns to experience such things after paying so much you end up like this .May be you should (all bmw owners ) should source an after market metal shield under the car .

Originally Posted by androdev

However I am not sure this would have worked for me. If I understood it correctly, this describes a scenario where Transmission is OK, but the engine is faulty. In my case the transmission itself was faulty and engine was OK. But very good tip nevertheless - I am going to keep a printout of these instructions in the car.

I suggest you try / simulate what Turbanator has posted once and see if it works in your car.

PS: Does Indian AT cars also have this problem ?

PPS: Mods a separate thread needs to be created to discuss this issue and make people aware of this .

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by androdev

It took 4 weeks for the part to come from Germany

I am surprised at this extraordinary delay in getting parts of premium cars here in India. All it takes is a overnight courier by flight to get you any part from Europe to here in India. Being a customer of premium cars one should get this service else it really doesn't make sense in owning a BMW and not having car for over a month for what so ever reason it may be.