[Turbanator]

However I am not sure this would have worked for me

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

In the working car , this should work , I will try once I reach back home . However given the fact that there was Transmission error in Androdev's car at time of incident we are not sure if this would have helped , given the complex Electronics in these cars chances are 50 - 50 % .

I am surprised at this extraordinary delay in getting parts of premium cars here in India

Normally they get parts very fast in about a week but maybe this assembly was very heavy so they must have routed through Air cargo instead of Air courier mode .

[Raosaheb Desai]

Hi androdev,
Finally you are back with your beemer.
Happy to know that you don't need to pay for the damage.
Happy miles ahead

[androdev]

So after learning the hard way that transmission can be a b**** in case of a breakdown, I have started researching more about this problem.

Dead battery is obviously one such problem. Good news is I heard this car will warn me about battery issues. Also came across this very interesting "hidden trick" that opens up a hidden menu that has "on board voltmeter" that will show the BMW battery voltage:

Source: Forget to disconnect battery charger? - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

For the folks asking about the onboard voltmeter, and many different status reporting functions, here is how you do it;
1. Hold down the odometer reset button and turn the ignition on by pushing start/stop button.
2. Release the odometer reset button, and you should see a menu of 4 items on the dashboard. From here on, use the odo-reset button to advance to the next entry through a short press, and to select through a long press.
3. Choose the one that says Unlock through the above, which will take you to a passkey screen. Your passkey is the sum of the last 5 digits of your VIN. Increment the two-digit number until you get to it, and with the long press of the odo button, select it.
4. The above reveals quite a few items, most of which are self explanatory. If you choose the System Voltage, you will get to what I was talking above.

..... SNIP.....

Here is the table that BMW has in the technical release;

12.65+ 100%
12.45 75%
12.24 50%
12.06 25%
11.89 0%

Some pics from my car:

[Turbanator]

UPDATE

Never thought that I will have to write my own experience so early

Today morning , we had one the most dense Fog of the season In Delhi ,on way to Airport I hit something not very rough but there was some sound , the car died - "Transmission Failure - take to nearest BMW Service " , I had left my driver & arranged the flatbed , lets see what is ahead . There are no signs of damage under body apparently nor oil leakage but will know the exact status in couple of hours ..

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

UPDATE

Never thought that I will have to write my own experience so early

Today morning , we had one the most dense Fog of the season In Delhi ,on way to Airport I hit something not very rough but there was some sound , the car died - "Transmission Failure - take to nearest BMW Service " , I had left my driver & arranged the flatbed , lets see what is ahead . There are no signs of damage under body apparently nor oil leakage but will know the exact status in couple of hours ..

You sure you had hit something or maybe something internally broke which caused the sound?

[Turbanator]

something internally broke which caused the sound

Can be ! I did checked road couple few meters , there were some bumps not sure if they can cause something so bad or as you said something broke internally , car is been towed now , we will have information in few hours .

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Can be ! I did checked road couple few meters , there were some bumps not sure if they can cause something so bad or as you said something broke internally , car is been towed now , we will have information in few hours .

Ok

androdev; anyway all ended well and thank god that it happened during daytime and family wasnt with you. Lets' say, bad luck and all are safe.


Sharing a pic; imagine his tension!

[Turbanator]

So the culprit was a broken lock in output shaft of rear axle

This is a second incident with local dealership and they have got the modified locks , maybe because of road conditions this has broken . Once they take out this part I will try if I can make something . The sound due to which I got little worried was also because of this . Should get the car hopefully by tomorrow .

[androdev]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

So the culprit was a broken lock in output shaft of rear axle

This is a second incident with local dealership and they have got the modified locks , maybe because of road conditions this has broken . Once they take out this part I will try if I can make something . The sound due to which I got little worried was also because of this . Should get the car hopefully by tomorrow .

Well another chink in the armor! Hope you got your car back by now.

Could you please give more details? Why it happened, how was the recovery experience (I am assuming your car could be put into Neutral) and anything to prevent/avoid such incidents?

I complained to BMW regarding my experience (accident, recovery and repair) and they promised me to put me in touch with BMW tech after the new year break.

On a related note: BMW Secure terms indicate that I am entitled to claim Rs 2000 daily allowance for max 15 days if the car has gone for accident repair. But BajajAllianz says they don't count "waiting for parts" towards this - which is funny because the repair only took 2-3 days out of the 5-weeks they took to return the car.

[Turbanator]

Hope you got your car back by now

Yes , they returned it yesterday itself as I pushed for an early delivery .

I was travelling at very low speed when suddenly I heard a loud noise & the usual alarm on screen - Transmission failure . After I made the call to BMW service , they arranged Crane & passed contact details of Crane guy to my office boy . They promptly arrived in about a hour . Gear box was fine so they could easily do neutral . However I found it little odd to see 5 guys pushing car manually within workshop as they had to move it for a considerable distance inside . They don't have anything to tow inside & there workshop is pretty large . Car was delivered back to my office with a small bill of Rs 551 ( Driver Charges ) duly washed & cleaned interiors . All the pains of morning vanished when I drove back from office to home ....

[androdev]

About to complete a year, thought I should update the thread with some notes:

1. Insurance is up for due:

What I paid at the time of buying:
146K : 88K insurance + 58K secure

What I am asked to pay during this renewal:
149K : 66K insurance + 83K secure (if I had not made a claim - 66K for secure)

Obviously if you are used to cars with decreasing insurance premiums, it will take some getting used to :-) For the benefit of others - following is the secure premium for 4 years (secure is not available after 4 yrs)

1st: 58K
2nd: 66K (without claim), 83K (with claim)
3rd: 79K, 99K
4th: 94K, 117K

In addition to the above secure premium, you also have to pay for the regular insurance premium. So I would assume one would be paying approximately 150K every year towards insurance for the first 4 years if opting for Secure. My transmission repair bill came to 8 lakhs that has been paid by Secure and I would like to keep the secure just to get some good sleep. Apparently Bajaj doesn't offer their drive-assure product for BMWs.

2. I toyed with the idea of swapping this car for another BMW (530D or X3 3.0) and I got a buy back price of ~32 Lakhs. This is for a car that has not completed one year of ownership that has made one claim, with secure and 5yrs BSI and a special registration number. My purchase price was 50L including BSI, etc.

3. The best investment I have made is buying a full wheel spare + jack for this car. It gets punctured so often - it was nails in all the cases. The other cars I use on the same route do not have these issues. Not sure if this is something to do with the rubber compound used in RFTs.

4. Has done about 9K km so far mostly in city, gives about 10-11kmpl in the city. One can get 15kmpl on highway. Other than poor ground clearance, it has been a good ownership so far.

[275BHP]

Hi Androdev, no updates to this thread for almost a year now. How's the bimmer doing? Also, have you considered bumping up the performance by installing a power kit?

[androdev]

Nothing interesting to share except for the BSI renewal that I did just a couple of days ago:

Insurance: ~43K
Secure: ~81K
Total: ~124K

Just to clarify, BMW Secure offers car replacement in case of Total Loss or Theft - including comprehensive motor insurance cost, registration charges and road tax

The replacement is offered as long as the car is covered by Secure. As of today Secure coverage is available up to 4th year of the age of the vehicle.

Very good PPT here:
BMW Secureppt.pdf

Just to add another piece of info. BMW has introduced less expensive versions of Secure by removing few benefits. Details can be found here:
BMW Advance & premium.pdf

[morphin1]

Wow androdev looks like your car gave you a lot of trouble. How many km's have you clocked so far?
How are the repaired parts working now?
Any other new issues?

[androdev]

Originally Posted by morphin1

Wow androdev looks like your car gave you a lot of trouble. How many km's have you clocked so far?
How are the repaired parts working now?
Any other new issues?

Car is working great, it was a complete replacement of the transmission - plug-n-play type work so not much "repair" done. No issues so far, car is doing pretty good. It is not seeing much usage after we added an S-class a year ago - feel little sad but I am not complaining ;-)