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      03-06-2017, 10:35 AM   #1
GoranBonn
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Suddenly getting "gong" and blinking led warning when shifting to Drive? (Automatic)

So, recently (in the past two months) I started getting an intermittent "gong" sound accompanied by a blinking square around the gear indicator on the dashboard and a blinking LED on the gear shifter lever.

The car doesn't throw any actual warning or any issue in the check control, and seems to shift actually fine. At first I thought it is just annoyed at me not coming to a full stop or not pressing the brake enough, but I've managed to have it happen even when fully stopped and reasonably pushing the brake.

It's totally intermittent, it took me a lot of tries to get it to actually occur on video. From googling various transmission issues, it seems that if there was an actual transmission problem preventing the transmission from shifting into drive, the actual letter D would be blinking - in my case it's just the surrounding box which blinks. The user manual was useless.

Anyone have any clue as to what might be the issue here? Some forums suggest a sensor on the brake pedal?

I even had it happen once today when stopping at a red light and shifting into M/S to prevent stop/start from engaging - the M/S LED was blinking in this case.

Here are videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNXYMwWugDQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nCO4uPQtaU
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      03-06-2017, 10:59 AM   #2
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Faulty gearbox electronics module
Need to have dealer test which
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      03-06-2017, 11:06 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E90Fleet View Post
Faulty gearbox electronics module
Need to have dealer test which
Ouch (of course I'm way past warranty...) ... thanks.
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      03-15-2017, 06:55 AM   #4
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Just wanted to give an update to this. Went to dealer, they said the battery was at 60% and for the time being they charged it up. Even in days running up to the service appointment, the issue was happening less frequently. Hasn't happened in the 2 days since picking it up.

Funnily enough, a friend of mine also suggested to check the battery also for the NBT reboot issue I was mentioning in another thread.

I'll keep monitoring the issue, might be that after 4 years it's time to think about a new battery and that it might be causing all the various winter-related electronic issues.
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      03-15-2017, 07:17 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GoranBonn View Post
I'll keep monitoring the issue, might be that after 4 years it's time to think about a new battery and that it might be causing all the various winter-related electronic issues.
When the battery is approaching the end of its life it will be most apparent in cold weather. You can extend its life by using a battery tender in cold weather. I use a tender any night that the temperature goes below 20F, or 30F if I'm not going to be driving the next day. I do this even with a new car, and it extends my battery life about two years.
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      03-15-2017, 09:13 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Billfitz View Post
When the battery is approaching the end of its life it will be most apparent in cold weather. You can extend its life by using a battery tender in cold weather. I use a tender any night that the temperature goes below 20F, or 30F if I'm not going to be driving the next day. I do this even with a new car, and it extends my battery life about two years.
On the one hand, my car stays in the garage overnight so doesn't get too cold. On the other hand, since last year I have a dashcam hardwired (Thinkware F770), which is a constant drain on the battery. It does have a voltage threshold switchoff, and the car would have complained about standby power consumption if it was too excessive, but nevertheless could have produced the issue. As I said, I'll continue keeping an eye on the battery as a possible culprit.
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      03-15-2017, 10:07 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GoranBonn View Post
I'll continue keeping an eye on the battery as a possible culprit.
Get one of these and you'll know for sure:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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      07-29-2017, 02:40 AM   #8
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Let me update on this issue. After a lot of hassle, I think I finally solved it.

First I bought a new battery. That wasn't it.

Then the dealer suggested updating all of the software in the car. That wasn't it.

In the end, bought a used gear shifter on ebay. Original new part was quoted by dealer around 700 euros without installation. Got it on ebay for 150 euros and installed it myself.

The main hint that it could be the electronics in the shifter itself was the fact that you could trigger the "gong" even if not shifting into a gear, simply pressing the "unlock" button would (very rarely) trigger it.

The following two guides helped me with the installation:

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=901534
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1136440

The first one particularly helped with two troublesome points: figuring out where the second screw is holding the shifter surround trim, and how to get the drive mode button bar off. That button assembly is a pain in the ass to remove. It has tabs which you need to press on both sides, however the you can only reach the one to the front of the car. What worked for me is to press that one, lift the front of the button bar, and use a bit of force to get it out and dislodge the rear tab. If you're having trouble with it, just know that it can be done.
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      07-29-2017, 10:41 AM   #9
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Glad you finally figured it out, and thanks for the update! I wish more threads ended like this. Too many people ask a question about a problem then update with a "nevermind, I figured it out" and that's it. Someday, someone will be searching for this problem on this forum and come across this post and you will save them much headaches.
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      09-11-2017, 11:13 AM   #10
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Hello GoranBonn,

Thank you for such a comprehensive review. I have had this issue for over a year and could not seem to get any leads whatsoever from any forums online (you can check out my post on http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=902485).

However, I would like know: after reinstalling the new gear shifter, did it require recoding/reprogramming or did it work immediately after?

Many thanks!

Last edited by mnoussairi; 09-11-2017 at 11:16 AM.. Reason: Mistype
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      09-11-2017, 01:49 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mnoussairi View Post
Hello GoranBonn,

Thank you for such a comprehensive review. I have had this issue for over a year and could not seem to get any leads whatsoever from any forums online (you can check out my post on http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=902485).

However, I would like know: after reinstalling the new gear shifter, did it require recoding/reprogramming or did it work immediately after?

Many thanks!
Hey mnoussairi,

sorry to hear you have the same issue - hope my solution works for you as well.

The shifter didn't require any coding whatsoever. One of the threads I linked above discusses the fact that you can swap the normal and sport shifter levers interchangeably without any coding. They have a different physical design but electrically are apparently the same.

My car, even though it's a 2013, has been updated by dealer at one point in 2016 to the latest i-step available, so isn't even running the software release from the factory. The production date on the shifter I bought from ebay was something like 2013 or 2014 I think, with the same part number, and it worked like a charm even on the newer software in the car. So definitely isn't dependant on the i-step level.

EDIT: And another thing: when replacing the shifter, I simply had the car switched off - I didn't disconnect the battery. I just parked the car unlocked in my driveway and had the car in off mode (iDrive off, no LED lit on the shifter).

Last edited by GoranBonn; 09-11-2017 at 01:58 PM..
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      09-19-2018, 09:11 AM   #12
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Having this exact same problem (down to the fine detail) in my F11 520D auto (15 plate). It's currently at the main dealer, who rang me to say the battery needed replacing- but I've referred them to this post. Waiting to hear back.
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      11-12-2018, 02:02 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by iBeech View Post
Having this exact same problem (down to the fine detail) in my F11 520D auto (15 plate). It's currently at the main dealer, who rang me to say the battery needed replacing- but I've referred them to this post. Waiting to hear back.
Hey man, exactly same problem (F10) as of today. What was the cause in your case? Battery or something else? Thanks!
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      11-12-2018, 05:48 PM   #14
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Hey man, exactly same problem (F10) as of today. What was the cause in your case? Battery or something else? Thanks!
Uh, read post #8 for his solution
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      11-13-2018, 01:45 AM   #15
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Uh, read post #8 for his solution
Yes, I saw the OP's solution (for which I am very grateful), but I was asking iBeech for the cause for his issue. In my case it may actually be battery as it can't get above 70% SoC/12V rest.
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      09-18-2019, 03:59 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GoranBonn View Post
Let me update on this issue. After a lot of hassle, I think I finally solved it.

First I bought a new battery. That wasn't it.

Then the dealer suggested updating all of the software in the car. That wasn't it.

In the end, bought a used gear shifter on ebay. Original new part was quoted by dealer around 700 euros without installation. Got it on ebay for 150 euros and installed it myself.

The main hint that it could be the electronics in the shifter itself was the fact that you could trigger the "gong" even if not shifting into a gear, simply pressing the "unlock" button would (very rarely) trigger it.

The following two guides helped me with the installation:

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=901534
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1136440

The first one particularly helped with two troublesome points: figuring out where the second screw is holding the shifter surround trim, and how to get the drive mode button bar off. That button assembly is a pain in the ass to remove. It has tabs which you need to press on both sides, however the you can only reach the one to the front of the car. What worked for me is to press that one, lift the front of the button bar, and use a bit of force to get it out and dislodge the rear tab. If you're having trouble with it, just know that it can be done.

hello on my 335D I have the same issue, car still under warranty, did replacing the gear stick resolve the issue?
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      10-23-2019, 02:38 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by satish_141 View Post
hello on my 335D I have the same issue, car still under warranty, did replacing the gear stick resolve the issue?
Yes, 100%.
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      09-24-2020, 01:30 AM   #18
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My f31 2018/03 after 50k miles did the same. I bring it to bmw workshop and diagnosis response has been to replace the gear shifter lever. Luckily bmw cover 80% of cost even if no more under warranty. Cost of the part was more than 1000€.
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      08-10-2021, 08:24 AM   #19
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Gear Shifter needs to be changed

I had the same issue. It's still under warranty but when they opened up the console and took out the original gear shifter they saw that something was spilled on the shifter. They declared it human error and didn't cover it. I bought one off ebay ($170usd) and my mechanic charged me $150 (usd) to install it. The dealer was going to charge me $1600 (usd). I saved a lot!!
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      08-12-2021, 04:28 PM   #20
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hi, my 2016 f36 begun doing this.

When I'm at the stop sign and break, the D indicator on the gauges flashes and does this gong sound. also sometimes when I do reverse and then engage D just like this video.

No warning at all. if I start and break again, it would do the same.

as a workaround I engage N, then engage D again with the unlock button pressed and hold the lever until it makes a click.

I will try using the workaround but if it becomes unmanageable guess will have to do the shift lever change.. thanks
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      09-17-2021, 09:15 AM   #21
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Hi everyone,

I have registered to reply to this post as I have also had this problem intermittently and it is now resolved, thanks to the knowledge and comments in this thread. The long and short of this is that the selector needed to be replaced in mine, but some history is below:

I bought my car in March 2021 during UK lockdown 2 and because of distancing, I wasn't able to test drive the car. I bought the car on the promise that if I wasn't happy with it after a week or 100 miles (whichever came first) I could take the car back.

After 89 miles, the chiming started with no real answer for what could be causing it. I took the car back to the seller who diagnosed the problem to be with the auxiliary battery, which was replaced.

Within a week of receiving the car back the chime when selecting drive came back, so the car was booked in again to be investigated. The seller had a process whereby if they couldn't fix it in the first visit then the car went to BMW. During the second visit no fault could be found (because the fault was intermittent) so the car was returned back to me.

Within a day the chime was back and worse than ever. I took the car yet again to the seller who sent it back to BMW again. After keeping the car for two weeks I received a call stating that the fault had been located and the selector was going to be changed.

We're now over a month down the road and the chime has gone. It sounds from some peoples experiences that this fault takes some pushing to get them to listen to you. Persist!

Good luck everyone

SC
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