BMW E46 Transmission Notes & Repair by San Jose Trans Auto

The E46 BMW E46 Transmission is the 4th Gen of the 3 Series BMW compact sport car produced in 1998 when it replaced the BMW E36.

The E46 BMW Transmission hit the worldwide markets in 1998. 

in 2000 a convertible & hatchback were released in 2000 for the US and after that for Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The E46 transmission was an huge success throughout the world and was considered to have hit the performance peak of its class. 

Solenoid Problems Fixed Fast at San Jose Trans Auto

With Solenoid kits there are two types.  

For the E65

There is no need to replace the parking solenoids because they very rarely fail for the E65.

Get the E-Shift Pack and use the the M-Shift Solenoids.

These solenoids do go bad because they are not simple solenoids we use to get in the older transmissions.   

If your transmission temperatures are in a good range and it shifts hard it could be a problem with your solenoids.

The newer solenoids also regulate fluid pressure in addition to the open and close operations. So they can get clogged, overheat and wear out too soon.

Because these solenoids control functions inside the transmission you should consider changing them out every 100,000 miles. 

You will be happy with how much better your transmission will shift with new solenoids. 

Remember that don’t need the two parking solenoids. Purchase the 200$ kit, which is much less than a complete kit and also fits the 5 and 6 series without E-Shift. 

No worries if you find your transmission is not the same color because it changed color due to of temperature changes and old age.  

Guibo Flex Disk usually goes bad after the BMW lifetime period between 60 and 70k.

The Most Common Symptoms Are:

1.  Hard 2-1 sift
2.  At stop you can hear clunking when shifting from P-R-D
3.  Overall tranny shifting quality

 Check Your Transmission fluid level Frequently to prevent clogging of parts and burnt fluid that can lead to so many problem.
 

Always check your transmission oil pan for leaks and check the transmission fluid level and be sure to always use BMW sealed tranny fluid level check procedure. 

It’s best to install a metal oil pan because it never leaks and is much cheaper to maintain.

Use BMW OEM Pentosin brand fluid if you can or  Mobil1 or Castrol synthetic ATF fluid import multi vehicle formula. 

BMW only recommends OEM fluid, but if you use a different fluid always check to make sure it has the same specs. Generally speaking the Dextron 6 fluid works as well for these transmissions.

To play it safe use the OEM ZF fluid or Shell M1375.4, but FEBI or ZF is great too.