R reg M3 Evo Trip-Tronic Problems, Requiring Advic

[jrayner]

My wife took the car to work yesterday, she drives it in the Auto mode. She phoned me to say that a warning light had come on (the yellow one with the cogs around it) and that the automatic gear box was skipping gears and acting lumpy.

When she tried it in sports mode, shifting up/down the gears herself, she said it was better, but it would not stay in 6th gear and not all the power was there. Anyone got any advice they can give me to resolve the problem, or had similar problems?

[M3EVO]

Look under the bonnet and in the front left looking in to the engine bay, where the SMG unit is there should be a relay/fuse housing. Check the realy inside is ok as this produced the same problem on mine. The relay can burn out. Replace and take the car to a dealer and have them reset the fault through the diagnostics.

PS the unit is not 'Tiptronic'. SMG is Sequentielle M Getrabe which is a full manual with sequential action as opposed to the tiptronic which is based around a torque converter as per normal automatic.

[jrayner]

Thanks for that, but that was not it. I took it to my local dealer who after doing a diagnostics came back and said that it was the gear linkage. After having them reset it all (and regassing my A/C for free) it is now running like a dream and seems to be a lot smoother when it changes gear (used to be quite jerky and hessitant).