Concerned about DCT problem

[g1122123]

Hello Everybody, I am fairly concerned, I have owned my '11 e93 DCT m3 for about 3 months now, and Recently (starting yesterday) The car has made clunking noises under Full throttle in 1st gear. It is only in 1st gear, and The shifting and everything feels normal, but I can feel for a split second vibrations coming through the gas pedal and a clunking/grinding sound for a very short time, when i floor it past the detent in 1st around 5k rpms.
Im thinking it could be DCT related and was unable to find anything on the forums.

I normally run Straight 91 (No straight 93 around here) but yesterday I did fill up on e10 93, but I don't think that would cause this... No lights. ANy help and info will be greatly appreciated. THanks in advance.

[Tracyis300]

If your still under warranty, then take it in to get checked on.

But my guess is that it needs new DCT fluid and diff fluid.
I recently did mine and the shifts are like butter, and doesn't make any sounds like before?!

[yongj]

You should record the sound and link us the video here. I'm no car expert but those here that are will most likely want to hear the sound to give you an accurate diagnosis.

[g1122123]

It's hard to catch on camera because its's not so much audible as much as it is a feeling, but Now i've noticed that It doesn't catch first right away, it starts moving and then jerks me forward to fully engage 1st (Even very very light throttle). I will take it in to BMW on tuesday, and let you guys know what they say. Other than 1st gear, the rest of the gears work just fine. I have CPO warranty on the car until early 2017. Thanks guys! I will post BMW's diagnosis on tuesday.

[FazAttack]

i just test drove an m3 that seemed to do the same thing. do you have a dinan dct tune or any dinan mods?

[g1122123]

I managed to get it on video! And no I do not. How do I post a video

[crypticc]

You tube + link

[g1122123]

I will upload 2 youtube videos, one with very little/none grinding and another with heavy grinding under WOT in 1st gear. Again, the service appointment is on tuesday.

[g1122123]

With Grinding Noises-

WIthout-

[Alohaaaaa]

Have the dealer reset the clutch engage points. Mine did something similar.

[Tracyis300]

Originally Posted by g1122123

With Grinding Noises-

WIthout-

Are you talking about that noise at 0:02?
If so? Then yeah! You definitely need to get that looked at. You should drive it easy or not at all until the day you take it in.

[dparm]

Hard to tell from the videos, honestly. The gasoline is probably not the culprit. The ECM will adjust timing and do what is necessary. Plenty of S65s have gotten 91 or 92 their whole lives without any problems.

The M-DCT is a fickle beast and does clunk or make weird noises sometimes. BMW has always said that it's pretty much normal -- I think the owner's manual even says something to that effect.

My advice would be to log when it happens and see what sort of pattern emerges, e.g. outside temperature, what shift mode you were in, how aggressively you were accelerating, and so on. Write it down in a small notebook and take it with to your service appointment, as this will help the dealer when you take it in.

I certainly would not rush out and start arbitrarily doing repairs such as the aforementioned fluid change. Be methodical and analytical with your approach. Technically that fluid is "lifetime" but many people replace it at 50k and send it for analysis...then discover it could've stayed in for a lot longer.

[g1122123]

well, word is that it is software issue. But it's not covered under CPO warranty. I can pay 300 bucks for them to flash it back to new (stock) or I can just buy GTS software from a tuning company

[M3GarageKing]

They should do it for you for free.. you only had the car for 3 months!

[g1122123]

Yeah, I wish. Apparently CPO warranty does not cover software. My driver's window regulator was broken, at least that was coverd with a $50 deductible

[BrewRifle]

I'd pick up a DCT tune for $60 from Alex and see if that resolves it. The DCT tune is well worth it.

[nick3753]

Originally Posted by g1122123

well, word is that it is software issue. But it's not covered under CPO warranty. I can pay 300 bucks for them to flash it back to new (stock) or I can just buy GTS software from a tuning company

Is it running a tune now and that's why they will flash it back to stock? Or is it just "out of whack" and that will fix it. Sorry for my ignorance.

[g1122123]

It's just "out of whack". I am most likely going through the Alex route.

[g1122123]

Alex@alpine gts flashed my DCT, and absolutely solved the problem and it's even better now!!!!!
Thanks alex.

[chucho1026]

better in what way?

[g1122123]

The GTS DCT makes it a bit better when going into reverse, much faster responses to input (Always shifted fast, just took a while for it to shift after you hit the paddle before, now it's much faster) anyways the sound has come back a couple of times, same scenario. since It's not throwing any codes, I will leave it for now... If something breaks within the next year warranty will cover it(Obviously since BMW won't acknowledge there is a problem). Thanks everybody!

Here is the video of the grinding returning after going away for a while with the GTS flash

[Amed_lak@yahoo.com]

Did you get it fixed ? What happened ? Mine has the same problem, it happened after I launched it