Launch Control PROBLEM!!!! :>(

[icemang17]

Okay so I bought the dynolicious program for my Iphone and took it out for some tests today....

My LC has always hit the limiter at the top of 1st gear....every single time I have used it??

But today LC was all screwed up.....way too much burnout followed by an odd cutback of power then a HUGE rev limiter hit (1 second or more) at the top of 1st gear......

I try another run and it does the same thing, but about 1/s way through 2nd gear it cuts out and I get a transmission overheat warning....so the car is stuck at maybe 20% throttle in 2nd gear at 30mph for a little while.....all the transmission controls would not work...I could not change gears at all.....

So what do I do....take it to the dealer......but how do I tell them without voiding my warranty???

[sfbimmer13]

Originally Posted by icemang17

Okay so I bought the dynolicious program for my Iphone and took it out for some tests today....

My LC has always hit the limiter at the top of 1st gear....every single time I have used it??

But today LC was all screwed up.....way too much burnout followed by an odd cutback of power then a HUGE rev limiter hit (1 second or more) at the top of 1st gear......

I try another run and it does the same thing, but about 1/s way through 2nd gear it cuts out and I get a transmission overheat warning....so the car is stuck at maybe 20% throttle in 2nd gear at 30mph for a little while.....all the transmission controls would not work...I could not change gears at all.....

So what do I do....take it to the dealer......but how do I tell them without voiding my warranty???

that sounds terrible - I would take it to the dealer - I have tried LC a couple of times and it worked impeccably - sorry to hear that you are having issues...maybe this is another one of those SW issues...I really start to hate BMW for shipping a gearbox that is not entirely cooked yet

[Radiation Joe]

How can they void the warranty?

You used a pre-programmed mode that comes with the car. How could using launch control void the warranty?

[darkalley]

dynolicious is the ipod touch/iphone application that measures acceleration.

[04RC51]

Originally Posted by icemang17

I try another run and it does the same thing, but about 1/s way through 2nd gear it cuts out and I get a transmission overheat warning....so the car is stuck at maybe 20% throttle in 2nd gear at 30mph for a little while.....all the transmission controls would not work...I could not change gears at all.....

So what do I do....take it to the dealer......but how do I tell them without voiding my warranty???

I'm gonna venture a guess that you didn't wait 15mi of driving or 15 min between launches?

[Big Windy]

go to dealer...what other choice do you have?

[Sticky]

Launch control is disappointingly inconsistent. Sometimes it is flawless... and other times useless.

[Blake]

i really hope people are using launch control sparingly if at all. that's a lot of stress to put on parts if you use it frequently. as for myself, i've only used it once. its fun and all, but seems like one of those things that can get expensive really quick. no car is designed to take tons of hard launches without the need for repairs especially in close succession. to me, OP sounds like he was really riding the launches and it doesn't surprise me that this is happening. it also sounds like OP is not holding the shifter forward until the gas pedal is fully depressed. whatever is happening, any warning to do with the transmission is NOT a good sign at all. go easy on her! your $13 iphone application is not worth a multiple thousand dollar repair...and if they check your DME you'll more than likely be shelling out the cash yourself.

[Sticky]

Originally Posted by blakepilot

i really hope people are using launch control sparingly if at all. that's a lot of stress to put on parts if you use it frequently. as for myself, i've only used it once. its fun and all, but seems like one of those things that can get expensive really quick. no car is designed to take tons of hard launches without the need for repairs especially in close succession. to me, OP sounds like he was really riding the launches and it doesn't surprise me that this is happening. it also sounds like OP is not holding the shifter forward until the gas pedal is fully depressed. whatever is happening, any warning to do with the transmission is NOT a good sign at all. go easy on her! your $13 iphone application is not worth a multiple thousand dollar repair...and if they check your DME you'll more than likely be shelling out the cash yourself.

If they put it in, you should be able to use it as often as you see fit. Either make it reliable or don't do it at all.

Why give you a performance feature you need to use "sparingly"? Should redline be approached sparingly as well?

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Sticky

If they put it in, you should be able to use it as often as you see fit. Either make it reliable or don't do it at all.

Why give you a performance feature you need to use "sparingly"? Should redline be approached sparingly as well?

I see you point, but another angle to look at it from is that there's nothing preventing you from doing 6000RPM clutch drops in a 6MT car all day long. So should they warranty any damage caused from that? I doubt they will.

Now you could counter that in saying that since they DO limit LC use right now via the computer then that should be sufficient. However, I am not sure that claim alone would win you the case (if there ever were one) and get your car fixed under warrantly. I have to believe that this has been tested before since the E46 M3 and M5 had LC too, so someone probbly knows already just how much you can get away with as far as getting things fixed when LC was the cause.

[icemang17]

I'm also wondering if its a SW glitch....the other times I have used LC it worked VERY well other than the rev limiter hit at the top of 1st gear.......

I will call my Service Ad visor today adn see what he thinks....

[sayemthree]

you have obviousley used up your cars allotment of LC's!

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by sayemthree

you have obviousley used up your cars allotment of LC's!

Yep. I hear you can purchase more from BMW for $50 a pop. Or 5 for $200.

[Sticky]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

I see you point, but another angle to look at it from is that there's nothing preventing you from doing 6000RPM clutch drops in a 6MT car all day long. So should they warranty any damage caused from that? I doubt they will.

Now you could counter that in saying that since they DO limit LC use right now via the computer then that should be sufficient. However, I am not sure that claim alone would win you the case (if there ever were one) and get your car fixed under warrantly. I have to believe that this has been tested before since the E46 M3 and M5 had LC too, so someone probbly knows already just how much you can get away with as far as getting things fixed when LC was the cause.

The reason they lowered the rpm limit on the SMG launches was so you could use it as much as you wanted without being limited as in europe.

Launch control and dropping the clutch in the manual are not exactly the same thing. We have a BMW set window to launch in, we have limited control over that. In a manual, it is up to the user.

I am curious as to how a clutch pack wears vs. a traditional clutch.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Sticky

The reason they lowered the rpm limit on the SMG launches was so you could use it as much as you wanted without being limited as in europe.

Is that true? I couldn't find any official word on that. As far as I knew, they did it to limit wear and thus warranty claims in the US. I don't think they ever said you could use it as much as you wanted to did they?

Launch control and dropping the clutch in the manual are not exactly the same thing. We have a BMW set window to launch in, we have limited control over that. In a manual, it is up to the user.

True, I agree. I am just saying that in general, just because a car allows you to treat it in a certain way does not mean it can withstand such treatment indefinitely.

[04RC51]

Originally Posted by Sticky

If they put it in, you should be able to use it as often as you see fit. Either make it reliable or don't do it at all.

So when they TELL you that overuse will cause premature component wear, you should just disregard that advice? They gave u something cool to use in an ADULT manner and people can't adhere to their advice. I don't see any reason why LC failures should not be picked up by the owner.

Not to mention it only becomes available again post-launch after a certain amount of distance has been driven so the trans/diff can cool. But hey, line it back up anyway to try out that fancy IPhone program.

[Sticky]

Originally Posted by 04RC51

So when they TELL you that overuse will cause premature component wear, you should just disregard that advice? They gave u something cool to use in an ADULT manner and people can't adhere to their advice. I don't see any reason why LC failures should not be picked up by the owner.

Not to mention it only becomes available again post-launch after a certain amount of distance has been driven so the trans/diff can cool. But hey, line it back up anyway to try out that fancy IPhone program.

The car limits you to use it again after elapsed time. Sounds to me like they put in a wear feature to protect components. You have a warranty, if it breaks they will have to cover it. If not, there would be a limit to the launch amount.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Sticky

The car limits you to use it again after elapsed time. Sounds to me like they put in a wear feature to protect components. You have a warranty, if it breaks they will have to cover it. If not, there would be a limit to the launch amount.

Well, they had to set some reasonable limit. Suppose they figured out that the only way to truly make it last through the warranty period was to limit it to once ever 50 miles. Would that be acceptable? No, IMHO. Plenty of people would complain about that, and also there would be lots of complaints if they simply eliminated LC altogether also. Its a compromise, just like many other functions of the car.

And hey, maybe they truly will fix any DCT problem under warranty, even if it seems like LC was the culprit. I don't think we know for sure yet. But, I don't think anyone is eager to be the guinnea pig on that matter either. Swamp2 mentioned in another thread that he plans to use his daily. That seems like an aggressive but nevertheless fair play on things. We'll see how his holds up. I have to admit that, once my car has a few thousand miles on it I'll probably tend to do the same thing as I believe the transmission can withstand it.

[Dascamel]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

Swamp2 mentioned in another thread that he plans to use his daily. That seems like an aggressive but nevertheless fair play on things. We'll see how his holds up. I have to admit that, once my car has a few thousand miles on it I'll probably tend to do the same thing as I believe the transmission can withstand it.

Have a feeling after a few sets of tires, replacing the tranny won't seem as expensive.

[MMMazing07]

dont launch your car for a while

seriously your going to go to the dealership and say your car isnt launching porperly Launching puts stress on your clutch, tranny,diff and subframe. the E46 M3s subframe didnt last long. i wonder how long the E9Xs will

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by icemang17

So what do I do....take it to the dealer......but how do I tell them without voiding my warranty???

So any update? Did you take the car in? And if so what did they say?

Also, did your car ever return to normal or is it still having issues?

[icemang17]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

So any update? Did you take the car in? And if so what did they say?

Also, did your car ever return to normal or is it still having issues?

I never got around to calling the dealer since I had to take the wifes car in for a recall.....& I haven't tried LC since.....so???????????