Hi all. Today I am sad to say that i have experienced my first major problem and through my research I have yet to solve my dilemma and was seeing if anyone could help. I have found another post with a similar problem but I am not too sure if it may e the same thing. Here is the thread

This happened yesterday also so i have not been able to take it in to a shop and will not until after the 4th.

So anyways the problem occurred after leaving a storage unit after the car was parked. Shifted fine into first gear to pull into a u turn but then not so well. When I go to put it into reverse I hear a kind of clink sound and the shifter feels odd as if it didn't get past the hump to go into reverse. As I let go it stays in place and doesn't jolt back into neutral position as normal. When I go to move it back I notice that it doesn't move anymore than straight up and the **** has no resistance to it. It seems as though the whole gearbox has shifted over also as 3rd is where 1st should be, 4th where 2nd should be, 5th where 3rd should and 6th in place of 4th. The **** wont go past neutral as to move into 5th and 6th lining but will move to the left as to 1st and 2nd lining. Also 1st,2nd ad reverse can no longer be accessed. Clutch is fine and gears seem to also be able to engage fine but **** has free play even when in gear.

This is all I've noticed so far but will report anything else I find. I will try to fix the problem myself with any knowledge I gain as I want to learn about my car, and also I am strapped for cash at the moment so can't afford a costly repair. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

Check the linkage directly on top of the transmission. Might have to move the coolant reservoir and air inlet out of the way to get at it, but you should be able to figure out how the levers are supposed to function if you watch while someone else operates the shift lever.

There's also linkage under the center console that could be loose / damaged.

 

Thank you! So I removed the air inlet as you said and had someone shift gears inside and the problem was staring right at me. One of the shifter cables had broken loose of the rubber holding together the ball joint end and had come completely off. After placing the piece on the head again the gear shift worked perfectly! Now the question is would I be able to swap out the head of the cable or do I need to replace the entire cable? Thanks again.

 

Next on your education list is the RealOEM web site --- http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select --- a complete illustrated parts list. You'll need the last 7 - 8 characters of your VIN to get access, but it's completely FOC and one of the best tools available. Once in, and you navigate to the appropriate page, you'll see if there's a separate part or you need an entire cable. And, if there's no mini dealer close by, check some of the NAM vendors, they have more than aftermarket stuff.

Good luck ---