Rattling and Shaking on 1st gear

[AJS1000RR]

Originally Posted by AJS1000RR

Update: I contacted BMW customer service, and they are contacting Crevier BMW to ask them to investigate this issue in more detail.

Update 2: I'm very happy to report that my clutch was approved for replacement! BMW NA had a field service engineer stop by the dealership (Crevier BMW) to inspect the clutch issue. I printed out this thread along with a short description of the issue to assist the gentleman with the diagnosis.

I can't wait to drive the car again! That clutch chatter/shudder had really taken away from the driving experience.

[Bleser]

Originally Posted by AJS1000RR

Update 2: I'm very happy to report that my clutch was approved for replacement! BMW NA had a field service engineer stop by the dealership (Crevier BMW) to inspect the clutch issue. I printed out this thread along with a short description of the issue to assist the gentleman with the diagnosis.

I can't wait to drive the car again! That clutch chatter/shudder had really taken away from the driving experience.

Awesome news! Great result.

I have not had luck yet. I took mine to my dealer and we could not reproduce the issue, so it was jut documented as "drivetrain normal." Was there a way you found to reliably reproduce it? To be honest in the winter I haven't noticed it as much. I wonder if the summer heat is needed to expose the issue.

[AJS1000RR]

Originally Posted by Bleser

Awesome news! Great result.

I have not had luck yet. I took mine to my dealer and we could not reproduce the issue, so it was jut documented as "drivetrain normal." Was there a way you found to reliably reproduce it? To be honest in the winter I haven't noticed it as much. I wonder if the summer heat is needed to expose the issue.

Thanks Belser! I'm glad BMW came through on this one.

I'm sorry to hear that. I know what you mean about temps affecting the issue. On cold mornings, the issue doesn't come up until I've done about 30 mins of city driving. But on warm SoCal days, the issue happens after just 10 mins of driving.

Here's what did:

1. Contacted BMW customer service, and they suggested a regional service engineer can come by the dealership to test the car.

2. I wrote up a 1-pager for the service engineer, and I mentioned that the powertrain needs to be fully heat soaked for the issue to occur. Also mentioned that the extra shaking and vibrations are potentially putting extra stress on my engine mounts, transmission mounts, exhaust system, etc.

3. In that 1-pager, I also included a chart of the 2016 vs 2017 free maintenance programs, showing that the clutch is covered as a wear item in the 2016 free maintenance program. My argument was that since my car is a 2016, and the clutch is covered as a wear item, it should be replaced. I wasn't asking for a warranty replacement, but replacement of a wear item that's covered by the 2016 free service program.

4. I also printed out this thread, and highlighted the areas where we all are describing a similar issue, and under similar usage case (close to 30,000 miles, daily driven, or seeing city stop and go driving).

[Bleser]

Thanks for the advice, AJS1000RR .

When you say to contact BMW customer service, will you share what contact you used? Was it a phone number or email?

My car is a 2017 so I don't think my clutch is covered, however the previous owner did buy the 100K pre-paid maintenance program which transferred to me, so maybe it is covered under that??

I think I will wait until Spring/Summer when I can readily reproduce to dig into this further.

[AJS1000RR]

Originally Posted by Bleser

Thanks for the advice, AJS1000RR .

When you say to contact BMW customer service, will you share what contact you used? Was it a phone number or email?

My car is a 2017 so I don't think my clutch is covered, however the previous owner did buy the 100K pre-paid maintenance program which transferred to me, so maybe it is covered under that??

I think I will wait until Spring/Summer when I can readily reproduce to dig into this further.

I initially sent an e-mail to BMW customer relations (CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com) and explained the clutch issue. I mentioned that the dealer hasn't been able to reproduce the issue. they called me back and suggested a field service engineer.

Reach out to BMW and see what your options might be. Hopefully they can check your extended service contract and see what's covered. If you also have the original (or extended) warranty, you could try to get it replaced under warranty.

[mistapony]

AJS1000RR Would you be able to share that 1-pager that you wrote for the rest of us the are seeing the same issue? Writing a 1-pager you must be in law or work in tech

[AJS1000RR]

Originally Posted by mistapony

AJS1000RR Would you be able to share that 1-pager that you wrote for the rest of us the are seeing the same issue? Writing a 1-pager you must be in law or work in tech

You bet. I'll try and post it as an image below.

Good guess! I work in automotive myself (I work for another car manufacturer at corp HQ as a program manager for EV/Charging).

Regardless of the car company, Field Service Engineers (BMW calls them Technical Service Engineers) are usually pretty busy - they go to various dealerships in their area/region territory to diagnose several cars in a given day. Knowing they're usually busy, I wanted to provide the gentleman with information on how to replicate the issue, to save them time, and to help with diagnosing the issue.

[mistapony]

Awesome, thanks! Also, looking forward to hearing that this indeed fixed the problem.

[AJS1000RR]

Originally Posted by mistapony

Awesome, thanks! Also, looking forward to hearing that this indeed fixed the problem.

Yes, problem solved! The car drives much nicer now, like new again. No clutch chatter, and perfectly smooth.

BMW's TSE approved the clutch replacement, and he also approved a Flywheel replacement. After reading my 1-pager, he probably thought "wow, this guy is really ocd, just replace the clutch and flywheel so he goes away"

[mistapony]

Want to thank AJS1000RR for this post. I'm on the last month of my 4 year 50K mile warranty and decided to have my clutch looked at for the same issue. They diagnosed the problem and are replacing it under warranty as well!

[Get lit]

Just gonna throw this out there for all that have had clutch issues. A friend of mine had an issue with his 2016 f80 clutch around 38k. It was shuttering and chattering when taking off in first gear. Took it to a Bmw dealer and they instantly diagnosed the clutch as failing. Ended up having to replace the flywheel also because it was smoked along with the clutch. Seems it could be an issue here with the clutches? I’m at 33k on my 2016 and the clutch is still smooth as silk. However I do not do much city driving with stop and go traffic. It’s more interstate and mountain driving!

[Gunzy]

Just for additional info, my 2015 with 58k threw one of the clutch springs and it rattled around and scored my bellhousing up. Seems the clutch itself is a problem area. I threw a new OEM unit in with old flywheel without issue.

[BermudaKID]

Bumping a ver old thread because I think I have the same issue as OP. 51k, the last week I've noticed this happening.

If anyone recently had the clutch flywheel replaced, what did it cost?

[phefner]

Good stuff here.

Have a 2016 with 75K on the clock and this 1st Gear Shudder after the car is warmed up started occurring last year around 65K, and has progressively gotten a little worse.

Thread is a little old so I'm going to get a quote to repair with my Indy shop.