bmw x5 torque converter excessive slippage?

Question

i have a 02 bmw x5 4.4i , it has 82000 km of milage ( around 60.000 miles ) , during regular checkup i make the following code appeared : converter lockup clutch excessive slippage , i was adviced to replace my torque converter , i refused since my car runs normally and i never felt anythn wrong . nor did my car onboard computer display any fault .
what are the symptoms of this problem ? does it affect fuel consumption ? what about car performance is it affected ? what will happen if i leave this fault un fixed ?

Answer 1

If the torque converter is indeed slipping, you'll need more rpms to achieve the same speed. The additional fuel consumption may or may not be noticeable right away. Your car's acceleration will of course be affected. If left unfixed, nothing really bad would happen except one day, you'll probably find the car not driveable due to the complete failure of the torque converter - financially, it would cost the same to change it now or later.

The symptom is simply that, if you have your foot on the brake, and another foot on the gas pedal (slowly), you can rev the engine a bit more than usual before it feels any resistance. (Don't do this too much because it can overheat your clutch).

Here's a link on someone experiencing the same problem on his 02 5-series... http://www.bmwboard.com/forum/showthread.php?s=2a5c04dbbb7b470da44efe47c9bd055c&p=192280#post192280

Also, look into the link found on that page. BMW has had some problems with their AT on some cars around 80,000-140,000 miles.

Answer 2

Bmw Torque Converter

Answer 3

Pls check whether the ATF is correct type been used.
it could cause problems if ATF is contaminated, not changed for long or different oil used,
R u the first owner.if you have been maintaining well,there shud not be serious problems.
Get your mechanic to check the strainer inside the ATFoil pan.Clean or change n fit in place.
check the cooling system for TQ oil is working well.
This could happen if the oil is getting excessive hot.
The clutch plates would have bend slightly.
The cost of repairs will be same if done today or when if gets worse.
Just try by changing to a different grade of ATF.This may stop the slip.
good luck.