Hi. I have a 5 series bmw with an automatic transmission. Recently, the car doesn't shift right

hi. I have a 5 series535i modle 1988 and i replace the transmission the problem the same bmw with an automatic transmission. Recently, the car doesn't shift right. Sometimes it doesn't shift after first or second gear, and even when it does , it shifts very late, past 3-4000 Rpm. But sometimes it shifts perfectly, i don't understand this. in general, in cold weather bmw's shift later than normal , at about 3000 rpm when the engine is still cold.. Now, i have a cooling system problem, the water temp gauge stays cold, it should be in the middle (warm) but its a quarter of the way in the cold section. Could this be related to the trans problem? thanks a lot for any info.

Hi. I have a 5 series bmw with an automatic transmission. Recently, the car doesn't shift right. Sometimes imicrosoft office

Yes, you're right. The transmission will hold gears longer when the engine is cold (in order to rev slightly higher and warm up the engine faster). And the 3-4K RPM range is about right.

Your symptoms should be that it holds gears longer for a prolonged period of time - say 10 or 15 minutes, but then starts shifting normally, unless the car sits and cools for 4-5 hours (or longer). The temperature reading is probably an average of several different values, only one of which is bad.

So, if your coolant system problem involves the temperature sensor in the engine, that could very well explain your transmission issues (just because the gauge is reading incorrectly does not mean that the transmission is getting faulty data, but does point in that direction). The temperature sensor should be fairly cheap - try getting that replaced first.