[LM2020]

I've had my 2020 M340ix for about two months now, and just encountered the following issue: in the last two days putting the car into park was glitchy, taking several attempts to shift into P on two occasions and then no issues during other outings - with all the tech/safety features, I thought perhaps park assist or other setting may have been inadvertently selected and interfering - I thought it was odd but I was not overly concerned. Then today the car consistently will not shift into park, and I received several check control notifications referencing the gear selector lever and "not possible to change gear position". Of course this happens on a day the service dept is closed, so this will be tomorrow's fun. It is probably too early in production to know if this a common problem for this car. Is this a known issue in other models/generations?

[TWD1775]

Originally Posted by LM2020

I've had my 2020 M340ix for about two months now, and just encountered the following issue: in the last two days putting the car into park was glitchy, taking several attempts to shift into P on two occasions and then no issues during other outings - with all the tech/safety features, I thought perhaps park assist or other setting may have been inadvertently selected and interfering - I thought it was odd but I was not overly concerned. Then today the car consistently will not shift into park, and I received several check control notifications referencing the gear selector lever and "not possible to change gear position". Of course this happens on a day the service dept is closed, so this will be tomorrow's fun. It is probably too early in production to know if this a common problem for this car. Is this a known issue in other models/generations?

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you know that you don't physically "shift" into Park using the lever? You simply press the 'P' button on the lower part of the lever. The car will also automatically move into Park when you turn off the ignition.

[chiefneil]

My daughter had the same issue in her 230i. IIRC the dealer ended up replacing the whole shift lever to fix the problem.

And a funny super-retro story along the same lines. Back in 1995 I bought a 325i that literally wouldn’t shift into park occasionally. Turned out there was a loose screw or something physically blocking the lever from moving. Now the problem is electronic instead of physical but funny to see it still happening.

[LM2020]

Originally Posted by TWD1775

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you know that you don't physically "shift" into Park using the lever? You simply press the 'P' button on the lower part of the lever. The car will also automatically move into Park when you turn off the ignition.

Yes, hehe - I should have been more specific...park mode will not engage/activate when using the park button. One of the the error messages also indicates that "gear position can be changed without pressing the unlock button" (there was no lock out to prevent shifter from moving accidentally between D-N-R) and then a contradictory "not possible to change gear position" message (I did not take a chance on driving the car out of the driveway at that point to see what would happen). I saw on another forum someone recently had the gear selector issue as well on a '19 330i.

[LM2020]

Originally Posted by chiefneil

My daughter had the same issue in her 230i. IIRC the dealer ended up replacing the whole shift lever to fix the problem.

And a funny super-retro story along the same lines. Back in 1995 I bought a 325i that literally wouldn’t shift into park occasionally. Turned out there was a loose screw or something physically blocking the lever from moving. Now the problem is electronic instead of physical but funny to see it still happening.

Thanks for the reply! Was your daughter's car a recent model? I have a love/hate relationship with all the technology these cars pack. I miss the "few screws loose" days lol.

[chiefneil]

Originally Posted by LM2020

Thanks for the reply! Was your daughter's car a recent model? I have a love/hate relationship with all the technology these cars pack. I miss the "few screws loose" days lol.

It was a 2018 230i, so relatively new. Not the same generation platform as the G20, but I think the transmission and drivetrain might be the same as the G20 330i.

At the time she had just reached the mall and tried to just put the car in neutral at least so she could park and go shopping, but it wouldn’t even go into neutral.

[LM2020]

On the way to driving the car to the dealer on Monday, I was also receiving a non-specific transmission notification (!). Just got the call yesterday evening from the service manager - apparently nothing wrong with the transmission thankfully, but the gear selector lever needs to be replaced (which is what I thought would happen). The part is not immediately available, and has to be ordered from Germany and pass through customs - so it could take several weeks, though he did put a rush request on it. The only consolation is that my loaner car is an M340i nearly identical to mine.

[x986]

Well, the fact that they kept your car means that it is being taken seriously. No "could not duplicate problem". And you got a worthy loaner; this would be a good time to buy some lottery tickets.

[MyG20]

Originally Posted by LM2020

On the way to driving the car to the dealer on Monday, I was also receiving a non-specific transmission notification (!). Just got the call yesterday evening from the service manager - apparently nothing wrong with the transmission thankfully, but the gear selector lever needs to be replaced (which is what I thought would happen). The part is not immediately available, and has to be ordered from Germany and pass through customs - so it could take several weeks, though he did put a rush request on it. The only consolation is that my loaner car is an M340i nearly identical to mine.

Got sort of the same issue with my 2019 330i. Car kept on saying "Transmission position can be changed without pressing the unlock button. If problem recurs please contact service agent."
Took the car to the dealership this morning. They did a diagnostic and at the end of the day said they have to change the whole gear selector unit, part not available right away and have to be ordered from Germany. Gave me an X2 as replacement car. No clue how long before I get my car back. Have a picture of the on screen message, might upload it later on...

[stevej2002]

I had the same problem and had my gear selector replaced at about 2 months (April or May of last year). They got the part overnight, so I guess I got lucky on that.

[XKxRome0ox]

Originally Posted by x986

Well, the fact that they kept your car means that it is being taken seriously. No "could not duplicate problem". And you got a worthy loaner; this would be a good time to buy some lottery tickets.

don't let a "could not duplicate problem" or "unable to verify concern" discourage you from taking it back to the dealership for diagnosis and repair

anecdotally
i had a 2016 BMW 328i with 6MT
there was an occasional mechanical grinding that i could feel when shifting into 2nd gear
from researching on the forums, I knew that others had experienced similar issues. a bad synchro issue in 2nd gear that requires a transmission replacement.

i started taking the car in with about 3k miles ... took it in NINE times
every single time, dealership would say problem not found, operating as intended
since it was not a constant issue, it was understandable
I drove with the service dept techs several times but of course nothing happens during those drives

on the TENTH visit, i don't get a call or message from the service advisor for a few days
so i give him a call - "yeah, we're going to have to replace your transmission"

So after 2 years and 2 months, I got a lemon law repurchase for my car. So I drove the car for 2 year 2 months and it only cost me $1154 for the usage deduction based on 3388 miles at first service visit for the transmission issue.
so don't give up.

(disclaimer - I am a CA lawyer and I handle lemon law claims. I knew I had a good case and just stayed diligent about taking the car in.)