BMW 528I Owner's Manual page 76

Automatic transmission with Steptronic
76n
Upshifts or downshifts will be carried
out by the ATC only at appropriate en-
gine speeds and road speeds. For in-
stance, if engine speed is too high, a
downshift will not be executed. The
gear selected will appear briefly in the
instrument cluster followed by the cur-
rent gear.
If you are driving in the manual
mode and wish to accelerate rap-
idly from low road speeds (when pass-
ing, for instance), you must shift down
manually or with the kickdown func-
tion.<
You can only change from "M/S" to se-
lector lever positions "P,""R," and "N"
via the "D" position.
In the following situations, the Step-
tronic "thinks" for you in the manual
mode:
> In order to prevent engine over-
speeding, the transmission shifts au-
tomatically to the next higher gear
shortly before the RPM cutoff point
> At low speeds, the transmission shifts
down automatically – you do not have
to act
> In the kickdown mode, the transmis-
sion shifts down to the lowest gear
which is possible, depending on the
engine speed
*
> According to the situation, for
instance in wintry conditions, the
vehicle can be started in 2nd or
3rd gear.
Electronic transmission control
module
If the indicator lamp comes on
or the message "TRANS.FAIL-
SAFE PROG" appears in the
*
Check Control , there is a fault in the
transmission system.
Bring the vehicle to a stop. Move the
transmission selector lever to "P." Set
the parking brake and turn the engine
off (ignition key to position 0).
Wait a few seconds, then start the
engine.
If the indicator lamp goes out after a
few seconds, normal transmission per-
formance has been restored. You may
continue to drive as usual. If the indica-
tor lamp does not go out, you can place
the selector lever in all positions. How-
ever, the vehicle will now only drive for-
ward with limited gear selection.
If this happens, avoid extreme engine
loads and consult the nearest autho-
rized BMW center.
Do not work in the engine com-
partment when a drive gear (for-
ward or reverse) is engaged. If you do
this, the vehicle could move.<
For jump-starting, towing and tow-
starting, refer to pages 182
Online Edition for Part No. 01 41 0 155 012 - © 07/99 BMW AG
and 183.