Will not go into forward

1987 BMW 528E
40,000 MILES • AUTOMATIC
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MELISSAKA
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Grandchild trying to help out my eighty year old Grandpa with no BMW dealership nearby. Any help we could get would be very appreciated!

My grandpa was recently driving up a hill and his engine stopped working and he threw two belts off. He now only has reverse and he cannot drive forward. It shifts currently into all gears. We replaced the two belts, the car runs fine. However, it will not go forward. Does anyone know if there is a reset or some electronic thing that needs to be reset or if it's a transmission failure or if there might be some other explanation for what's going on? We do not know if the belts caused the problem or if the problem solved the belt failures.

Thank you!
Oct 25, 2017 at 3:42 PM
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STEVE W.
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Look all around the area where the belts came off for any damaged wiring or damaged sensors. Then check carefully around the actual belts to find the reason they came off.
Check the fluid level in the transmission. I suspect a broken wire or damaged harness from the belts.
One thing you could try, remove both battery cables from the battery hold the cable ends together for about thirty to forty five seconds. That will erase any memory items in the car like the trans controller.

Other than that you need a dealer level scan tool to talk to the transmission and see what it thinks is wrong.
Oct 26, 2017 at 1:56 AM