# SMG reliability?



## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

Well, that means your bra is keeping your hood from completely closing. THAT is what SMG is telling you.

It doesn't matter is look open to you or not, it is not all the way closed. More to the point is, why didn't BMW put that into the manual cars? 

To me, I have only had it happenone time, and not even to me. After the 1200 mile service, I went along for the test drive and we had the flashing SMG indicator etc. Came back to the dealer for the tech to ask, reclosed the hood, no problem.

As for the bra, clear bra take care of that. 

And people DO drive around with their hood open. Why do you think thee are double latches? There didn't used to be, and every so often you would see a car on the side of the road with teh hoood wrapped up over the windshield. Really.


----------



## Riuster (May 21, 2003)

Pinecone said:


> Well, that means your bra is keeping your hood from completely closing. THAT is what SMG is telling you.
> 
> It doesn't matter is look open to you or not, it is not all the way closed. More to the point is, why didn't BMW put that into the manual cars?
> 
> ...


i should have been more specific...the car bra..does cause the GEAR light to pop up, but..it doesnt happen anymore..i took care of that...well im kinda suprised to see people drive with their hood open when its very visible.....that hood around the windshield is probably from the impact but not from the drive it self...NO???

I could not imagine ANYONE driving with their hood ajar....if you have seen it..please let me know.where, so i dotn drive there..hahahaha..

glad we cleared this up...


----------



## SupraRZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Pinecone said:


> Not directed at any one in particular. Just a general vent that I could no longer keep in.
> 
> As for the voltage, the battery runs at 12 maybe 12.8 fully charged. The charging system runs at 13.8 volts.
> 
> My car has sat for over 4 weeks without being started or had any type of charger on it, and I have neer had any problems. Not sure why it would ock up with that little of a voltage drop, that little bit happens all the time.


Hmmm, either those "phantom" problems or dealer can't explain why the SMG ECU tripped, so they gave a BS excuse... Sometimes the diagnose reports you read in the printouts are so strange that I couldn't even comment on it.

BMW Roadside did come to give a jump start and the car still wouldn't start. It was from one of those towtrucks with retractable jumper cables from the front bumper, so I know it was providing enough power 

Oh, unrelated to SMG, but the retractable NAV gear/motors on the SMG ground to a halt a few days ago, back to the dealer :rofl:


----------



## SupraRZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Riuster said:


> I could not imagine ANYONE driving with their hood ajar....if you have seen it..please let me know.where, so i dotn drive there..hahahaha..


One of my friends was seriously injured in a fwy collision when the hood on the car ahead of her popped open... Hood covered the windshield, but the driver SLAMMED on the brakes and they rear ended the "hood" car. She might not be as hurt if they stayed further back, but I bet you, if I slammed on my brakes randomly on the freeway I'll get rear ended more often than not..

So, I opt for the hood sensor, and everyone should have their hoods closed at all times. I don't mind if you drive without a hood, but I do mind if the hood is not fully shut


----------



## Plaz (Dec 19, 2001)

Riuster said:


> I could not imagine ANYONE driving with their hood ajar....if you have seen it..please let me know.where, so i dotn drive there..hahahaha..


You say you spend time in NYC? Take a look at just about every single cab in the summer. They keep the hoods ajar to get more air in there and prevent overheating.


----------



## Riuster (May 21, 2003)

Plaz said:


> You say you spend time in NYC? Take a look at just about every single cab in the summer. They keep the hoods ajar to get more air in there and prevent overheating.


Actually I work in the city...but..i never saw a cabbie driving with his hood opened...sure they open it when not driving but...driving with the hood opened.

BTW you guys are hi-jacking this thread...

The SMG will not operate properly if the hood is slighty opened..or the contact points are not made in the hood...that was my point..thats all...lets get back to SMG reliability.


----------



## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

SupraRZ said:


> Hmmm, either those "phantom" problems or dealer can't explain why the SMG ECU tripped, so they gave a BS excuse... Sometimes the diagnose reports you read in the printouts are so strange that I couldn't even comment on it.
> 
> BMW Roadside did come to give a jump start and the car still wouldn't start. It was from one of those towtrucks with retractable jumper cables from the front bumper, so I know it was providing enough power
> 
> Oh, unrelated to SMG, but the retractable NAV gear/motors on the SMG ground to a halt a few days ago, back to the dealer :rofl:


The cars do not jump really well. I had the battery go out at about 2.5 months. Tried to jump it, no go. Tried new jumper cables. No go.

Tried a charger/starter unit. No go.

Tried leaving it on charge for a couple of hours, then jumping it, it started.

But with teh jumper or charger/starter, the SMG would shift btween 0 and 1 and back.

I don't know if that is typical or the battery was SEROUSLY hosed.


----------



## HUMMM 3 (May 10, 2003)

I know this was originally a discussion of SMG reliability, but this hood open/ajar business has piqued my interest. My experience with the hood open or ajar and the go/nogo switch disengaged is that the car won't move. I could get the gear indicator light to show 1 or R by moving the shift lever, but the clutch wouldn't engage (the motor just reved). I suppose you could duct tape the switch closed and drive around. What I'm curious about is it seems some of you have actually driven with the hood ajar. If this were possible, wouldn't the switch open over bumps, disengaging the clutch? There are all sorts of nuances to the operation of SMG II, for example it kicks out of gear after the door has been open for a few seconds (10 seconds I believe). Like many people have said before you have to drive an SMG II car for a while before you can truly appreciate its capabilities.


----------



## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

The switch does not prevent movement, at least if the the hood is pretty much closed.

What happens is the gear indicator flashes. And every time you stop the thing puts itself in Neutral.

If you car was not moving, either the hood was open more, or there was a problem with the switch.


----------



## marksmith (Aug 9, 2003)

*SMG is terrific!!*

This is my Ist. car w/ SMG or "automatic" (after 38 years of driving BMW's.) I love it BUT: It's nearly impossible to imagine that a dealer could sell the technology to a neophite SMG driver in anything less than several hours of patient test driving (in my experience most BMW sales staff are less that expert in nuanced SMG driving.) The learning curve is profoundly slow & time-consuming. After 4 weeks & 2000 miles I am just now discovering several features & programing details.
-It is a blast (very dynamic!) to drive aggressivly but requires as much concentration around town as an all manual tranny might.
-I will never go back to the foot activated clutch type gearbox (nor will I sell my CD's, buy a turntable & a new collection of LP's.)
-BMW will stop production of foot operated manual cluth transmissions in the near(ish) future so it may be something traditionalist will have to deal with (or reject.)
-Finally my car is new so I can't speak to long-term SMG ownership but it's clear the SMG works very, very well.
PS. Most M3 SMG drivers have owner's manual cars before taking the SMG plunge (app. 3/4) according informed BMW AG folks. This may disprove the generalized theory that the SMG appeal's is to the die-hard slush-box car lobby. Not my background for sure.


----------



## HUMMM 3 (May 10, 2003)

Pinecone said:


> The switch does not prevent movement, at least if the the hood is pretty much closed.
> 
> What happens is the gear indicator flashes. And every time you stop the thing puts itself in Neutral.
> 
> If you car was not moving, either the hood was open more, or there was a problem with the switch.


The hood must have been open beyond the point where the switch would have been engaged. This happened only a few days after I got the car. I was having Stongard applied and the technican (?) only partially closed the hood. It took a call to the dealer's SMG expert mechanic to figure the problem out and get the car out of garage.


----------



## HUMMM 3 (May 10, 2003)

marksmith said:


> This is my Ist. car w/ SMG or "automatic" (after 38 years of driving BMW's.) I love it BUT: It's nearly impossible to imagine that a dealer could sell the technology to a neophite SMG driver in anything less than several hours of patient test driving (in my experience most BMW sales staff are less that expert in nuanced SMG driving.) The learning curve is profoundly slow & time-consuming. After 4 weeks & 2000 miles I am just now discovering several features & programing details.
> -It is a blast (very dynamic!) to drive aggressivly but requires as much concentration around town as an all manual tranny might.
> -I will never go back to the foot activated clutch type gearbox (nor will I sell my CD's, buy a turntable & a new collection of LP's.)
> -BMW will stop production of foot operated manual cluth transmissions in the near(ish) future so it may be something traditionalist will have to deal with (or reject.)
> ...


Welcome to the club! When I took delivery of my car the salesman was going to great lengths to explain the operation of SMG. Being the smart ass that I am, I told him I didn't need no stinkin' instructions. After all I had downloaded the owners manual and read all about how it worked. I wanted to drive my new toy right NOW!

Well I walked back to the dealership, hat in hand, after only getting about three blocks away, when I couldn't get the damn thing to go. I forget what I was doing wrong at the time, but when I got home I reread the owners manual cover to cover. I kept the dealer's SMG mechanic's business card in the car and always had my cell phone with me. I must have had to call the guy 5 times in the first couple of weeks to get me untangled.

I believe it took me a good 5K miles before I felt comfortable with SMG. Part of my problem is my other vehicles have regular clutches. Bottom Line: I love SMG II. Anyone who thinks it's an automatic and that it does'nt require driver involvement hasn't owned one.


----------

