How smooth your ZF 5 speed AT shifts?

[Alpinewhite]

Hi All,

How does your 5 speed ZF AT shift feels? Want to know what is normal behaviour

Mine is ZF5HP18 and the shifts are like
1 to 2 - Little jerk
2 to 3 - Little jerk
3 to 4 - Smooth
4 to OD?? - Smooth

Almost all down shifts - Little Jerk

Thanks
Arun

[RallyD]

fo my 530 it depends on the temperature and throttle position.
if i'm putting around my neighborhood on a cold morning the shifts are crisp and at a higher rpm.
once everything is warmed up it shifts smooth in A-D and a little sharper in S-4. The downshifts in Sport occur at higher speeds so there is a point at which it decelerates rapidly but i wouldnt call it a jerk.

I've always thought that crisp shifts were always better than no shifts at all.

Maybe you want to pull the pan and drain out ~4qts and put in some fresh ATF fluid?

[tnt525i]

i have the same tranny, actually im using the M3 tranny in my car and the shifts are:-

1 to 2 - smooth in "E" and a little jerk in "S"
2 to 3 - same as above
3 to 4 - same as above
4 to 5 - Smooth.

[Alpinewhite]

Now that I think about downshifts, I want to explain a little.

It is smooth when downshifting because of deceleration.
It gives a little jerk when downshifting due to uphill ride.

Thanks
Arun

[GoldenOne]

Hi All,

How does your 5 speed ZF AT shift feels? Want to know what is normal behaviour

Mine is ZF5HP18 and the shifts are like
1 to 2 - Little jerk
2 to 3 - Little jerk
3 to 4 - Smooth
4 to OD?? - Smooth

Almost all down shifts - Little Jerk

Thanks
Arun

I think I got the same tranny as u and thats exactly how mine shifts ....I can make it not so jerky if I slowly let off the clutch

[Tiger]

Change your filter and fluid with Pennzoil MV ATF... semi-synthetic... will smooth everything out.

I got 5HP30 on 540 and before change, the tranny is super slick (not really a good thing) but it will thump when you let out from hard acceleration as shifting to 5th gear or something like that... On regular accelleration, it feels super smooth yet kinda jerky.

After valve body rebuild, new filter and all new Pennzoil MV, the shift is firm and solid but very smooth. Tranny doesn't feel so slipping as before. No more thumping or any jerking at all.

[LunatiC]

My 525i has a ZF 5 speed auto.

1st to 2nd - little jerk
2nd to third - smooth
3rd to 4th - smooth
4th to 5th - smooth and awesome

Downshifts are fine except from 3rd to 2nd, so I am obviously suspecting my 2nd cog.

Haven't change my transmission fluid, will most likely do this next service as the car has done more than 200,000km now.

[BillionPa]

N to R, sounds like i got hit by a truck when cold, when warm its fine
N to 1, smooth, unless my foot is no longer on the brake
1 to 2, smooth if in sports mode, little jerk in normal
2 to 3, butter with a bit of lag
3 to 4, butter
4 to 5, ... normal (540 trans is smoother for lockup)

2 to 1 in the cold (0F), shockingly harsh, when it warms up its fine

[Alpinewhite]

After valve body rebuild, new filter and all new Pennzoil MV, the shift is firm and solid but very smooth. Tranny doesn't feel so slipping as before. No more thumping or any jerking at all.

I think I saw your Trans repair saga in google search; didnt understand most of it though.

Why did you decide to do Valve body rebuild? Is it a maintenance thing? What is the cost involved? And what is the expert level needed for a DIYer?

Thanks,
Arun

[markus]

my car really shifts when it foes into gear. but other than that it works fine. as long as my auto tranny is shifting like its supposed to im happy.