2003 BMW M3 Power Trainautomatic Transmission Problems

1. I LIVE IN LANCASTER, CA AND WHEN THE SUMMER COMES AROUND IT GETS REALLY HOT REALLY QUICK. MY BMW M3 2003 WHICH HAPPENS TO BE AN SMG KEEPS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION. IT CAUSES MY TRANSMISSION TO FUNCTION IMPROPERLY BY SHIFTING TO "NEUTRAL" AUTOMATICALLY. TODAY, ON MY WAY BACK FROM WORK I ALMOST GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT WHEN MY TRANSMISSION CHANGE AUTOMATICALLY FROM 3RD GEAR INTO NEUTRAL ALMOST CAUSING THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME TO CRASH ONTO MY VEHICLE. 2. THE SMG LIGHT KEEPS TURNING ON. I TOOK IT TO THE MECHANIC IMMEDIATELY AND HE TOLD ME IT WAS THE "HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT (HCU) WITH PRESSURE ACCUMULATOR" WHICH IS CAUSING THIS PROBLEM. I NOTICE THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS USUALLY DURING THE HOT WEATHER SINCE IT ALSO HAPPENED TO ME LAST YEAR AROUND THE SAME TIME. MY BMW MECHANIC TOLD ME THIS WOULD COST ME ON OR ABOUT $3,000 WITH PARTS...

AS YOU REMEMBER, WE ALL SPENT ABOUT SIX MONTHS THIS PAST SUMMER FIGURING OUT WHY OUR E46 M3 SMG'S WERE RANDOMLY THROWING ON THE TRANSMISSION CHECK LIGHT AND RANDOMLY CYCLING INTO NEUTRAL FOR AROUND 6-15 SECONDS, DISPLAYING A CONSTANT "0" DURING AN UP OR DOWNSHIFT IN HOT AND/OR HUMID WEATHER. WE DETERMINED AFTER PLENTY OF RESEARCH AND PHYSICALLY REMOVING THE SMG'S HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT(HCU), AND COMPARING HARD-TO-FIND BLUEPRINTS OF THE UNIT WHAT THE MALFUNCTION WAS. THE PROBLEM WAS THE HCU'S HYDRAULIC FLUID TEMPERATURE SENSOR, WHICH WOULD GO BAD DUE TO A THIN-LAYERED RESISTOR INSIDE THE SENSOR THAT WOULD MICROSCOPICALLY BEND AND CONTRACT OVER TIME IN AVID HEAT/HUMIDITY SITUATIONS, AND SEND FALSE DATA TO THE CAR'S TRANSMISSION CONTROL UNIT, GIVING IT THE ILLUSION THAT THE HCU WAS OVERHEATING AND NEEDED TO BE SHUT DOWN. TO THIS DAY, I AM STILL PUZZLED AS TO WHY BMW WOULD PROGRAM THE CONTROL MODULE TO...

1. WHEN THE TEMPERATURE WHERE I LIVE REACHED AROUND 95'F AND ABOVE MY TRANSMISSION ON MY VEHICLE DID NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. WOULD SHIFT TO NEUTRAL AUTOMATICALLY RESULTING IN LOSS OF ACCELERATION. I ALMOST GOT REAR ENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. 2. EVER SINCE THE TEMPERATURE GOT HOT HERE IN AZ, MY TRANSMISSION LIGHT HAS BEEN ON AND THE CAR KEEPS GOING INTO NEUTRAL WHILE DRIVING FOR ABOUT 6-15 SECONDS BEFORE RE-ENGAGING. IT HAS HAPPENED EVERYDAY FOR THE PAST 4 DAYS, TWICE WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN AT AN INTERSECTION, WHICH IS VERY DANGEROUS. MANY TIMES WHILE TRAVELING STRAIGHT. CONSEQUENCES IS THAT MY SAFETY IS IN DANGER THE NEXT TIME MY CAR IS NOT IN GEAR AND SOMEONE COLLIDES INTO MY CAR. VERY SCARED OF MY SAFETY AND MY OCCUPANTS. 3. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO CORRECT THIS FAILURE. BMW NA KNOWS OF THIS ISSUE, IT IS DUE TO A FAULTY HYDRAULIC...