E30 Zone

Hi, I'm after some advise regarding the kickdown system on my 318i (m40).

Does the system use a switch as well as the cable? There's a switch under the throttle pedal which is pretty stiff and feels siezed.

The previous owner told me that the car seemed to downshift into 1st gear when accelerating hard at 80mph, and I can't seem to find any information or instances of this happening to other people. Could it be something to do with the switch under the pedal? Looking through the history of the car, I can see that it's recently had a new cable too, could the problem be down to poor adjustment?

Thanks

A switch under the accelerator pedal is only used with the EH transmission (rotary switch on the rear centre console) which I've never seen on a four pot. Ordinary auto transmissions only have a kickdown cable.
What you may have found is a kind of damper assembly, that limits the travel of the pedal, until you press hard on it for 'kickdown'.

Thanks for info!

Any ideas regarding the supposed over-revving/downshifting at high speed?

Thanks

If it's a solely mechanical box, as it seems it is, then apart from changing the oil and filter, there's not a lot you can economically do, other than replace the whole thing with a good second hand unit.

So I just took the car for it's first proper drive since buying it, before tonight all I'd done was limp it a mile home when I bought it.

All seemed good, I was taking it pretty easy as I have just changed the cambelt, coolant, oil, suspension, brakes etc so I wanted to get everything settled and up to temp before driving it hard.

All seemed well, levels all good (bit of mayo in the cap but it's been sat in the damp for 2 months so i'm optimistic), so I thought i'd try and get it to demonstrate it's supposed gearbox issue.

The only real problem I found is that when I'm flooring it, it will kick down twice (as it should) but it will hit the rev limiter for a second or two before shifting up. I think the previous owners idea that it was shifting down too much when flooring it at high speeds was purely because the second kickdown comes as a bit of a surprise, and it is reluctant to upshift.

I tightened the kickdown cable up a touch and it now shifts just before the limiter, but the shifting at low speeds is more harsh and the kickdown seems overactive. Or maybe it just seems that way to me because before the adjustment it wasn't kicking down at all at low speeds/light throttle? Please bare in mind that this is my first automatic and I have never driven an e30 before!

Overall though I loved the test drive, I still can't believe how 'proper' they feel for a car that is now 30 years old. I've always driven Polos and Golfs of the same age, and they feel like tin cans!

Anyway, any thoughts regarding the gearbox behavior would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

So I just took the car for it's first proper drive since buying it, before tonight all I'd done was limp it a mile home when I bought it.

All seemed good, I was taking it pretty easy as I have just changed the cambelt, coolant, oil, suspension, brakes etc so I wanted to get everything settled and up to temp before driving it hard.

All seemed well, levels all good (bit of mayo in the cap but it's been sat in the damp for 2 months so i'm optimistic), so I thought i'd try and get it to demonstrate it's supposed gearbox issue.

The only real problem I found is that when I'm flooring it, it will kick down twice (as it should) but it will hit the rev limiter for a second or two before shifting up. I think the previous owners idea that it was shifting down too much when flooring it at high speeds was purely because the second kickdown comes as a bit of a surprise, and it is reluctant to upshift.

I tightened the kickdown cable up a touch and it now shifts just before the limiter, but the shifting at low speeds is more harsh and the kickdown seems overactive. Or maybe it just seems that way to me because before the adjustment it wasn't kicking down at all at low speeds/light throttle? Please bare in mind that this is my first automatic and I have never driven an e30 before!

Overall though I loved the test drive, I still can't believe how 'proper' they feel for a car that is now 30 years old. I've always driven Polos and Golfs of the same age, and they feel like tin cans!

Anyway, any thoughts regarding the gearbox behavior would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks