97 BMW 328is Gear shift issues? Yesterday my car started shaking a lot when I was shifting gears.. Especially reverse, 1st, 2nd, the rest were a bit smoother.... By the way this car is a manuel (Stick shift)... I noticed as I lift my foot off the clutch it feels different too... Any ideas what this could be?

Do You do have reverse

Sounds as if forward driving gears are shot. Different gears make vehicle move in reverse. I would ask if transmission fluid level when checked is in the operation range or full.

if there has been no abuse or no chance somethind bent shifting rods under veh. check for loose or worn out shift rod connections,If internal trans shift drum problems your world just got more complacated

It could be incorrect fluid level or the fluid & filter may require changing

Your transmission should have shift solenoids in it. You could have one that has failed or you could have other internal problems. To acess the shift solenoids you must remove the trans oil pan. If the oil is dark or smells kind of burnt I would suspect bigger problems than a shift soleniod. Also inspect the pan for chunks and a lot of debris. A little bit is normal but more than that is not good.

lincage rod inside the gear box will have bent it happens when to much preasure is applied commen for jamming up thow.

i had the same thing...It's the transmission. It's REALLY noticeable shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. I was able to get my transmission fixed for 900 bux. That wasn't even a replacement so i can imagine how much it would cost to get it replaced. The shifting will get worse. By the end of my "experience" it wouldn't shift from 1st to 2nd for about 5 minutes until i drove it around for a bit. THen it would "warm up" to the idea of shifting to 2nd gear.

This is a fault mode in which the transmission either loses electrical power or the PCM deactivates all of the electronics. The transmission will default to max line pressure. The driver will have Reverse and 3rd, with manual 2nd available by putting the gearshift in 2 or 1 (doesn't matter). 1st, 4th, and TCC lockup will not be available. It will not hurt the car to drive it like this for short periods, but use manual 2nd to get the car moving, and be aware that the trans will generate more heat than normal while operating in limp-home mode due to increased torque converter slippage during 2nd gear starts and no lockup in 3rd gear.

Trans shifts into gear harshly, car feels sluggish off the line, No 1st, 4th or TCC lockup available, Manual 2nd, 3rd and Reverse are only available gears, CEL is on: Transmission is either in limp-home mode or has lost electrical power. If there are lots of error codes in the PCM, check the under hood fuse that powers the transmission, and if it pops again, look for a short in that circuit like an O2 sensor harness touching exhaust. Otherwise, check PCM codes for a particular fault in the transmission causing the PCM to put it in limp-home mode.

No 1st or 4th available; trans shifts 2nd to 3rd by itself in D or OD and locks the converter : ShiftA solenoid failed. Easy fix in the pan. Or a wiring problem from PCM to trans.. or PCM.

Car goes into gear but feels very sluggish like the brakes are dragging, but it will roll easily (starts out in 4th gear), you manually shift to 2 to get it moving, once it's moving you put it back in OD and the car shifts 3rd to 4th on its own and locks the converter at the appropriate time: ShiftB solenoid failed: Easy fix in the pan. Or a wiring problem from PCM to trans.. or PCM.

Sounds like the shift lever is not coming completely out of 2nd gear. So, by shifting into 1st gear, you recenter the shift lever. You can confirm this by going under the truck and moving the 1st - 2nd lever on the side of the transmission with your hand. If the shifter goes into reverse after you manually recenter the 1-2 lever, then you need to correct the problem that prevents the "normal" recentering of the 1-2 shift lever.

Possibilities are: Bent shift rod; worn shifter; worn shift rod at connection to shift lever on transmission.

You have two possible problems,slave cyld. worn and possible leaking, or clutch and pressure plate worn.