No Sport Mode On Your E90 BMW? Broken Wiring Repair DIY

In this video I show you how to repair broken wiring in your shift mechanism. There is a known defect in the wiring for the shift lever on automatic E90/E92s. Over time the wiring breaks due to the stress of being pulled every time you put the shift lever into sport mode. When you see the word "affiliate" listed beside any link in my description please know that this is a custom link and I will earn a small commission if you opt to purchase using said link. This is at no extra cost to you so it's a win all around :) Thank you!

[@OhParq]

Bro ty so much wtf. The mechanic quoted my dad like 1500usd and I found this and did it myself. You’ve actually helped a bunch of people.

[@Guillaumedebaere]

Same here!!

[@leosand7980]

On my momma

[@shawzymusic]

Took me less than 30 mins. This guy is a legend

[@Excelsior10000]

Indeed, I verified broken wires and went to the dealer. They said I needed a whole new assembly for $1600 including labor. They don't do "repairs." They also want to sell me a whole new turbo ($2800 + labor) to fix the stuck wastegate. Pass!

[@WayToManyAssassins]

Mechanics are dirty man

[@mariosmith1304]

Excellent video! This is the most comprehensive and intelligently illustrated DIY repair for the infamous BMW no-sport-mode anomaly. Watch and follow the directions and wait to be surprised as you save yourself over $1,000. The thing to remember is that the way the wires are broken in your shifter harness is going to likely be different than videos here on KZbin...To do it properly...Get yourself wiggle room...AND BE PATIENT!

[@stubones]

Good advice. I really took my time fixing mine. I was very slow and methodical. All good now, DS mode is back :)

[@Certified_Geezy]

I was literally just saying the same thing. I patiently watched 2 videos before this and wish his video was at the top. 😂 he’s very specific about how he works

[@redrock1963]

Your local mechanic........."that'll be $1350 + taxes"

[@GT-cw7ed]

Just did this it took less than 1hr. Anybody can do this it's really simple.

[@chasetucker1131]

Not when the wires are seperated in the assembly lol. I’d like to watch you get the whole assembly out after the t bolts get removed. And btw there’s not one video on the entire internet that will show you how to remove the whole shifter assembly.

[@sony2684]

Thanks for this! I'm just now getting these symptoms with my e90 at 190xxx miles. I'll be tackling this with confidence now.

[@BrokeMahWallet]

Sport mode has been broken since winter and I’ve just been holding off till it got warmer! Exceptional diy! Got this done in 25 minutes 🔥🔥

[@n54space]

Had the problem on my e93 335 and bmw quotes me to replace the whole console for 4k , watched this and fixed all my problems for free in a hour. Thank You🙏

[@EXACTLYInstrumentals]

I just fixed this problem thanks to your video. Only had to watch it a couple times and was able to do the repair without even watching! Thanks man

[@stubones]

After watching this video and a couple of others a few times I finally decided to try the fix myself and I was successful. So if you have this problem, I highly recommend watching the videos a few times very carefully, make sure you have the right tools etc and get stuck in. Be very slow and careful though. Mine took almost an hour and half, including a few silly mistakes that added at least 30-40 minutes. If you manage to fix it, and don't put the wires back behind the plastic, you can get to them again without removing the console trim, just the selector sleeve and the black PRND plate, which takes about 30 seconds.

[@crodv82]

Great video, I did not want to try this myself because I have no experience in cars whatsoever, but today I did it, 5 out of 7 wires were broken, and one more was almost gone so I cut it and welded it like the others. I took me around 3 hours and $20 in tools (wire stripping and soldering iron), so even for inexperienced people this is relatively easy

[@rodrigovazquez433]

It's done! It took me 2 hours without a rush. BMW 125i Coupe. My problem was that the sport mode did not work. I did exactly what you did. I found the grey wire cut. Thank you again very much. I hope those who have the same problem are encouraged to do so because the fix is very easy and save over a thousand dollars minimum.

[@002simba002]

Thanks for your step by step tutorial of how to regain Sport Mode. I have a 2007 e93 and the green and the purple wires were completely cut and the rest were on the way so I too did just like in this tutorial and added some electrical tape to prevent further damage. It’s so nice to have sports mode back! 🙏👍😀👍

[@ghb1165]

Lifesaver, driving in a different country and pulled into a petrol station with it working and pulled out with it broken.. video was a massive help

[@zomski101]

This video was a real help. Had the same problem where the white wire was cut and two others badly bent. My car had 69k miles when it happened, major design flaw.

[@JacobTennis1999]

Mine had the same amount of miles LOL 69644

[@dakotatucker7155]

Well I woke up this moring and I had this exact problem. My car is already a lil messed up and only shifts normal and runs good in sport mode. So since it wasnt working 8 wasnt able to really drive at all, this video was a life saver.

[@theqashow2942]

Dude. This was so perfect. Fixed the first try and the drive is so much more enjoyable now. Thanks from me and my 2011 335D

[@michaelcarr4748]

You have given me the confidence to attempt this repair on my E88 (135 convertible). Thank you! I can't wait to have functional sport mode again.

[@IllpunchUnUrshIRTdud]

This video is still useful even after a few years of upload, thank you! Gonna go ahead and fix mine now, now that I know what I’m looking at

[@imamalayleh2645]

Thanks for the vid!! For anyone trying it, just make sure to take out the trim on the top softly so nothing breaks. And I recommend fixing all the wires since most of the time the wires will be close to ripping anyways. Aand the car will not go into sport mode until every plug is plugged back in, so that's when you'll get to tell if your work was successful or not lol

[@steel609]

Your village should sing songs of praise for you! Thanks for a great video! Fixed mine easy as pie.

[@grizzlyt3275]

I have 0 experience with this stuff and succeeded in completing this repair in less than an hour. Your video has made me soooo happy thank you!!

[@3tr3x]

The forums were harder to follow. This video made it so easy, it took about as long as this whole video. Worked like a charm!

[@Repairsharksllc]

Thanks for the detailed video, while I know this is old it is still very relevant. I did this yesterday to my e90 after losing Sport mode. I do have some suggestions. I didn't need to pull the shifter out of its boot. What I did was pulled it up a bit and tilted it to the left toward the drivers side. I used a T10 screwdriver to take out the top and back screws from the side plastic cover plate. I left in the third screw in the front. With the third screw still in I was able to pry the plastic back and free the wire just fine. No need to remove that third screw and actually take the plate off. The wire itself was broken in the same place. I soldered it and did like you with the shrink tubing. Nice work, I've watched a ton of your videos.

[@Gripen85]

I want to thank you a lot for making this video, really appreciated! I am doing this now on my 2006 e61 530i, if other people with a e60/e61 want to do this beware you need to remove the whole center console to properly access the unit/wires :)

[@docbroc1]

Excellent video. I just lost my down shift on manual. Up shifting still works on manual and sport mode engages so i think there is only one wire for me. Gonna do this in few days. Appreciate clear videos like these.

[@docbroc1]

Forgot to update but yes only one wire for me in my 2010 LCI was the purple one that is for down shifting.

[@imaTokester]

Hadn’t been able to consistently use sport mode in a year, gonna try this out ASAP Looks like an easy fix, just replaced my pressure regulator & fuel pump a few months ago.

[@chrisb5987]

Just did this today. Thank you for the detailed DIY. Helped a lot to have visuals. FYI to anyone watching - one of my T30 screws was seized in place badly. I stripped the head of it trying to get it out and ended up needing to use vice grips to turn it 1/4 at time until it finally budged. Ended up soldering all 8 of the wires back together and my sport mode is like new. She’s back baby!!!

[@redrock1963]

I have an '09 E87 120d. I have not noticed shift lights not working (mainly because I don't pay attention) but mine does not have sport/manual mode. I'm now convinced the issue will lye in that loom somewhere. Thanks for your efforts and cudos on the skills.

[@thechipm0nkey22]

This guy saved me so much time… no one apart from this guy knows what’s going on. Thought my gear box had gone and boom 1 hour and I fixed it with simple tools… saved my life thank you

[@eazynosteroidz3074]

Did you just twist the wires together to make contact? Or did you solder them?

[@MarkBeckford]

Thank you so much. This video helped me.. and there were 3 wires broken! And now I have sport mode back..

[@pencus1086]

It only took me 2 dollars and 1 hour of working, thank you for an easy and understandable tutorial.

[@BRUTEMANDERBY]

Thank you so much. I just bought my 335i today and noticed this was not working during the test drive. I flew to get the get and did not have time for the dealer to fix. Had to drive 8 hours back home. This saves me a trip back to GA.

[@BM-sc2nk]

i have a 2011 335 and ive heard about this problem and i knew it was a matter of time until it happened to me. it did and i followed ur video step by step and fixed it myself. im sure the dealer would have charged me up the ass all it took me was 30 min. thanks for the upload you saved me a ton of money!

[@bcidernable]

I have a 2011 335xi and need to replace my iDrive. Did your center console trim come out exactly as described in the video?

[@Spectreofphysics]

@@bcidernable I have a 2011 335i with iDrive/navigation. Mine came out exactly the same no issues. It just requires a fair amount of effort.

[@clarkay3049]

Just did this.... worked a dream. You're a legend 👏

[@leocbrito]

I just followed this video and I did it few minutes ago. I needed about 40 minutes only. After 1 year without the sport mode, I finally got it back! Worked perfectly, thank you!

[@Omari1125]

I went two years with sport mode working, I thought my transmission was going bad...lol.

[@guillermoledesma7131]

Exactly what I needed to hear, solenoid does not work when power is missing; because the cable that feeds it is broken. wonderful explanation. Thank you.

[@Theory1k]

Great video brother, helped me fix mine. this was the issue for my 335i, blue and green wire were cut. this should take around 1 hour to do. no need to solder.

[@stubones]

I fixed mine a few days ago. It was the white wire. I used Butt connectors as suggested in a different repair video. It took me an hour and half because the Aluminium Hexagon trim was very difficult to get off, even with trim removal tools. I also stupidly managed to cut two other wires when cutting off the OEM tape. I had to rejoin three wires in the end. The repair is good though :)

[@janellas1185]

stubones If you can pls answer. Is it possible to just get a new wire and replace it? The end of the wires connected (screwed) to the shifter, can it be removed?

[@logan6203]

Jan Ellas yes and for a 2011 335is

[@vweltin]

THANK YOU!!! Sport mode died on my 09 335d a year ago and it was really bugging me, but I didn’t have the confidence to start digging into my baby until your video showed me the way. Thank you for the incredible amount of detail in the video

[@srqnews]

I explained this repair to my tech. He proceeded to repair my Sport Mode. Yeah! The manual shift function is good downshifting, but the leather book seems be preventing upshifts by binding the shift lever. Good job, Vehicular DIY!

[@ts89540]

Thanks for this information. Combined with a few other vids, I became KZbin certified to do this myself. Of course, with the 128i, it's not as straight forward as this. The ENTIRE center console had to be removed, along with bits from under the dash, just to get to the 2 T-30 bolts in the front. 3 hrs later, and issue is taken care of!

[@pepper0912]

Excellent video! I was quoted $1200 from a BMW dealership for this repair, but I will follow your video and save me some $$! Thanks.

[@Marcusb2kk]

Thank you with the help of this video i didn’t even need to remove the auto shift knob or pop the shifter out of place i just tilted it to the side got 3 screws off and bingo! 4 wires were broken in half!!! That’s why my sport mode never worked before but now i got everything working perfect thank you so much!!!

[@Marcusb2kk]

Broken Wires : Yellow, White, Blue & Green.... no solder just twist together the wires and electrical tape them up :-)

[@cocko1135]

Thanks mate. I never had the upshift in manual selection on the gear lever, finally saw your video and 1 hour later I'm sorted. Btw, it's the blue wire for my issue. Cheers from Australia 😉

[@brennan.bochenek]

Thank you so much! My friends e92 had this issue and even with employee discount at a bmw dealership it was 500. Took me 30 minutes and an afternoon to fix mine when the same thing happened!

[@andresbermudez2419]

This was super helpful! THANKS! My car’s manual mode wasn’t working properly (downshifted only, no manual upshifts) and my local dealer quoted an insane amount to fix it. I did it myself with less than $8 in electrical tape and heat-shrink tubing; plus, I was done in like 20 minutes!

[@jimarti61]

I'm having the issue where I won't be able to downshift only up shift with the manual mode. What did you do to fix?

[@andresbermudez2419]

N55_35i Just followed that video, really. Found a couple of broken wires in the shifter harness. Cleaned them up, put them back together and insulated them. All good as new!! Took 10-15 minutes to do the whole thing, maybe? It was super easy. Find a spot with good natural light and keep this video handy for the step-by-step.

[@aidenswan1311]

Up shifting in the manual setting wasn’t working on my e90, took 20 minutes all the way through to fix. very helpful video.

[@kevinl.295]

This was a perfect video on this BMW engineering flaw. I had to repair all but 1. I probably pulled a couple while working on it but all set now. Many thanks 🙏 💪👍

[@jskallingtin]

So glad I found your video cuz all the other videos weren't as detailed as yours 👍🏼

[@HomeAwesomation]

Thanks for the video, I just repaired mine in my garage while having your video up on my tv screen. 5 of my wires were broken cleanly through.

[@bikelife1389]

Awesome video mate it worked a treat on my e92 330i. Gray wire was in half only a small amount left at bottom to connect up with lucky. I got a silicone filled crimp fitting from my brother and it worked awesome. Replaced the tape and sorted it out within an hour light work due to yourself. You can easily get a flat screwdriver in mate to push it away to remove the damaged wires. Again thanks

[@Amazon_Driver]

Did mine today following this video step by step! Cannot thank you enough.

[@Xwillxiamx]

Went in thinking I couldn’t it was so easy thank you man now back to smashing 😂

[@terryorourke1554]

Thank you for the video bud!! I fixed the sport mode in my car because the wires were broken , exactly like the video!

[@Juan_n_only]

My sport mode wouldn't engage, so I googled the issue and came across this video. My sport mode fucked up roughly around 5pm 4/20/2020 and I fixed it by 9pm thanks to this video. Good shit bro, and thank you.

[@bflydon]

Thank you! Great video! Followed this step by step & restored Sport Mode in my '08 328xi.

[@alextoro3448]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video! I have the same problem and this was extremely helpful.

[@ahahaha2716]

thanks for the vid man, opted to just break that plastic piece carefully of course, all it took was a little tape

[@WayToManyAssassins]

Just did this but used electrical tape instead of heatshrink as didn't have any, still works really good and made sure I connected the wires properly

[@Neversayplease]

Literally Did this in 1 hour. Thanks for saving A lot People Hundreds of Dollars!

[@dabshaft502]

This video was very helpful, step by step of everything you need to do. The only problem I had after was with my 09 e92 335i when I shifted after finishing the right wire connected to the boot got stuck in the shifter but I got it out and attached it to something to keep it out of the way

[@jopa3458]

JUST FIXED IT!!! OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[@ichbinbaghdady2418]

My e92 2009 had the same problem & am dealing with it , thanx a lot 4 this video

[@poppaJacks92]

Did this today following your video step by step wearing my AirPods, thank you so much much man 🙏🏼 beautifully explained to follow

[@highgrade199]

Thank you for the great step by step guide. Saved me a few hundred pounds with this DIY fix. More or less exactly the same principle for the gearbox in a E92. Rerouting the cable makes transmission selection smoother as it has a bit slack on the cable. Top guide, thank you again!

[@donjoling9639]

Nice. My Sport/ Manual mode just quit working a few weeks back. I had it checked out at a BMW certified shop and their solution/ fix was to replace the shifter assembly to the tune of ~$1100. I figure if I can change the starter on an e90, this should be a piece of cake. Thanks for posting!

[@stubones]

It is pretty easy. It took me ages becuase I couldn;t get the console trim off easily and I stupidly cut two wires while getting the OEM tape off the wires. Still, it was successful :)

[@nicholaskolomiets2929]

Great diy just finished fixing mine . Some differences with my repair were I couldn’t get the whole shifter out with the rubber piece but I got the shifter to pull away from the rubber and give me enough room that way. Also had to cut some of the tape out and repair the wires very close to where they come out of the assembly. One was about to break and others were cracked.

[@patrickmccarthy480]

Really good and helpful video...! I repaired the broken wires in about 1.5 hours... Thanks very much!

[@BlessedtoFly]

Excellent instructions. My wiring harness looked very similar with two wires broken and the other six ready to break. We cut and soldered all of them so we don’t have to do it again later. 270k miles on my 335D and plan to keep it a long time.

[@kweezish]

Thanks for this video. If anyone is having any kind of sport mode related malfunction its probably a broken wire in this harness. My 335 wouldn't downshift in sport mode but everything else worked just fine.

[@BryanChance]

The shifter boot comes off you know..LOL Thanks for the video!

[@stevegruenwald3822]

You are so talented. And very patient. Thanks for sharing!

[@n54lionmilk]

Just had this issue today and instant search and here I am with the Fix from you. Good one man Thanks🔥🔥🔥. Watching all the way in 🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲

[@alloutofdonuts3998]

I like the idea of not soldering. I always used to think best practice was to solder everything. With experience I’ve found out the hard way wires that small and aged(possibly already more brittle than new wires) will actually break again at the solder joint. It also makes a bigger bundle if there are a number of wires, not good if space is tight. No to mention the mess and hassle of soldering in that location(and I actually like to solder normally😮).

[@daymianvillapudua5733]

I just did this myself, luckily it was only one wire, great video

[@calypsoyak]

Great video of this repair. I’ve seen a couple others on this repair and this is the best. I lost DS mode on my 2007 328i and with the help of this video I opened up the console, found a broken while/gray wire, soldered it together and it now works perfect.

[@AlexTurbo]

Thanks for this video. My green wire was snapped and as soon as I moved the other wires out of the way to fix the green one, the white one snapped as well haha

[@miky2miky]

Thanks a lot you saved me a lot of time for the researches. In my case the PRND lights were all off and Sport mode + manual shift was not working. (E90 2009). Green wire was cut and 2 or 3 other about to broke. I cut all of them them I welded them again, individually, to keep something smouth, I did as you so I did not attache the wires. I also add some grease and also a little bit of WD40 on the pivot. Thanks again !!

[@ianmoorcroft3689]

Thanks for the fix My bmw is working brilliant 😁

[@lithium.]

Thank you! Performed this fix today. One broken wire and five others had insulation damaged.

[@jeffgordon7456]

Thanks for the share man, I appreciate it-my sports mode sometimes never upshifted-so I’d have to slap it back to drive after downshifting.

[@giuseppesaracino2819]

thx a lot..!! worked perfect!! without this video I maybe wouldn‘t have tried to fix it by myself. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@bachotskhovrebadze7824]

The video is amazing, it helped me a lot, thank you very much

[@BadCompanyJBB]

Thanks for the solid video! Just the one wire cut for me, but I repaired the cracked wires too. Took a little over an hour. Your video was the guiding light. Many thanks.

[@mercedes3613]

thank you, thanks to you I managed to operate the sport mode and sequential, 1 hour of work, your video super well explain, thank you again, I'm French so translation may be wrong, good luck

[@electro_mutt8692]

Thanks a bunch, I was able to find all the cracked and broken wires and easily crank this job out. Amazing work!

[@Thereis1]

thank you so much holy crap this problem just came up and I was able to fix it in an hour or so I thought it would take all day

[@iamjakex]

Fixed my 335d as well thanks to this video. I was pretty surprised the wiring was plastic (melted back when soldering) and not a good quality silicone protection on the wires.

[@brandonsrelax6311]

Fixed my car thank you bro 💯🤝🏻

[@alitttlebitofeverything]

You are awesome man just finished up and everything is back to working order

[@ianmoorcroft3689]

Great job Got the same problem on my 335.

[@guillermoledesma7131]

Guillermo Ledesma hace10 minutos Exactly what I needed to hear, solenoid does not work when power is missing; because the cable that feeds it is broken. Pretty explanation. Thank you.

[@moabcruiser8749]

Great video man! Thanks for posting this. It totally saved me $1000.

[@burtonpro7]

Shifter locked in park? Check the solenoid arm and make sure it's linked on the pin. Hopefully it saves you the hours I wasted trying to figure it out when it popped off moving shit around. If you get an error saying make sure the car is in park when u turn it off, there is a tab located adjacent to the pin connecting to the solenoid. Check that too. All in all this DIY works if your wires are split and these were the only issues I came across. Other than that, very simple and easy fix for alot of gain!! Went for a beamer cruise hauling ass 1-6 on the backroads afterwards.

[@Ordep1313]

Whoo hoo am dealing with this now , much thanks 🎉

[@Amilo2000]

Great video! This helped me fix my bmw e92 and now DS mode works perfect 👌 Tnx a lot!

[@VehicularDIY]

Awesome!

[@stephentynan5784]

Fantastic easy repair that saved me a lot of money. I appreciate you sharing this video.

[@robertokellyramos]

Thanks so much I have this problem now so I will be doing this fix great to have people out here helping others and saving a trip to pay 💰 a dealer 👍🏼🤙🏼 🚗

[@precisedetail]

I did it today! Your video solved the problem.

[@korlic9]

great take on this annoying issue, keep on it man

[@Isaac86557]

Green wire on mine was ripped Thanks bro!

[@SimbaTheGreat]

Same exact issue on my E92

[@Gnautic]

@@SimbaTheGreat how long did it take you guys to do? having the same issue on my e92

[@SimbaTheGreat]

@@Gnautic about a hour to fix. Fairly easy too

[@Gnautic]

Simba TheGreat awesome. Thanks for the response!

[@SimbaTheGreat]

Greg yea just use 20 or 18 gauge wire. I extended the entire look about 2.5inches and re routed them around the gear shift and down the open space around my idrive controller. It’s free of any kinks and should last the rest of the life of the vehicle. I didn’t solder I used heat shrink.