Ok I know a very exciting picture,,,,,but this was something new,,,,F30 328 customer said the gearshift indicator light goes out once in awhile,,,,well I checked the operations functions,,,,and noticed when I started up the car the light was on in the park position,,,,,but once I shift it into drive or reverse the light would go out and wouldn’t come back on,,,,,even if I shut the car off and restarted the car,,,,the car had to go to sleep before it would come back on again,,,,,,I checked for any faults in the system,,,,,found there was a fault for shift indicator light malfunction,,,,,pretty cool,,,,,but there was no test for the malfunction,,,,,,so I just replaced the gear shifter ,,,,no big deal 4 screws under the shift base trim plate,,,,but you have to program and encode the new GWS shifter.
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bmwtechnician 
Hi, do you have failure gear shifter?
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Yes we see the GWS going bad sometimes
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Is there any other ways to resolve rather than changing the GWS Shifter ?
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No that the only way is to replace the GWS shifter programm,,,,,sorry
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Tq
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Hi, I have ste same issue. Do you believe flashing GWS ecu with newer I Step could fix this problem? I believe it is a software issue, because light comes back on after car goes to sleep and it goes off only when put in “D”. In “R” or “N” it stays on.
Thank you for your information.
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Sounds like the GWS is bad,,,,move the shifter around and see if the light comes back on
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Hi, thank you for your reply. Nothing changes if I move shifter around. When put in “D” it goes off and stays off no matter what. I disconnected the plug and checked connections and all seems good. If engaging “R”, “N” or “P” it works fine but just before I select “D”.
Thank you.
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Sounds like the shifter is bad
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Thank you. I will look for a new/used one.
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Hi, I have been searching all over the net for solutions to this issue, I have the exact same problem on my 328 where the indicator light will just disappear as soon as D is selected and will stay off until the cars switched off and on again. So this is not a wiring issue? But the gear switch unit itself? And if so, it is very difficult to source a brand new unit and I believe it will be costly, if I were to source a used unit does it still need to be coded? I believe these units are used on a wide range of bmws, does it have to be specifically a 328i unit? Thanks.
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On this car the problem was the gear shifter,,,,your might have the same problem,,,,you can not take a used part because you can not recode a used part,,,,all the gear shifter look alike but they are different for each car and model.
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Hi folks,
I’ll buy asap a new gear selector, but, how to program and code the new GWS shifter?
What are the steps to be followed?
Thanks in advance
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You need special BMW software to program and encode the shifter,,,,you need to find a Indy or dealer to take care of that for you.
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Hi folks,
Recently I bought an used shifter, installed it and when I turned on my car, I received 2 errors on IDrive system – Trunk Open and Impossible to move from P. Park led doesn’t come alive instead, so I returned to the seller the GWS shifter.
I’ll buy another shifter asap, so, after that, how to program and encode the new GWS shifter?
Thanks in advance.
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You will have to have a dealer or a Indy repairs shop with the correct software to program and node the shifter for you
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Hi folks… I bought another GWS. Before installing, firstly disconnected the battery, replaced de GWS (10 minutes) and now everything is fine. No faults, no errors, everything working like brand new.
Problem solved!
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Hello ,
I have same issue in 328 2015 , but mine is a little different when i start up the car the light is ON in the park position and when i shift it into drive or reverse the light still on and stays Ok , but sometimes when i start up the car there is no light at all even in Park positon after turining off the vehical and starting it again everything goes back to normal..
Does this mean that the GWS needs to be replaced also ?
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Yes the GWS need to be replaced
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Thanks alot.
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Dear sir/mom
Hello, I am Hamid Reza Samadpur and I am sending the email from Iran. I have a problem,and hope you will guide me to solve it.
I’ve got a suv X3 28idrive with the serial number (WBAWX9100F0K05378). Recently the gear indicator lights turned off when the gear goes into driving mode and change to on position after the car is turned off,and it is turned off again in driving mode. I changed the gear, but surprisingly this time the indicator lights are turned off in the rear gear position. Tell me whether this is a hardware problem or a software one and help me know how to fix it.
Thanks in advance
sincerely yours
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This is a hardware problem,,,,and the problem sounds like the gearshift selector is going bad,,,,if you replace it you will have to program it to the vehicle
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Faulty led
Need to replace
U can Oder it from eBay
SMD 3528 4 poles
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Any more detail? Perhaps a link to the exact part? My car is having the same issues
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Your best bet is get the part number from the dealer depending on your make and model and year
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My i8 has the same issue, the GWS lights go off when shifted into reverse and won’t come back on until the car goes into sleep mode. I bought a GWS from another i8 and installed it (didn’t need programming) but the exact problem same occurred.
Does anyone know where the GWS gets its input from? Is it from the shift unit on the trans?
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I believe it comes from the shift unit.
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Wouldnt it be alot easier to just replace or repair the LED module found under the indicator.?
If you can find one or are handy with the soldering iron.
I don’t think you would need to do any programming, correct?
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You are correct if you can find the problem and maybe solder the repair would be great
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Hello
I got an e84 x1 and gearshifter wont go in D or R. Please press unlock button he keeps saying… new shifter? I can see i can order the top ( withe the d and n and r on it…) on its own. Not complete shifter ( black box) will this do the trick?
Thank you!
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No it sounds like you need the whole shifter with the black box and the then it needs to be programmed
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