E46 hesitation and bogging down (long post) ;)

I have a bogging down/ hesitation issue



So out for a long drive today with a full car of people-



The bogging down is very apparent when in "D" (drive) mode when at a road speeds as I call for more power.



Driving at about 25-30 mph - rpms needle sitting at about 1500-1700 engine warmed up after 10 mins of normal driving.

As I press the accelerator pedal the needle goes up about 250-500 rpm then you can feel the engine bogg down sharply for about 1-2 seconds as the rpm needle drops by about the same maybe a little more-



After 1-2 seconds the needle jumps back up to where it should have been when I called for more power in the first place, the revs then continues to climb steadily as expected-or if I floor it she pulls like a train through the rev range.

This appens about 65% of the time I call for power, the other 35% is full smooth power through the revs.



Driving in "S" (sport) mode

There is no bogging down at all!! She pulls like a train holding the revs for longer and changing gear later - love this but can't drive around like this all day- not good for your pocket.



Driving in "M-/+" (manual) mode

There is no bogging down!! Full power through every gear I'm not sure how good this mode is for the car? I would love to hear from you who drive in manual mode all the time? Is it ok to drive around like this all the time?i usually only use manual mode if I would like to drop down a gear to pass a car or a really steep hill (auto can get a bit confused).



Things I have had done/swapped out:

Vanos seales replaced

checked intake boots - no cracks

new plugs and coils

new fuel filter and pump

new throttle body

new air filter

new cam sensors both intake and exhaust

new crankshaft sensor

cleaned and checked Mass airflow sensor with another good one

new valve cover gasket

new thermostat and hoses

disa valve seems ok although symptoms are close to what it would be if I unplugged the valve electrical supply - flap not rattling and the vacuum holds with the finger over hole test-



Could this his be a sensor issue? Does the ECU ignore sensors when in sport mode or manual mode? If so which ones? That could be my culprit.




Would love your thoughts and advise on this one as still no obvious codes thrown with my maxiscan handheld scanner. I'm thinking maybe o2 sensor?



Is this the sign of a failing transmission? Would it help to swap the transmission control module for a known good one, can you simply do that?



Thanks

E46 hesitation and bogging down (long post) ;)