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      03-15-2012, 05:48 PM   #1
goldguilexx
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Automatic Transmission fluid change

A bit ago I read a topic on life time tranny fluid for automatic transmissions and much like other on that topic was told by the dealer and indy mechanics that it was a "life time" fluid and advised not to change it.

Some comments on here where negative as in getting contaminants in the tranny or other bad case scenarios.

I ended up going ahead with changing it out since my Z4 just reached 100,000 miles and what came out what black as night! It was still watery so nothing too bad as far as shavings or bad stuff but yeah, i was told it was a good thing to replace regardless of the "life time" name of the fluid.

Ive been driving the car since and its night and day difference on shifts! feels like a new car all over again. Not too bad as the whole thing (parts and labor) cost a little over $300. The mechanic recommended IO do the fluid for the tranny every 60K miles and i will follow his advise.

Just wanted to post this up in case im not the only one who was going by the impression that the tranny fluid was a lifetime magic fluid!
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      03-15-2012, 06:15 PM   #2
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Thanks, good info. I've been thinking about having that done, I'll be doing it sooner than later now.
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      03-15-2012, 06:15 PM   #3
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I agree more and hate it when people buy into the "lifetime" crap. I did have a hard time finding the ZF fluid that wasn't $16 a quart though. After I did it the shifts (esp 2nd to 1st) was much smoother. Nothing drastic came out. Don't forget your coolant next.
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      03-15-2012, 06:19 PM   #4
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Thats like people thinking it is ok to use iridium plugs up to 100k miles... yikes!

I have seen them as nubs after 40k
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      03-15-2012, 06:27 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davesz4mc View Post
Thats like people thinking it is ok to use iridium plugs up to 100k miles... yikes!

I have seen them as nubs after 40k
I have a rant when it comes to iridium plugs:

My 2006 Honda Civic EX had irridium plugs. Around 60k miles the idle at a stop light was so rough the soda can or water bottle would rattle in the cup holder. There was a terrible drone in the cabin from a rough idle. Under warranty, I took it to the dealer who swore the battery was fine and since no error codes it was normal. I asked if it could be the plugs and that was impossible since Honda doesn't replace them until 100k miles. Dealer wanted $48 per plug!!!

Lived with it for a couple weeks and finally got around to swapping out the plugs myself for some NGK irridiums that were $8 each at AutoZone. Idled so smooth you'd have to look at the tach to see if the engine was running. When I got my Z last year first thing I did was swap the plugs (mostly cause I wanted to see them), but for $6 each I'll replace plugs every 30k or so.

Thanks for reminding me of those crappy irridium plugs! Well, not crappy, just not good for 100k.
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      03-15-2012, 08:28 PM   #6
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yeah, not a fan of the irridium myself. I got the platinum laser cut plugs. They last a long time and work great. When I swapped out the tranny fluid I did plugs, coils, brake fluid, coolant and air filter (got a gruppe M) Im getting new brakes (BBK) and lastly got new front bushings and an alignment. Soon ill get new shocks and another alignment. My Z is running smooth as the day i go her.
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      03-16-2012, 10:28 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by santov View Post
I agree more and hate it when people buy into the "lifetime" crap.
Please do not take what I'm about to write as me defending BMW, I certainly AM NOT. Since BMW went to "free maintenance", it's actually meant "much less maintenance paid for by BMW", and unless you do it yourself or pay to have done what it needs, certain things are being neglected.

That said, it's probably worth clarifying BMW's approach to "lifetime". When they use that term, it has nothing to do with the lifetime of the car or it's human custodian. It simply means the lifetime of the part in question. So, if you leave ATF in the tranny for 160,000 miles and then the tranny breaks - well, the fluid did exactly what it was supposed to do: last the lifetime of the transmission. See how that works? Marketing at it's best.

The reality is with good, routine maintenance (regular fluid changes, gaskets, etc) on a reasonable schedule these cars and their components should and will last for a long, long time.
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      03-16-2012, 04:19 PM   #8
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yup! marketing at its best for sure. Not sure if I read it or heard about it but I think they have since changed what they call it. Think it went from "life time" to "long lasting" or something to that effect.
As for BMW's definition of "life time" I think they said it was 100,000 miles. Again not a fact but more of a "word around the camp fire" talk from mechanics.
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      03-16-2012, 05:47 PM   #9
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Since this post didn't mentioned anything about the transmission filter, make sure you have that changed as well and most importantly use an OE filter (do NOT use an aftermarket one unless you like the feel of a slipping transmission).
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      03-16-2012, 07:04 PM   #10
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yup! that was changed too! Hope no one would leave that in! I snooped though it and thankfully it looked pretty good and did not find too many shavings or contaminants. And yeah, an OE one is a good choice. I got most of my stuff from ECS. They have good prices on most everything I was looking for.
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