BMW Tranny Fluid - United Bimmer Community

DEATH2000 · 12-28-2005, 12:41 AM

Well since my car kinda needs an oil change i decided to take it to the place i took my last car (Mercedes) to be done, sadly the place doesnt do BMW's so im like shit. I woulda done it myself right away but i dont have much time (going out of town in a couple of days).

So i decide to call the BMW dealership to compare prices. Im talking with the mech and and i inquire about getting the tranny fluid changed too. He tells me that BMW auto tranny's use a lifetime synthetic blend.Is that true? He tells me he can change the fluid but its a specilaty thing they dont normally do so it would run me several hundred dollars, i was like f*ck that.

I know its obvious the fluid eventaully has to be changed, but can anyone confirm or deny what the mech told me?

**xsperf** · 12-28-2005, 01:17 AM

lifetime fluid, they mean it, unless your car has a rediculously high amount of miles, do you feel your auto tranny acting up and shifting wrong and doing weird things?

**c1apton** · 12-28-2005, 02:44 AM

Lifetime trans fluid? Yea right - he didn't want to deal w/you.. They use synthetic oil in the engines, (I know "air & fuel gets in there" blah, blah) They also use synthetic trans & diff fluids - but they do rec. changing them. BMW uses Castrol full syns in trans & diffs. (they use to use Valvoline but had a falling out with them over price variances) Both are sold under the BMW brand name. Do your trans & diff fluid changes every two years. These fluids do break down over time also so don't buy into the "lifetime pitch". As they'll tell you at breakdown time "Well son you ended it's lifetime, that'll be $$$$$$$$$$$"

**xsperf** · 12-28-2005, 11:20 AM

really c1apton? i heard from numerious other people that it was lifteime fluid, all the BMW cars i have had expierience with were never changed.. even though those were differential fluid/gearbox fluid, not auto tranny

**c1apton** · 12-28-2005, 12:19 PM

yea, it's an old "falacy" that you don't need to change diff and stick trans fluid. But besides lubricating, the oils in these also suspend the metallic particles that eventually wear. So it's a good idea to change them. Some race teams will strain the fluid through a pro paint strainer and reuse the "syns" - either way getting the metal paticles out will add to the longevity. Also when the fluids age then tend to foam & thin out.

DEATH2000 · 12-28-2005, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xsperf

do you feel your auto tranny acting up and shifting wrong and doing weird things?

My car just broke 171,000 miles like a couple of days ago. I inquired about it cause i wasnt sure when the last tranny fluid change was done since i dont have any records of the car from before i bought it. It does have some of the dealer stamps in the service book from 2 dealers in ontario were the car was originally sold. But when he told me it was gonna be a couple of hundred bucks i was like ohhh hell no.

Its not shifting wrong persay. But i was watching the tach once in a while as i would let off the gas and the needle would drop like it shifted and then kinda bounce up a couple hundred revs or so.

And when i was leaving Speedtech it kinda felt like it didnt wanna shift outa park into reverse, now i was on a slight enbankment so that mighta been it.

**c1apton** · 12-28-2005, 01:57 PM

As long as it's shifting ok, I wouldn't worry. But next time around for maintenance I'ld consider doing it just for peace of mind.

**xsperf** · 12-28-2005, 02:11 PM

171 miles.. you are in canada, no?

**xxxbimmer** · 12-29-2005, 06:51 AM

hmmm mine only was $100

u just have to find a good mech

mine was shifting fine....But changing the fluid made a HUDGE dif

wait $200 canadian or US?

DEATH2000 · 12-29-2005, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xsperf

171 miles.. you are in canada, no?

Sorry my bad. Thats 171,000 Kilometers. I havent been all here the last day or two.

Quote:

wait $200 canadian or US?

The dealer woulddve wanted more than $200, he couldnt give me an exact estimate at the time. But the other guy i go to for oil changes (on the Mercedes) said they can do it but it would be expensive as well.

**1fast325i** · 01-08-2006, 02:04 AM

My father in law is a BMW mechanic and I asked him to help me out change the tranny fluids. The only thing I have to fork out is form the fluid and tranny seal. Hopefully my tranny will perform better. I've had my tranny light come on 2-3 times already and I don't think it's performing at its best.

A bit sluggesh than normal.

**defkon99** · 01-08-2006, 11:51 AM

i did my trans fluid last week. took me less than 1 hr.

Storamin · 01-08-2006, 03:13 PM

http://www.bimmerworld.com/Projects/...ject_trans.htm

all the info you need for auto tranny.

DEATH2000 · 01-08-2006, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Storamin

http://www.bimmerworld.com/Projects/...ject_trans.htm

all the info you need for auto tranny.

HA HA HA, i hear ya man. I just dont got that kinda money or time to invest.