[techietaichi]

So when I bought my car 1.5 years ago, it was right around 54K. What few mechanicals that needed to be addressed as is inevitable with used autos, I had those taken care of almost immediately and I now consider my ride to be as it should, 100%. Thing is, I never thought twice about having the transmission fluid/filter changed until recently, as I'm nearing 100K miles. However, I'd like to note that I did have a mechatronic sleeve leak which was taken care of back in March. I believe some trans. fluid was replaced and the pan gasket for sure. Anyways, I asked the dealership(Tulley BMW, Nashua, NH) what it would cost to have this service done as a starting point, then moved on to my indies, Schneller BMW out of Newbury, MA and Turner Motorsport out of Amesbury, MA to compare costs. Both are excellent shops that I've used with great Managers/owners and a very experienced crew. My confidence with these guys have never waivered.

Here's the responses I received from them:

Schneller BMW -

"Manny,

What did the dealer quote to do this job? I'm surprised that they even quoted you a price as it is BMWNA policy not to change Auto trans fluids & filter unless there is a problem like a leak and a gasket needs replacing etc.

Mike"

Turner Motorsport -

"Hello Manny. To be honest I am not a big fan of changing the fluid in an E9X car unless the pan is leaking or there is a problem with the transmission., and it is a last ditch effort. I find leaving something alone that works well is best, sometimes there can be an adverse effect of changing fluid that may be best to leave alone. To change the fluid and filter, requires 5-6 quarts of fluid, a new pan and bolts and filter and possibly mechatronics sleeve. The cost for this with labor is $700. If I were to do it I would make you sign something that we are not responsible(other than leaks from us doing the work) for any changes to your transmission. I will take no liability.

Marco"

____________

Suffice it to say, all this kind of alarms me some. I tend to trust my indies more so than the dealership, but then why would the SA whom I've worked with before, quote me prices for a service that defies BMWNA policy on the subject? Perhaps ignorance? Courtesy? Profit? All parties involved have taken care of my needs and done a great job, but I plan on having this car for the long haul and the last thing I want to happen is for my transmission to fail when preventive maintenance could have averted it. I'm honestly confused at this point. I'm leaning towards just leaving things as they are for the moment, but definitely plan on contacting BMWNA about this to get some detailed answers. I dunno, what do you fellas think?

F**K!!!!

[floydarogers]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=910480&page=2

Everyone posted their thoughts in there (the OP also asked in another forum and got similar responses).

You're going to get a wishy-washy response from BMWNA. However, do note that while the original E9x recommendation was "lifetime", by 2010 they had changed to "100K miles" (check any later model's Maintenance and Warranty book.)

There is no 100% right answer on this one, but I changed mine at 60K and feel good about it. Since the transmission is sealed and any debris should be in the filter or pan, IMO any "oh, you'll get loose junk into places that will cause trouble" is old wives tales.