[alam]

the BMW dealership at my city told me they only sell trans. fluid in 26L container and it costs approximately over $400 for fluid only. So they told me it cheaper to have it done by the dealership which cost around $250. Can I get the fluid cheaper and do it myself? They told me the same thing for differential fluid.

[dhsieh]

Originally Posted by shifterboy45

ok while everyone is throwing their cake around the room, let me add the icing ...

it is sad but true that there is a lifetime interval for the fluid.... that said it was not within the bound of accounting or anyone in BMW making the call for extending (or rather eliminating) the transmission service interval ---
NEWS FLASH -- that came directly from the transmission manufacturer. BMW never has built there own transmissions -- ZF(early autos) and GM (late autos) supply the transmissions. so you may want to write you local transmission congressman and have them amend that policy.

just think about it, these transmission intervals have been around since 1993, long before the e90 platform could take shape. poor E36/38/39 owners had to endure the same thing i suspect.

and for the record, not every transmission survives a transmission oil change -- there are plenty of stories of the old ZFs giving up the ghost on a fresh fill. i have heard nothing in regards to the state of the new GMs so to say its a bad thing for you to service your trans, id be lying to you. but i just had to say BMW was not involved in the service interval process in the case of transmissions.

Did I hear it right that late BMW tranny on E90 are made by GM? The GM that almost bankrupted?

[samchoi604]

don't do a tranny flush, just do a fluid change.

[tinnsoldaten]

Im my line of work we have use of transmission oils , lifetime on that oil is based upon temp that the oil has been subjected to over time .... the higher the temp the lower the lifespan is ....

An example , normal use , 1000 hours lifespan , moderate high temp 500 hours , high temp 250 hours ... and we change every 250 just to play safe ....

Does not heat come into the picture here ?

[David1]

Originally Posted by dhsieh

Did I hear it right that late BMW tranny on E90 are made by GM? The GM that almost bankrupted?

GM builds some of the best auto transmissions and for the most part are bulletproof.

[David9962000]

The GM unit is for the 328 and the ZF is for the 335. I hear Red Line oil is very good.

[cassey]

If it makes you sleep better at night, change the fluid.

[2wheelsrbetter]

just refilled mine, local dealer sold to me at $16 a 1/2 liter i think. had to bring my own container and they filled from a 5 gallon bucket...
ps - filled from the heat exchanger piping, easier than accessing the fill plug on the trans pan...

[eltoshan]

Originally Posted by 2wheelsrbetter

just refilled mine, local dealer sold to me at $16 a 1/2 liter i think. had to bring my own container and they filled from a 5 gallon bucket...
ps - filled from the heat exchanger piping, easier than accessing the fill plug on the trans pan...

how did you drain it? I don't think there is a drain bolt.

Anyways, if you launch the car by brake torquing at auto-x it might be a good idea to change the fluid early. Heat builds up during the brake torque and breaks down the oil.

[Sniz]

lifetime my ass.....so at 500k miles it will still be fine??

I changed the tranny fluid on my MT e36 m3 which I know was not changed since it was built 1999. the fluid looked like ass and there was a bit missing. Tranny shifts much better since I put royal purple in it.

change your fluids as you would on any other high performance car, its not a magic BMW

[e90fanatic]

Originally Posted by Sniz

lifetime my ass.....so at 500k miles it will still be fine??

I changed the tranny fluid on my MT e36 m3 which I know was not changed since it was built 1999. the fluid looked like ass and there was a bit missing. Tranny shifts much better since I put royal purple in it.

change your fluids as you would on any other high performance car, its not a magic BMW

welll if u dont change it, the lifetime will be 120k lol

[2wheelsrbetter]

Originally Posted by eltoshan

how did you drain it? I don't think there is a drain bolt.

Anyways, if you launch the car by brake torquing at auto-x it might be a good idea to change the fluid early. Heat builds up during the brake torque and breaks down the oil.

i didn't drain it, the jacka$$ that owned it before me took care of that, with a tree i think. there is a drain plug on the bottom though - there's info on here about it with pics...

[BavarianBullet]

It probably depends on the trans. I had a 95 maxima once and it hung up/delayed a little bit now and then on shifts. So I decided to have the trans oil changed (over 50k mi, I forget) and the trans immediately stopped the shift hang ups. Best $50 I spent on that car.

I agree with what others said- the life of the oil is related to temperature, abuse and time.

Lack of a sufficient oil cooler and tracking the car, power braking it, driving in hot temps all of the time, pushing 400HP through it- all nice ways to break down the fluid.

Unless BMW or ZF had specific instructions that bad things will definitely happen if you change the trans fluid, I'd look to change it up around 50k if not sooner, depending on use.

my 3c.

[mkiv808]

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but...

What fluid does BMW use for the E90 325i/328i? It's a different transmission, so I would imagine it may be a different fluid than the ZF transmission?

[klipseracer]

Originally Posted by mkiv808

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but...

What fluid does BMW use for the E90 325i/328i? It's a different transmission, so I would imagine it may be a different fluid than the ZF transmission?

If you had waited 10 more days it would have been exactly one year since the last post.

[WilliamE92]

+1 for the dealer point blank refusing to change the tranny fluid

lol no we wont let you give us money to do a 30 minute job, so when your tranny takes a dump in 100k you'll have to give us even more money to do a 4 hour job

[josephbet01]

Dexron VI

[Silvester]

Have read a lot of posts on this.

Since I plan to keep the car, I decided to get the trans oil changed.
E90 with 6 speed steptronic. When all totaled - $395.09. Ouch
This at a large LA CA dealer.

The service writer mentioned it was "lifetime" oil. no need to change.
On the other hand, he has seen 1st hand, the crud inside trannies, when they come in to get rebuilt. So while he pulled the company line... he did not try to talk me out of it!

They flush them, with "ATF Cleaner Kit" P/N 01941
and flush out the TC also.

Then refill with PN 04113 "Premium Synthetic ATF Fluid"

It's been a few days, and no problems. Car has some 48,000 on it.
Tranny seemed OK before, and seems ok now. Smooth and steady.

Like others say.... good insurance, albeit expensive! have always serviced cars regularly, kept to the early side on oil changes, etc. the logic, and everything I read is too overwhelming. Yes, Lifetime oil may be just that, an eathly death. Maybe DIY next time.

[rismo]

I'm on the side of high quality oils and normal intervals (50k gearbox and 8-10k engine oil) but...... the problems on my gearbox started after the first oil flush and renewal...

Not sure if that is proof as it is just an observation on a single gearbox that is used above average....

Another thing, if you flush, consider a oil, but be extremly carefull that is capable of higher load/temps as the default..... wondering if that would help our gearboxes....

[JunkStory]

Originally Posted by rismo123

I'm on the side of high quality oils and normal intervals (50k gearbox and 8-10k engine oil) but...... the problems on my gearbox started after the first oil flush and renewal...

Not sure if that is proof as it is just an observation on a single gearbox that is used above average....

Another thing, if you flush, consider a oil, but be extremly carefull that is capable of higher load/temps as the default..... wondering if that would help our gearboxes....

1) What gearbox problems are you noticing?

2) What AT Fluid did you use?

3) Did you actually do a flush (getting 99% of fluid out), not a drain-and-fill?

[Turkeybaster115]

Originally Posted by Silvester

Have read a lot of posts on this.

Since I plan to keep the car, I decided to get the trans oil changed.
E90 with 6 speed steptronic. When all totaled - $395.09. Ouch
This at a large LA CA dealer.

The service writer mentioned it was "lifetime" oil. no need to change.
On the other hand, he has seen 1st hand, the crud inside trannies, when they come in to get rebuilt. So while he pulled the company line... he did not try to talk me out of it!

They flush them, with "ATF Cleaner Kit" P/N 01941
and flush out the TC also.

Then refill with PN 04113 "Premium Synthetic ATF Fluid"

It's been a few days, and no problems. Car has some 48,000 on it.
Tranny seemed OK before, and seems ok now. Smooth and steady.

Like others say.... good insurance, albeit expensive! have always serviced cars regularly, kept to the early side on oil changes, etc. the logic, and everything I read is too overwhelming. Yes, Lifetime oil may be just that, an eathly death. Maybe DIY next time.

Most guys on here with Non-N54 E90's just used castrol multivheicle ATF (cheap at autozone), and had the trans oil change done at an independent shop, for much cheaper. Why throw away your money at the stealership?

[enrita]

Redline D6 ATF is a perfect match (confirmed by ZF and Redline) with much higher shearing point, can withstand much higher temps and works as well great cold. I am putting this into my new rebuilded Trans.