[rsmallwo]

Hi Everyone,

It appears that my 335d has a gearbox / transmission fluid leak.

I can see an oily reflective substance on the underside of the gearbox. I believe it to be the gearbox, its kind of in the right spot and has a grooved texture. I can also see an oily substance around the plastic undertray and it feels like oil to the touch, its also black. Theres a stain on my driveway that i've noticed for the past 6 mths but its only recently grown in size.

I've seen several threads from US members with AT's leaking fluid but these seem to be on 330i's and 335i's. They seem to get an oil pan replaced and its seal.

I'm thinking that I have the same issue but I see no reports from 335d users. I can see from here what might need replacing:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...10&hg=24&fg=15

I've asked questions before and E92Fan (Tony I believe) has recommended getting the transmissions oil changed out as a longevity service.

Has anyone else had my issue? what was your resolution?

My car is a Sept 2006 build with 81k miles and is 18mths out of warranty. I was thinking of going to an independant I somewhat trust to diagnose and go from there. Should I do this or go straight to a dealer in the hopes of goodwill. My car has FBMWSH bar its last service at the independant.

Thanks in advance.

[Dr Dave]

If it is just wet around the oil pan, I'd replace the seal (£30 or so) and take it from there.

Any reputable workshop should be able to do it, as above, good time to have a transmission oil change. Trans oil is (iirc) £200!

[shane55]

When I had my old car on the lift I thought I read somewhere on the trans "BMW Lifetime Oil" or "Sealed for Life" or someting like that...so whats the oil change interval for the auto box?

[Dr Dave]

It is a fill for life oil but a change wouldn't hurt

[rsmallwo]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

It is a fill for life oil but a change wouldn't hurt

my car is remapped to 340bhp / 700nm so I did want to give the tranny a good service......oh errr

All depends on costs really.

[FLUTE]

Hi, I had my car 1 day and parked it in the garage. Following morning I moved the car and found oil patch on my floor around the gearbox are ( under drivers door). Took it to my local Indy and they though it was the plastic sump the usually warps. Had that changed and leak still there. Found it to be the electronic plug for the dip stick. Cos around a tenner to sort. Hope this helps.

Flute

[rsmallwo]

flute,

do u have a 335d or a petrol. theres no computer based oil level on our diesels. u use a dip stick. i miss my 130i and its computer dipstick!

[ALF_E90]

I assume we are talking auto box?

My 07 330 auto had a gearbox oil leak, there was not much on here about it but when I posted a few people suggested the gearbox oil sump is a common fault.

BMW diagnosed it as some kind of seal around the main gearbox wiring loom and quoted £450 odd to replace it - when it came to it, they did the sump as well. It's on the insured warranty so I paid the £100 excess and as usual with warranty work they did not itemise or price it. Seems a lot.

I was not too concerned - I would have had the gear oil changed at 5 years old anyway - "sealed for life" or not. Poor oil condition is a common cause of auto gearbox issues as cars get older.

[rsmallwo]

interest you say that Alf_E90

Just been to the garage and they say the reflection I saw on the bottom of the gearbox is just aircon water!!! I had a look and there isn't much oil at all around the gearbox. Only alittle of seapage, but that was deemed as acceptable.

So that is somewhat a relief. The garage guy was saying about having the oil changed in the gearbox anyway given the car is nearly 5yrs old and 81k on the clock. He has just had to rebuild a auto gearbox (non DCT) on a tuned 335i at the total of £3k..... He also states he can get the tranny oil for a reasonable price so it would be upto £400 to change out 7litres of so of the tranny oil and a new pan, filter, seal etc.

I'm giving it some serious thought. Whats other people opinions? I'm keeping the car for the next 3 years so upto 120k miles.

The garage did mention that they had ZF come down about the gearbox that was rebuilt and they had a recommended oil change of 18k on there auto boxes....thats certainly not "lifetime" in my book!

[rc888]

Hi, I've got a 2005 BMW 318i (E90) which has got a minor leak from the auto transmission (electronic plug at the rear of gearbox). My question is: do I have to replace the sump pan, filter and seal or can I just replace the electrosensor plug?

Alternatively, is it absolutely necessary to drain and replace all the transmission oil or can I just top up as per required? It's done about 110,000 miles

[seanblee]

I contacted ZF about service intervals for my car and they recommend a fluid and filter change around every 50K miles. I've recently hit that, so I'm changing the fluid, filter (which means replacing the whole plastic sump) and mechatronic sleeve (which has the seal for the electrical connector, but can only be changed by removing the sump as the locking tab is inside the box). Best price I found for a service kit was here: http://www.incarmotorfactors.co.uk/en/