CVTBenhogan

I'm planning to do a tranny oil change soon. My 06 550 has 58K and I think its about time. Seen examples of very dirty oil after just 50K.
The Raj post is super useful on this site and I suppose the biggest challenge will be jacking the car from the diff. Just hate the idea of having to do this.

Anyway, I plan to do 2 drains and will buy 12 liters of Pentosin.

Questions: 1) After the first drain and refill, would it be advisable to drive for a extended period (say 2000 miles) so that the new and oil properly mix, allowing a uniform 2nd drain of old/new oil and possible breakup of any sludge? 2) Or should a single drive (say 5 or 10 miles) be enough the mix the new and old? I'd prefer option 2 as I'd like fresher oil in right away (90%), whereby the new oil plan filters cleaner oil right away, I only remove the underbody panels once (pain in the ass), and its done for the next 50K.

Appreciate any thoughts on this.

AchtungE60

I didn't see that you got a reply. I don't know if you did this yet but i would drive the car for like 50 miles then come back and do it again. If you do it right you will only need about 11 liters at the most. You will have more than half a liter left over after.

Personally I changed mine for the first time at around 95K or 98K I think.. you can find it in the original post but personally I would just change every 75-80K. Remember, just because the oil changes its color doesn't really mean much.

Blackwolffm

How much would the dealer charge for this service or an Indy?

AchtungE60

Call your dealer and ask. Prices differ. Some dealers have even reused your old tranny fluid some members report and they still charge about $800-$900 for the service. You do yourself with 90-95% new fluid for about $350 or so

CVTBenhogan

Just finished 1st drain and fill (at 60k). It was a pain and a lot of first time learning and add I'll add some comments to raj's post. Some added costs as well like hex sockets, torque wrench, and jacking stuff. All useful for for other projects.

PentosIn 12 quarts $200, new pan $150, and $10 pump tube at harbor freight.

That said, oil was dirty and car shifts a tad more crisp and so far it's running with no issues. I also changed the diff oil with mutol and very happy with this.

200 miles on the 1st drain and fill. Will do the second drain and fill in a couple of weeks. Need to get a par of jack pads from esc tuning so I have safer situation with the jack stands. The e60 sucks to jack.

AchtungE60

E60 is no different than any other beamer lol. They're all the same. Try doing an older MB

Handsome_Rob

The wife's 08 has 95k miles on it and she has started to complain that the shifts are not nearly as smooth as they used to be. What do you guys think, drain and fill or drain & fill and replace filter?

CVTBenhogan

I would change the oil and filter. Some people will advise that with higher mileage cars you might do damage putting new oil in. I don't buy it. Hopefully the tranny isn't shifting too bad and there is a bigger problem. It's not like you have 150k. My oil was dirty after 60k and glad I changed. Your oil is probably black.

My tranny seems to shift quicker with the new oil, though it seems more figidty than before. No slam. Of course I'm paying more attention after the change so maybe it's like before and my other car is a cvt a4 that is very smooth. These zf trannies might not be as smooth as they get older. Anyway I advise change it.

I've done a single drain and will do another soon to bring the oil up to 90% fresh oil. It's a semi hard DIY but can be done for $300. $160 for the filter and $200 for 9qts of pentosin. The DIY here is a good reference.

Handsome_Rob

Ill probably order the stuff this weekend. Ive normally changed fluids after 100k on some of my older cars but people on here have me so damn paranoid about this car I start to second guess myself. Thx.

CVTBenhogan

True about paranoid members. That said, many are not buying the lifetime fluid position by BMW. With extra care, the car should go 200k. That's my goal or least give the car the chance to go 200k. Whether its me or the next owner.