I have a 2008 550i. I decided to get my automatic transmission fluid changed. The fluid has never been changed before. I am at 141k miles. My car kicks every now and then after it has been sitting mostly when it shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear so that's why I decided to change the fluid. I know the fluid is considered lifetime but I went ahead and did it anyway.

I used synthetic fluid, but not the one from BMW. So as I leave the shop to go home the car was fine. I get to my designation and decide the leave again and the car barely starts. Transmission malfunction comes back on and the car's power is reduced I can only drive about 30 mph.

I take it back to the guy and he tells me he needs to replace the crank shaft position sensor. He does that and the car works for a couple days.

A few days later I let it idle for 20 minutes. I shut the car off and go to class. When I come back an hour later and the car will barely start! Reduced power again and transmission malfunction sign comes on. I had to drive 30 mph all the way home.

The next day the car is completely fine. No warning signs and check engine light goes away. by itself.

Does anybody have any idea what is going on?! Already spent over $2k on it. If it's something small I will try to get it fixed otherwise am I wasting my time?

Everything is working fine (as of now) and all lights are off. They guy checked the codes and nothing came up. However I don't know when the next time it will act up. I would hate to be on the highway and this happens. It has even shut completely off before.


Please help! I love my car I'm not ready to let it go yet.

 

What was the fluid you used? Was the adaptions reset after the fluid change? Was this issue going on before the change? Was the proper fill procedure used?

From what I am seeing without the questions answered is that either you should of gotten the ZF fluid to fill the car and the adaptions should of been reset, the right level of fluid was not put in or a combination of the two. If all he did was a drain and refill then that is what you should be focused on not a crank sensor. If he actually changed the pan I would also look at the VB plug which could be an issue but only if the pan was pulled off for replacement.

 

I used AMSOIL Synthetic transmission fluid (ATF) I have attached pictures! The guy who did it said this would be fine as long as it synthetic. I believe he used 8 of these. I will find out tomorrow if he reset adaptions. As far as I know he did the correct procedures. Waited till the car was a certain temperature ect.



If I need to use different fluid I might just have to. Any recommendations? I have heard of ZF
I will also ask him about the VB plug.


As soon as I left the shop I was only able to drive 30 miles before the "transmission malfunction" light came on.

 

I misspoke about the plug. I was thinking about pulling the VB. I looked at the fluid you used and its does not cover the E60 trans so I cant tell you if it works with the car or not. ZF lifeguard 6 is what a lot of people put in there trans. I have done mine twice with it. Did you replace the pan? Make sure he checks the oil level.

 

Hi I am having similar issues except i do not get the transmission message. I started a thread this past friday hoping to get some input
https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...000rpm-146940/

 

Well, he is NOT right about "Any synthetic will do"... However, The Amsoil signature series does meet the standards for the zf transmission.

 

You need to get the Carly app and dongle and pull / diagnose the codes. Could be something completely different. Your starting issues sound electrical and low voltage will cause all kinds of random faults...

 

If he used 8, he put too much fluid in. II recently a fluid change in my 07 550i which im pretty sure has exact same tranny, it said 7 from bone dry, but that was including 2 in the torque converter if my memory serves right. In all doing it the way ZF says to do it, and using a bit to try and flush, i think i used 5ish. I pulled my mechtronic too to check bridge seal and such.

I had relative issues when my fluid was low from pan leak, and was told too much would cause the same issues. So i would recommend taking it to a different(or back) but look up proper procedure and make sure they know it and use it. along with proper fluid, personally i used castrol import because I seen it on a fourm saying it met requirements, but also read on a different forum that castrol made for ford is better...if i had the money I would have gone with ZF fluid.

But I would do a dump/refill with proper procedure and fluid, it that didnt help, would pull mech to make sure seals are still good, mine were fine, but dont know if previous owner may have swapped since this is said to be common issues with these trans, but i know it did not have stock fluid. 118k on my 550. Hope this helps and ill see if i still have the links for procedure but it isnt very complex

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Edit http://www.thectsc.com/bmw-6hp26-6hp...vel-procedures