Redneck

Just did my first oil change this morning, reset iDrive and all is well. The car has 65K on the clock and I'm about ready to change the tranny fluid. As I read through the manual, I notice several things. One part talks about BMW's lifetime fluid, one says it is approximately 100K and is CBS. Can anyone shed light on this? Regardless of what the dealer says, I'm changing my fluid well before 100K, but am curious as to what my car is monitoring. I cant check the fluid with iDrive. Is it monitoring level and temp? Would be nice to know I'd get some warning if I developed a leak while driving.

Thanks as always in advance!
john

Redneck

I'll give it one self-gratuitous bump.

Diamond

The only monitoring your trans fluid gets is temperature which would also indirectly pick up a leak as the loss of fluid could ramp up the less existing fluids temps- Other than that there is no other info provided-your computer would light up only when you hit a bad temp-otherwise there is no idrive check for this.

I did my trans at 50k and it looked like dirt-dont delay if you plan to keep ur car

AchtungE60

I have done the complete pan/filter kit + new fluid some weeks back. I recently did a follow-up drain/fill after mixing the fluid stuck in tranny casing with the new fluid. So I'd say it's about 85%-90% new fluid now. Following this I reset my tranny brain. All is well,the drive is perfect.

As far as the answer to your Q.....the car is monitoring service intervals. It will let you know when fluid levels are low because your car will go into limp mode (safe mode) and only be able to drive in 3rd or 4th gear. Prior to that, most likely the car's shifting will start acting funny. Better to spend the $350 it costs to do it yourself.

The board had a great post about this, enjoy the read.....


https://5series.net/forums/topic/881...-drain-refill/

Redneck

Thanks for the info. Did you use the BMW fluid from the dealer? Youre saying that the DIY cost you 350, wonder what the dealer charges for it? Just curious on the difference. I gotta get my ducks in a row and get this done before my car hits 70k, I plan on keeping it a while.

thanks!