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Transmission Oil Change

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Old 09-23-2008, 11:49 PM
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I know I know this topic has been BEAT TO DEATH BADLY

Final answer is still tad blury.

1. Should you do it? Why or Why not.

People have claimed that once an trans oil change had been done, months following, trans problems started to arise!

I drive my car hard, does that oil not get bad? From a performance point of view, fresh, new oil, wouldnt it only make sense? Is bmw dead serious with the no maintence bs on their transmissions?

Confused... bad.
Old 09-24-2008, 02:34 AM
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My 530d has 94k miles so decided to have the tranny oil changed, was done yesterday by a local auto tranny specialist, so hopefully it has been for the best ! i feel happier for it atm. They reported nothing nasty in the sump which came as great relief.
Old 09-24-2008, 04:34 AM
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Originally Posted by tbal' post='676936' date='Sep 24 2008, 03:49 AM
I know I know this topic has been BEAT TO DEATH BADLY

Final answer is still tad blury.

1. Should you do it? Why or Why not.

People have claimed that once an trans oil change had been done, months following, trans problems started to arise!

I drive my car hard, does that oil not get bad? From a performance point of view, fresh, new oil, wouldnt it only make sense? Is bmw dead serious with the no maintence bs on their transmissions?

Confused... bad.

I think one of the reasons they don't recommend changing or flushing it, is that you may stir up the micro shavings that would otherwise be trapped somewhere away from the moving parts.

Kinda like the "let sleeping dogs lay" theory.

I don't know that I agree with it, but I have never changed or flushed any tranny oil on any of my BMWs and never had a problem. (knock on wood). My latest 528 was a slushbox and had 250k+ miles on it. Original everything in the tranny. I did replace the drive shaft b/c of a center bearing problem, but that's not the same.

I did top the tranny off with fluid twice, i think. Not much each time, maybe two clicks. No flushing though.
Old 09-24-2008, 06:12 AM
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Originally Posted by tbal' post='676936' date='Sep 24 2008, 10:49 AM
People have claimed that once an trans oil change had been done, months following, trans problems started to arise!
+1 for that.
Old 09-24-2008, 06:28 AM
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Originally Posted by tbal' post='676936' date='Sep 24 2008, 02:49 AM
People have claimed that once an trans oil change had been done, months following, trans problems started to arise!
Do you have an automatic or manual transmission? I have read that the claim refers to automatic transmissions.
How many miles do you have on your car? I have read that if you have less than 60,000 miles on your car that changing the fluid will probably not cause any problems.
I have a manual transmission and changed the fluid at 50,000 miles. I now have 60,000 and the transmission is working great.
Old 09-24-2008, 11:25 AM
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I have an auto tranny, i have about 60,000KMS on it, so thats mmm about roughly 37000ish...
Old 09-24-2008, 01:15 PM
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If that was my car and I planned on keeping it for another 100,000 kms or more I would change the fluid. The technical editor of Roundel magazine (the magazine for the BMW Car Club of America) recommends changing the transmission fluid (and the differential fluid) every 30,000 miles.
Old 09-24-2008, 01:17 PM
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Originally Posted by BrianTx5' post='677362' date='Sep 25 2008, 12:15 AM
If that was my car and I planned on keeping it for another 100,000 kms or more I would change the fluid. The technical editor of Roundel magazine (the magazine for the BMW Car Club of America) recommends changing the transmission fluid (and the differential fluid) every 30,000 miles.
So let's catch the technical essentials in detail, please.
Old 09-24-2008, 10:53 PM
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Then what about all the claims by bmw "service free transmission" what about the problems people had after doing trans oil change... Could bmw be telling the truth?
Old 09-25-2008, 10:47 AM
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Originally Posted by BrianTx5' post='677362' date='Sep 24 2008, 04:15 PM
If that was my car and I planned on keeping it for another 100,000 kms or more I would change the fluid. The technical editor of Roundel magazine (the magazine for the BMW Car Club of America) recommends changing the transmission fluid (and the differential fluid) every 30,000 miles.
I read the magazine. For some reason I dont like his short interval for maintenance. He probably change his oil every 3,000 miles too !


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