Transmission Oil Change Question
 

I was just in the dealership getting some warranty work done on my 08 535 XI.
I asked the advisor on his recommendation of transmission oil/filter change. He told me not to change anything. He said drive it as it is lifetime. He also said that changes may alter the characteristics of the shifting and slippage and he has seen transmissions die after a oil/filter change. His thoughts are totally different from anything I have read on any forum.
I could see if my motor had over 100K miles and never changed oil/filter, that it would change the shifting with new oil. My car has over 50K and seems that a oil/filter change would benefit the unit..
Any thoughts or pros/cons on a trans. oil/filter change in the near future?
Will I need any reprogramming after the change?

Thanks.

Your service advisor is DEAD DEAD DEAD wrong. go check ZFs literature and you'll see what the recommended service intervals are. Even BMW has backed off of its 'lifetime' claim and now recommends service every 100,000 miles.

The only thing you may need to do in terms of any 'programming' is resetting adaptations. The notion that servicing a transmission will cause it to fail is absolutely ludicrous. By that theory, I guess I'll stop changing my engine oil too.

Get a new advisor.

Curious, what is ZFs recommendation now for the e60 trans? I looked on ZFs confusing website and did not find anything. Thanks

From ZFs website:

"every 80,000km to 120,000km, or after 8 years at the latest"

http://www.zf.com/media/media/docume...hselkit_EN.pdf

that translates to a transmission service every 50,000 to 75,000 miles. where BMW pulled that 'lifetime' nonsense from is a mystery to me.

Thanks KyleB - BMWs Lifetime is not the same as our definition of lifetime. This is why I always look at fluid change intervals with skepticism. Change my oil every 3K etc.

I changed my transmission fluid last month and the shifting on my manual tranny is definitely smoother. Car had 55k miles at the time.

As someone else said, get a new service adviser.

I got the ATF drained and filled at 50,000 miles. All with ZF fluid and parts, including mechatronics sleeve. Check the Blackstone Lab. analysis of the old fluid. It was time for a change.

Actually the report looks good so it really wasn't necessary to change. In the end it's up to up you when you want to change. I did mine at 100k miles and all the components looked great, pan/filter, oil, mech sleeve, and bridge seal. There was no sludge build up and even now the trans isn't any smoother then how it was before the change which it was smooth already. Like a few have said its about driving the machine like it was intended to keep it happy. Every time I drive the car it will see redline, it will see a rolling 30 mph to xx mph when getting on a freway on ramp, oil temps get up to 220F.

Originally I wanted only the mechatronics sleeve replaced. The last time my car had work done by the dealer their invoice mentioned a leaky sleeve. Talking to my indy, who only deals with BMWs, I was referred to a local transmission specialist who services ZF ATs on a daily basis. From replacing the sleeve to having the full service done was a small step. They saved a small amount of the old fluid which I mailed to Blackstone for analysis to establish a baseline. I also submitted a copy of the report to Mike Miller, Technical Editor of Roundel Magazine, who agreed with having the service performed.